Monday, February 16, 2009

Architectural Inspiration

Recently on Facebook, I got in touch with my distant cousin Allen Dyer. While catching up, I retold him about my newfound interest in architecture and design, and specifically Google Sketchup. Apparently I came across as more enthusiastic than I thought because he asked me if this was something I wanted to pursue professionally.

This of course got me thinking. What if? Artistically, my mediums have always been photography or the written word. Growing up, I do recall endlessly playing with Legos, so I may have a bit of a knack for visual/spatial thinking. Architecture though blends art, function, and engineering. The building has to be not only visually appealing, but functional, practical, and of course buildable. Architects have to go to grad school and do lengthy internships. They have to take math classes.

For the moment, this is only a hobby. Perhaps someday when I have some designs worth looking at I'll get some qualified people to look at them and tell me if I have any potential. For awhile I was designing a medieval castle, but it didn't turn out so attractive, so I'm beginning a new project, a large log home mansion. And its going to be quite large. I'll be including elements of the house soon enough, and eventually (if I ever finish it) I'll post the link to the house itself on this blog.

Anyways, here are some things that I'm looking at and being inspired by:
A large window and deck on a home built by Tectonics Builders. Not bad. I'm definitely building a big epic window that looks in on a great room. I've already designed a set of stairs for a deck.


This one, from Mountain Dream Log Mansions is also something I like. I DEFINITELY like the big wooden deck with the ceiling hanging over it. I like this log home as well from Precision Craft Log and Timber Homes, esp. The outdoor fireplace is nice as well, but I've got a better idea I think on making something like that more convenient and functional. I really like how the roof drapes over the large window. Another nice one from Precision Craft. I like how the deck wraps around the large window. Nice. You can tell I'm all about the wrap-around porches and decks. Anyways, enjoy. Feel free to leave links in the comments section to anything you think might be of interest to me.

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