Built Environment Blog - DIT Library Bolton Street

Art and Architecture Complete

2012-05-21T02:48:00.001-07:00

After a successful trial period earlier in the year, DIT Library has purchased a subscription to the Art and Architecture Complete database.
This database provides full text coverage of 380 periodicals and over 220 books.
It can be accessed throught the library's databases page.
As with most databases, DIT students can also access it from outside the Institute by means of their student ID and library PIN.
If you have any queries please contact the library.

New York's tallest building

2012-05-01T03:45:00.000-07:00

One World Trade Centre became New York's tallest building yesterday. A steel column raised on Monday brought the structure above the height of the viewing deck of the Empire State Building.
The building should be completed sometime next year. Without its spire it will be the same height as the North Tower of the original World Trade Centre, the spire was added to bring the final height up to 1,776 feet, in honour of the year of U.S. independence.
Above you can view a CBS News timelapse video of the construction.

Short interview with Tadao Ando

2012-05-01T02:57:00.001-07:00

Photo by Kaori Walter, © Archinect

You can read a short interview with Tadao Ando on the Archinect website.

Viewing 3D building plans in the real world

2012-04-12T10:34:00.004-07:00

New 'augmented reality' technology means people can view building plans transposed into the real world using smartphones, tablets or laptops.
The technology has been developed at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, combining video, mobile gaming technology and positioning software. It means anyone involved in the planning, design or construction of a development can view how it will look in its actual environment.
The clip below gives an idea of how the system works and you can read more on theengineer.co.uk.

Story courtesy of theengineer.co.uk.
Clip courtesy of YouTube.

Bolton Street Library Easter Hours

2012-04-04T06:27:00.000-07:00

Bolton Street Library will close for Easter at 5pm on Thursday 5th April.

It will reopen at 9:30am on Wednesday 11th April when normal term time hours will resume.

Google doodle pays tribute to Mies van der Rohe

2012-03-27T03:21:00.002-07:00

Today's Google doodle is a tribute to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe who was born in Aachen, Germany 126 years ago today, 27th March.

Along with Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier he was considered one of the masters of modern architecture.

Patrick's Day Holiday

2012-03-14T08:39:00.006-07:00

DIT Library Bolton Street will close on St. Patrick's Day, Saturday 17th March 2012 and on Bank Holiday Monday 19th March 2012.

The library will open as normal at 9:30am on Tuesday 20th March 2012.

Image courtesy of crazy-frankenstein.com.

Art and Architecture Complete

2012-03-10T08:11:00.007-08:00

DIT Library currently has a trial of the Art and Architecture Complete database until April 6th.

The database provides full-text coverage of 380 journals and over 220 books. It also provides indexing and abstracting (no full-text) of a further 780 journals and 230 books as well as a collection 0f 63,000 images.

To access the database click here if you are within the DIT domain.

For further information ask at Bolton St. Library.

The image is the Metropol Parasol in Seville, Spain, courtesy of chuknum.com.

2012 Pritzker Prize

2012-03-07T05:33:00.003-08:00

The Chinese architect Wang Shu has won the 2012 Pritzker Prize for Architecture.

Born in Urumqi in Western China in 1963 he qualified in 1985 and received his masters degree in 1988, both from the Nan Nanjing Institute of Technology.

Pictured is one of Wang Shu's works, the Ningbo History Museum in Ningbo, China.

To read more about Wang Shu and his work visit the website of the Pritzker Prize.

Story and image courtesy of the Architectural Record.

International Design Build Winners

2012-02-23T08:22:00.003-08:00

Once again the DIT/Oklahoma University team have placed first in the annual Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region V/TEXO Design Build competition sponsored by Sedalco.

The team was made up of Construction Management (DT117) student Paul Farrell, Architecture (DT101) student Orla Hayes and Architectural Technology (DT175) student Conor Shaw teamed up with three College of Architecture students from Oklahoma University. Kevin Leach and Jonathan Radebaugh (Construction Science) with Bryce McCarthy (Architecture) represented OU.

Orla Hayes also won the prize for the competition's best presenter.

Huge congratulations all round.

To see more photos and read more detail of the competition you can visit the competition blog here.

