Add a Floor for only $129

There are tens of thousands of new web-based services that do practically everything, from counting kids' allowances to photo editing to managing your sales process. One of them is FloorPlanner, "the easiest way to create floor plans". They provide a simple web interface with drag and drop capability for true ease of use. 

 

The service offers two types of personal accounts, in addition to several professional account types: Free (but ad-supported), which provides the ability to create "one house" and a "Plus" account that permits up to "5 houses" without any distracting ads. Plus costs a very low €19 per year. 

 

The development we noticed was a special option to actually print the floor you've designed - for only USD$129. FloorPlanner has teamed with industry giant Materialise to produce the printed floors, apparently "within 10 days" each.

 

FloorPlanner suggests these models would be excellent for builders and architects to show to prospective clients as well as "a great gift for new home-owners". We totally agree. 

 

Via FloorPlanner

Sweet Onion Dwelling

The nice people at Sweet Onion Creations focus on building highly realistic 3D architectural models, often making heavy use of 3D printing technology. They've posted a video of how they go about the build process, which combines advanced 3D printing with many conventional model building techniques. In the video they construct an amazingly detailed model of a house.
 
There are many aspects of the model that can't be 3D printed today, including the basswood siding, fuzzy landscaping vegetation, high-tension cabling and of course the interior electrical lighting. However, the conclusion is clear: combining 3D printing with conventional techniques results in an amazing model.

Via YouTube

Designing Interface Architecture

FABberz and the Live Architecture Network are collaborating on a new venture to bring design tools to students in Brazil. Their idea: produce collaborative designs with residents and students to improve housing conditions in the slums of Rio de Janeiro.

They'll be holding a series of workshops leading up to the 2016 Olympics, which are being held in Rio in that year. The first workshop will be held with local architects soon. Students will be introduced to "cutting edge parametric design tools", and their goal will be housing that is not only affordable, but also sustainable. Hopefully issues with housing, crime and drugs will be reduced.

The project needs funding, as all projects do. They've chosen to use Kickstarter as their fundraising platform. The project requires USD$7,000, but has only $1,000 as of this writing. Deadline: January 9, 2010. If you would like to support this worthy venture, please proceed directly to the link below!

And you thought there were few good spin-offs from the Olympics!

Via KickStarter