What happens when you combine art, high tech materials on a low tech pathway? Something pretty special. Dutch designer Daan Roosegaard recreated part of Van Gogh’s painting The Starry Night using luminescent paint on a bicycle path. The paint ‘charges’ during the day and then gently illuminates the kilometer long path at night. Not sure about the durability of riding and walking on a painted surface but I sure hope it holds up and will continue to transition into other projects.

Source: Dezeen

Art Director and Motion Designer Matt Greenwood created this simple animation describing many elements that go into a design. I always liken the process to that of a puzzle. First we define the pieces, then we fit them together in a creative and complete way.

Elements of Design from matt greenwood on Vimeo.

Today we speak all things mechanical with Mike from Anderson Heating. Winter is just around the corner so we bounced around on a few topics – some of which included:

-What do we need to do to our mechanical systems to prepare for winter?
-What are the different types of systems and their efficiencies?
-How do you begin to evaluate a mechanical system for a new project?
-How do energy codes affect your mechanical strategies?
-What types of rebate programs are out there?

You can contact Anderson Heating at 715-549-6297 if you have more questions. Serving the Twin Cities and Western Wisconsin areas.

Please subscribe to these podcasts also via iTunes. Search for the title Design and Other Fun Stuff.

Scott Miller received permission from this Amish community to document a traditional barn raising. He took one photo every 20 seconds via a timer remote on his camera totaling 1600 images. Scott photographed from 7 AM to 5 PM. Even with a lunch break, the amount of work completed over this 10 hour period is amazing!

I was asked to be one of the judges for the Minnesota Concrete and Masonry Contractors Association Awards. I had done this about 5 years ago and it was a blast to do it again. There were 14 architects and then 14 representatives from the masonry and concrete industry who were our guides. We split up into groups to cover more ground. I judged everything from new construction to restoration, residential to commercial. Unfortunately… I was having so much fun that I often forgot to film! So, this is just a small snippet of what was a full day for judging projects.

I’m a Judge! from michael huber architects on Vimeo.

A new video is up on our ‘Projects’ page! What fun Clients and a fabulous project. There was also a great team of people that worked on this home and took great care in understanding the vision and then creating it. There is a further description on the projects page.

Bald Eagle Lake Residence from michael huber architects on Vimeo.

Other team members include: Matt Glewwe (michael huber architects), Contractor: Cates Fine Homes, Interiors Consultant: Elaine Grossman, Landscape Design/Construction: Brandi Hines & Yardmasters Landscapes

My beautiful daughters told me not to post a video of me going to a meeting… ‘it will be boring’. If I always listened to my girls, they would have a new laptop and cell phone each every six months! I told them that this video is a fascinating insight into an aspect of being an architect… on second thought, they may be right… Enjoy!

A Meeting from michael huber architects on Vimeo.

Yep -that’s right. Someone actually wanted to ask me questions about architecture! WisconsinRealEstate.com, a web based resource for all things real estate, wanted information about working with an architect on a residential project. There are always so many facets that go into designing a home with the biggest variable being the Clients themselves. Everyone sees things, expresses things, wants and needs things differently so for me, the structure of the design process is somewhat loose. I describe it like a road map to get from Point A to Point B but there can be many different routes. Always an adventure!

The article is called ‘How an Architect Designs Your Home’. Check it out!

Designed in the shape of a bamboo basket, this pineapple cake shop located in Tokyo, Japan is intricately beautiful. Located in a residential area, the architect used a traditional Japanese joint system call ‘Jiigoku-Gumi’ to create the structure. Take a look!

Source: Kengo Kuma and Associates

I think the title says it all. This home by architect Ken Kellogg AIA is located in Joshua Tree, California. It’s protective shell-like exterior leads way to some very cool interior detailing. Those are what I find the most interesting about this home. The video production also is well done. I like the interior timelapse showing light moving through the spaces. I am going to have to do that on my own projects!

Source: http://organicmodernestate.com/profile.php

Here is a quick video of a cabin project currently under construction on Bone Lake in Wisconsin. The original intent was to break ground in the Spring but they hated to lose a summer while the cabin was being built. Can’t blame them! As such, it was an aggressive schedule with only a couple of months to complete the design and construction documents. It was a brutal winter here and we are finally getting through the muddy thaw stage. There are still some interior decisions to be made and a fair amount of exterior work left. It looks like they will hit a move-in date by June. I hope to have a final update video around that time…if I am invited to a bar-b-que!

Project Update: Bone Lake 1 from michael huber architects on Vimeo.

Yes – the worlds largest Rubik’s Cube is here! A specially designed electronic puzzle interface uses Bluetooth to interact with this building facade in Austria. People passing by were encouraged to give it a try… I sure would!

Puzzle Facade from Javier Lloret on Vimeo.

Source: Javier Lloret