Words and image courtesy of ASCDesignbuild blog.

'Celebrating Pugin' Lecture Series at Irish Architectural Archive

2012-02-23T07:42:00.005-08:00

During March the Irish Architectural Archive will host a lecture series on Pugin.

Pugin was an architect of the Gothic Revival style. He designed a number of churches in England and Ireland. He was also reponsible for the interior design and the "Big Ben" clock tower at the Palace of Westminster.

The lectures are free but booking will be required as numbers are limited to 50.

C E L E B R AT ING PUGIN

Lecture Series

Thursday 1st March at 1.15pm
The A.W.N. Pugin Nuremberg sketchbook of 1838 in the Irish Architectural Archive
and an overview of the role of the Pugins in Ireland
Dr Roderick O’Donnell, FSA
Thursday 8th March at 1.15pm
Pugin and the Gothic Revival
Dr Christine Casey, Trinity College Dublin
Tuesday 13th March at 1.15pm
Gothic Nuremburg
Dr Lynda Mulvin, University College Dublin
Thursday 15th March at 1.15pm
A.W.N. Pugin and St Patrick’s College Maynooth
Dr Frederick O’Dwyer, Architect and Architectural Historian
Thursday 22nd March at 1.15pm
Pugin, Ritual and Design
Dr John Maiben Gilmartin, Art Historian, Academic and Lecturer
Thursday 29th March at 1.15pm
Restoring Pugin’s Heritage in Ireland – Experiences of a Conservation Architect
Michael Tierney, Conservation Architect

All lectures are free and open to the public and take place in
the Irish Architectural Archive, 45 Merrion Square, Dublin 2

Schedule courtesy of Irish Architectural Archive.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

Ireland's oldest surviving timber frame house

2012-02-21T01:43:00.000-08:00

An archaeological restoration in Ennis has discovered what is believed to be the only surviving medieval timber framed house in the country.

The oak-framed structure is located at a former family home at Chapel Lane in Ennis, Co. Clare. It is thought to date from the 16th century.

You can read more about this story at Irishexaminer.com.

Story courtesy of Irishexaminer.com and thejournal.ie.

Image courtesy of thejournal.ie.

New film tribute to Norman Foster

2012-02-10T04:17:00.001-08:00

Below is a trailer for the new film "How much does your building weigh, Mr. Foster?" which is playing in New York at the moment.
Architectural Record describes the film as "a starry-eyed, unabashed love letter to one of the world's leading starchitects".

Story courtesy of Architectural Record.
Trailer clip courtesy of YouTube.

Series of lectures about Christ Church Cathedral

2012-02-01T07:25:00.000-08:00

The Irish Architectural Archive will be hosting a series of lunchtime lectures related to Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin throughout February.

To Read the full schedule of lectures click here.

All of the lectures are free and open to the public. They will all take place in the Irish Architectural Archive at 45 Merrion Square, Dublin.

Story courtesy of the Irish Architectural Archive.

Image courtesy of Flickr.

Draft plan for improving Dublin City Centre

2012-01-04T03:29:00.000-08:00

Dublin City Council has issued a draft plan for improvements to the City Centre.

The plan is titled Your City, Your Space; Draft Dublin City Public Realm Strategy.pdf .

You can view the document by clicking on the link and submissions are invited from the public until 25th January 2012.

Image courtesy of theJournal.ie.

DIT Bolton Street Library hours over Christmas

2011-12-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

The Library will open until 9:30pm on Monday 19th, Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st December.

The library at Bolton Street will close at 1pm on Thursday 22nd December.

The library will reopen on Tuesday 3rd January 2012. Term time hours will apply:
Mon. – Thurs. 9:30am – 9:30pm
Fridays: 9:30am – 5:15pm
Saturdays: 10am – 5pm.

Happy Christmas to all DIT students and staff.

Image courtesy of LA Times Hero Complex.

Architecture of 2011

2011-12-13T07:35:00.000-08:00

Click here to view the Observer's best architecture of 2011, including No. 8 Spruce Street (pictured), New York's tallest residential building.

