November 2009 Archives

Are you looking for a good color scheme or color matching guide for some of your design problems - architectural design, interior design, web design, page layout, etc.?  Here's a nice little tool I found on the net that I think every designer would like to have - A Color Scheming Tool.

If you're looking for new materials and finishes you would want to use on your next architectural project or interior design project,  this site may help you find what you are looking for.

Philconstruct is one of the largest convention and exhibition of Architectural and Engineering finishes, materials and equipments here in the Philippines.   This is where designers, architects, engineers, and other people interested in the field of architecture and engineering go to in search of new building finishes and material that they can use in their current and future projects.  This happens once a year and, this year, Philconstruct 2009 was held on November 12-15 in the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City.  The event also incorporated three other Design and Engineering Conventions, which are the HVAC/R Philippines 2009, Interior World 2009, and the Mining Asia 2009, which made Philconstruct 2009 bigger than the same event on previous years.

A friend of mine once asked me why one should hire an architect if one plans to build a new structure such as a residential building or a house for example.  And it got me thinking, what would be the logical and the best answer for that question.  If you think about it, anyone can design a building, a church or a dream house for that matter and it's just a matter of putting it on paper and having someone construct it for them.  But what most people don't know is that designing any structure, like a residential structure for example, is more than just the looks, the colors, the materials used and the quality of the line drawings on paper.  Professional Architects did not spend a couple of years, in my case five, in architecture school just to learn how to draw, color and generally design.  It's more than that and people should understand why architects are also called professionals in their own right.

Our company was trying to cut down on expenses and was looking for alternatives to the very much popular Autodesk Autocad.  The cost of one licensed full Autocad is very expensive that it's hard for our growing company to buy more of this software.  Even if you opt to use its lighter and cheaper version which is Autocad LT, the price is still expensive and you don't get the full set of commands and tools that the full Autocad has.  A friend of one of my officemates suggested a very interesting program as an alternative to Autocad and I want to share it with you.

As an architect, I get to use a lot of Architectural Softwares that help me produce the necessary drawings and outputs needed to coordinate work with other people in a particular construction project.  Below are the list of the architectural softwares that I usually use.

Our web site is sporting a new look and feel thanks to Movable Type and the Professional Template Set. The Professional Template Set makes it possible for just about anyone to get up and running with a new web site using Movable Type. It is literally as easy as just a few clicks. Just pick a new for your web site, select the Professional Template Set and publish. Then viola! a new web site. Thank you Movable Type!