wolverine

What do you all think of the model I'm making in my architecture class so far? I promise you it will get better as I get farther along.

Yay!!! nice work on the tower. If you need help rendering, just send it to me. Just an added bonus. Allan, Aaron, and I went up into the Broderick tower (abandoned) and got some great shots. WARNING Permission was obtained to enter this structure. It is illegal to enter an abandoned structure without consent of the owner. Because it is abandoned, there is a high risk of personal injury. Abestos, lead paint, and mold particulates (clearly evident) can cause serious breathing problems with prolonged exposure. There is also no guarantee that the floors, walls, or ceilings are structurally safe, as severe damage was evident throughout the building. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU DO NOT EXPLORE ABANDONED STRUCTURES. First we found a great place to park... kind of. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/street1.jpg align=baseline border=4> The 34 story Broderick Tower and its whale mural. This is the building we explored. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/street3.jpg align=baseline border=4> The first stairway off the ground floor. Only 34 more levels to go!!!! http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt01.jpg align=baseline border=4> Aaron explores the room while I decide to prepare a fine meal of abestos and some old brushes. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt02.jpg align=baseline border=4> http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt03.jpg align=baseline border=4> Now, this room was a lot of fun. There was some strange clothing as well as some destroyed boxing equipment in the corner. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt04.jpg align=baseline border=4> A look at the elevator lobby which could have been on either floors 6-32. I was rather disappointed when I pushed the button, and the elevator never came. Apparently one of them worked until recently http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt05.jpg align=baseline border=4> Since the building is a strange shape, the hallways are at weird angles and create a dizzying perspective. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt06.jpg align=baseline border=4> Well, it appears some vandals must have found the extra paint for the mural. And now the mural is in the room.... and the windows. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt07.jpg align=baseline border=4> Looking out from the penthouse on the 33rd floor. We discovered that the area outside the door was very icy the hard way. Fortunately, I'm not scared of heights, so getting a quick view of the drop beneath me wasn't too big of a shock. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt08.jpg align=baseline border=4> A black ceiling? Why? http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt09.jpg align=baseline border=4> Standing in the stairwell at the top floor -- 34. Keep in mind that these stairways were pitch black. The camera flash offered a nice, but quick look at what was ahead of us. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt10.jpg align=baseline border=4> A penthouse room, with some wild graffitti, and a great opportunity to just walk out the window. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt011.jpg align=baseline border=4> A look up Woodward Ave. Just look at those empty lots where towering buildings used to be. And for what?? PARKING. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/skyline1.jpg align=baseline border=4> A shot of the Detroit financial district. The empty lot where the steel coming up out of the ground is where the massive Hudsons Department store used to be. It set a world record as being the largest building imploded. An unfortunately small 15 story building is planned for the site. THE END!

I post my drunken architecture studio pics and this thread takes off.

Before you all go screaming....it's empty, and the cap is on. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/02.jpg align=baseline border=3> Here I am working hard at the architecture studio at U of M http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/03.jpg align=baseline border=3> Here are some of my friends not working hard.

I'm still around, but very consumed in my architecture projects with very little free time. Some pics taken at 3:00 AM: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/02.jpg align=baseline border=5> Me working hard. Andy yes, that is a beer. It helps us be more creative in our drawings. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/03.jpg align=baseline border=5> My friends not working hard. I have a really good video of the chaotic mess that is my architecture studio, but you will have to PM me for the link since it contains strong language.

Pffffffftt, stupid badger fans. What makes you think Wisconsin is better than us? Also, before I forget, if anyone hasn't heard, Michigan Stadium will be receiving a massive renovation with a whole new design. I look forward to seeing the design!!!

Sure, just email it to me at barrysandersproject@umich.edu

Holy @#$^% That is awesome!!!

Hey all, sorry there haven't been many updates lately. I'm still reinstalling all of my software on my computer, plus I'm getting adjusted to my new semester. Today, I found out something interesting that you might all like. Apparently, U of M has software license for Electronic Arts products, which means some games such as the Madden NFL series and SimCity Rush Hour (with the B.A.T.) have been installed on the servers and are available to access at the University Union(?) and League. But since it's stored on the server, it can be accessed anywhere. I'm not sure if my logic holds true, but I'm assuming that the servers take control of the processing power of these games because the terminals have no CPU towers or other modules to store the processor -- just a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. So, I put GMax to the test on the university servers and did a high rendering of my model. Amazingly, it took seconds to complete the rendering you saw on the other page, versus the minutes it took on my own computer. Knowing that I have an excellent laptop, which unfortunately yields slow renderings, it is my guess that the University's servers are rendering the model, obviously more efficiently. I'm not sure if it is possible to tap into the server from any computer besides the ones at the League. I'm going to see if there is a shortcut somewhere on the system which would allow non-university students to render their models through it...Being all of you guys except nofunk and I. So I'll see if I can find more out about this and let you guys know.