Building with bamboo

2011-12-06T03:29:00.000-08:00

The food company Big Tree Farms has built what is believed to be the largest commercial bamboo structure in the world at Sibang in Bali, Indonesia.

Bamboo has a tensile strength comparable to mild steel and greater compressive strength that many concrete mixtures.

You can read more about this building at World Architecture News.

Image and story courtesy of World Architecture News.

New documentary: Urbanized

2011-11-22T03:41:00.000-08:00

Below is a trailer for Gary Huswit's new documentary film Urbanized. The film explores the development of cities in the 21st century. It includes interviews with Rem Koolhaas, Sir Norman Foster, former mayor of Bogotá Enrique Peñalosa, and Edgar Pieterse from the African Centre for Cities.

Urbanized went on limited release in October. You can read more about the film at Architectural Record.

Story courtesy of Architectural Record.
Clip courtesy of YouTube.

Vertical forest under construction in Milan

2011-10-12T03:50:00.000-07:00

The Bosco Verticale under construction in Milan will be the world's first vertical forest.
Each apartment in the 27 storey tower will have a balcony planted with trees. These will provide shade in the Summer as well as filtering dust from the atmosphere (Milan is one of the most polluted cities in Europe). In Winter the bare branches will allow sunshine through.
The tower is the vision of architect Stefano Boeri. You can read more about the project and other similar developments on the Financial Times website.

Story and image courtesy of Financial Times.

Glass LEAF Award 2011

2011-10-07T03:40:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Emirates LEAF award has been won by the Q1 building in Essen, Germany.

It was designed by JSWD Architekten and its innovative shading system consists of 3000 motorised metal feathers which can follow the sun.

You can read more about the structure at worldarchitecturenews.com.

Story courtesy of worldarchitecturenews.com.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

pods

2011-10-07T02:29:00.000-07:00

So farewell Steve Jobs. "thank you for the work you make possible every day" tweeted Obama. To him we give thanks for decently designed technology for people, not anoraks. the iPhone, iMac, iPad, iStuff and iPod. The bolton st library can't compete with that but we have recently unveiled our libPod. There is an increasing demand for spaces and rooms that students can work together in on projects, assignments etc. There was 1 bookable room in the library and this celtic swirl design now gives us 2 more areas for group study. It's open plan, but the sound proofing should give privacy and quiet both for those on the inside, and the out. AND if you leave pencils in them overnight they will mysteriously sharpen themselves.

time savin life changin essay helpin info findin

2011-09-21T08:07:00.000-07:00

This year we've taken a different approach to those library tours of yore in which peoples eyes glaze over and fall asleep on their feet after being told by their lecturers to go up and get a tour of the library. It is an essential part of college life to know how to get the best from the library and learn simple thinks like just finding a book or using the photocopier. But this year we have arranged over the course of 4 weeks (19th sept - 13th oct) a series of short sharp (10-15ish minutes)drop in sessions. They will focus on all you need to know to

survive your 1st assignment,

write killer essays

ultimately leave this college with a 1st class hons degree

Full details of times (no booking required) HERE - scroll down to the 2nd page

Carbon negative cement named material of the year

2011-09-14T05:07:00.000-07:00

Material ConneXion, the global material consultancy and library, has awarded material of the year to Novacem's Carbon Negative Cement.

The production process of traditional cement means it is responsible for up to 5% of man made Carbon Dioxide. Novacem's cement replaces calcium carbonates with magnesium silicates and also uses lower temperatures in production. This results in up to 95% less CO2 being produced.

You can read about Novacem's cement and the other nine materials on the shortlist by clicking here.

Story courtesy of Architectural Record.

Image courtesy of Novacem.

Homebond withdraws offer of compensation for pyrite damage

2011-09-02T03:08:00.000-07:00

Homebond have withdrawn any offer of compensation for homeowners who have suffered structural defects due to pyrite used in construction of their homes.

Pyrite, when present in infill can cause swelling or cracking when it comes into contact with moisture. It is estimated that 20,000 Irish homes are affected by the problem.

According to the Homebond website: "Homebond is the leading provider of structural defect cover in the Republic of Ireland..."

You can read more on this story in the Irish Times.

Image courtesy of Google Images.

Story courtesy of the Irish Times.