Ahhhh! Today has been the convergence of the everything. I'm back to college, and now that my friends are all here, we've been doing stuff all day. I just got my laptop back, and it runs like a dream. I also got a Western Digital 160 Gb external hard drive, so I'm just starting to get everything put onto that. So don't freak that you haven't seen updates in a few days. I'm just a bit busy and I start class tomorrow. I still have to unpack my stuff brought back! I like the headquarters building John D, it almost has a hint of the RenCen in it.

That picture is always so amazing. What Detroit could have been.... As I said, it still has the potential to be something close to this if just a fraction of a percent of the companies in Southeast Michgian would move downtown. I mean, you see those thousands of 3-7 story sprawling office complexes across the metro, and just one or two of those squashed into a city block in downtown Detroit would constitute a highrise of almost 20 floors. It really does not take much, but many developers and company owners still don't have enough trust in Detroit, and the metro population is too dependent on their cars. Nothing BIG is going to happen to Detroit until a LRT system is put in. And although Detroit is in favor of such a project, I still don't think many Oakland County residents are ready for something like this. The thing that sucks about Michgian, is that our residents were raised on the use of the automobile for the past century. Although Detroit ALMOST got a full fledged subway back before the depression, its reconstruction was discouraged by the automakers, and now, the only thing we have left is the people mover. I find it shocking that some of my friends back in my hometown refuse to use the people mover, only because they are not used to it. Not used to it? Come on, people take the subway and trains in big cities across the U.S. all over the place!!! Seriously, I was glad when I moved to Ann Arbor and met new friends that were from New York City, Baltimore, and Chicago that had an appreciation for urban life, and the means at which it functions. But as far as the future holds for Detroit, I think it's looking good. Detroit is seriously losing its population, but it's mostly low income people. Some of you may have heard of the term gentrification, which means, the restoration of ,usually blighted, urban areas by the middle and high class at the displacement of the lower class. In short, it's the rich kicking out the poor. There is nothing unethical about this. Most, NOT ALL, low income people are just not providing enough tax base for the city to survive. And most, NOT ALL, of them are too poor to make their homes at least look somewhat presentable just driving by. As more middle class and upper class move into the city, these areas get cleaned up, typically through restorations, sometimes urban renewal, and the city looks a whole lot better. Remember that this has NEVER happened until recently. Detroit continued to decline through the 70s, 80s, and early 90s becasue there was no focus on attracting the rich and middle class back to the city. Its primary focus was on retaining the low income families. Now, Detroit is focusing on it's survival. And it's willing to turn into the enemy of it's existing population by forcing people to pay their taxes, and clean up their property. As far as losing the Statler, as well as other historic buildings soon to follow, it's sad. But remember that Detroit is trying to make itself look clean like the suburbs at this moment. I think that people hope Detroit will soon be the second Chicago and fills it's empty lots with towering skyscrapers. If this happens, Detroit will be a world class city. It will have the towering modern edifices, but with enough historical architecture in between to still be authentic. And Detroit still has a higher percentage of historic buildings within the CBD than most other cities at this moment. Someone is going to have to make a big sacrifice to keep the city alive. Either through a major investment in Light Rail, or a bold move by companies to not wait for steady growth, and just move downtown. 4:00 p.m update Please note that the joint of the two walls is not finished, and the front wall needs to be angled out more. This will be it for today since I'll be watching the Rosebowl. Tomorrow, I need to pick up stuff in Saginaw before I go back to Ann Arbor and start my second semester of college! GO MICHIGAN!!!! BEAT TEXAS EDIT: DAMN, we lost by 1 point

If you want true urban explorarion, you got to come to Detroit where you can actually go in the buildings. Of course, they are abandoned, but it makes exploration more interesting! You have to ask the building owner for permission before going in though!

Oooooh! The Tuller Hotel! I forgot about that building. I'll have to add that to my personal project list. Too bad it's gone. Detroit is so ugly nowadays. I hope more companies up and leave the suburbs and begin moving back to the city. Believe me, Detroit WILL BE the awesome city it used to be... just not for another 30 - 40 years! BTW, I have a rough frame-in of the Broderick on 3DS Max. So no one take that building! I can't wait to finish up the Dime and get off GMax. It's sooo slow!!!

^ Ardsley, huh? I have friends not far from there who live in White Plains.

Hears an update However, it is already very out of date since I'm very far along on the second wall. I'll post that later. Another medium quality rendering:

I just wanted to give a heads up on anyone willing to do the Statler Hotel in downtown Detroit that DEMOLITION HAS STARTED. I passed it when I was downtown today. Here are some closeup pics from this past summer. The building will be leveled for a parking lot. So if anyone has closeup pics... hint...hint Allan, now is the time to display them.

Here's today's progress as of 5:20 p.m Oops I double posted sorry. Medium quality rendering The detail on the lower 4 floors still needs to be added. Actual photo, by Emporis

Thanks for the comments everyone! Noooooo. Your clock tower kicked so much ass, it would be difficult to compare to that. I'm hoping my computer won't take long to fix. It's hard to use my parents computer since my dad needs it since he's home during the two week GM shut down. I can't tell you how much my computer had gone to crap after the processor blew out. But I think there was a lot of other stuff going on. Gmax for some reason would load up with a dozen error messages, but still kind of worked. Also, a lot of my programs were running slow. But I had battered this new laptop to pieces with my intense 3D renderings, long hours of use, and extreme multi-tasking. I would have up to 20 internet explorers open, with iTunes, with Dreamweaver, with AutoCAD, ann with photoshop. Everything ran pretty smooth, but it was too much for it to take. I'm definitely going to scale back on the multi-tasking this year. I also have a huge issue with hard drive space --- 100 GBs ---- almost entirely filled. When I sent it in, it had 200 Mb left. Isn't that aweful? I know I have 40 Gb of music 15 Gb of photos. But the rest is filled with a crapload of software that takes up a lot space -- like SimCity and Madden Football. But now a new 120 Gb firewire external hard drive should take care of that! BTW nofunk, I don't know if I asked this before, but do you live in a res. hall at Michigan?

We can pretend an extra level was added to the building. OR.... He was trying to copy the top level of my building!!! I have 3 levels of windows with green paneling in between those large gaps in my model too. Perhaps I caused confusion? As of 11:00 p.m, here's an update on the Dime... EDIT: Yuck! It looks pixelated and crappy. Well, I sized it down a lot LOL.

Even with my plug-ins folder exploding with files, my game still runs very well. In fact, I have never had a problem with SimCity 4 crashing in the 2 years I've owned it. But remember, I have a laptop that overheats, so while the game would run fine, my computer would be as loud as a leaf blower. My computer has been sent in. It shouldn't take long to get it back. I also need to find the time to do a system restore, but I'll wait a while for that.

That is awesome looking nofunk! Nice job on the building detail. You are fortunate that the building is relatively the same on all four sides, meaning you just have to rotate the walls around. My buildng has walls that are all different, and not to mention a footprint that is slightly trapezoidal because of Campus Martius. But anyway, all the progress is looking good. It will be nice to see some Downtown Detroit skyscrapers rise in simcity. Besides the Buffalo Wing project, I think our project will provide the best examples of classic american architecture.

Hey ert, I'm glad you had a great time at the game, plus the Lions won. Do you have any pictures? Just to let you guys know, I'm experimenting with the Dime Building in 3DS Max to see if it will be quicker to build. It appears it will be since renderings go fast. Here's a portion of a rebuilt wall. I still need to the detail towards the top I also got a nice after Christmas suprise when I logged onto Wolverine access and: !!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, the renderings are what I want to use 3DS Max for. I just don't know how to get my gmax model into 3ds max.

I have decided to restart on the Dime building. After I finish watching season II of Seinfeld tonight. I'll show you progress when I get farther along. Ford Field is still in the works too, don't worry. I'm going to have to split up the model because it is getting so big, so I'm going to be focusing more on the dome portion now that I have a good portion of the warehouse completed. The website is on hold until I get my laptop fixed and all his restored back to normal. XSpiderman mentioned Kales, did anyone plan on taking that? Because if not, I can use the windows and facade details on my Dime Building model to construct Kales since both share a similar sort of architecture.

The Lions