Image from Google SketchUp
This is just great program that I came across recently. It is a free 3-D modeling program through Google. Here is what they say about it:
Google SketchUp (free) is an easy-to-learn 3D modeling program that enables you to explore the world in 3D. With just a few simple tools, you can create 3D models of houses, sheds, decks, home additions, woodworking projects – even space ships. And once you’ve built your models, you can place them in Google Earth, post them to the 3D Warehouse, or print hard copies.
It is very simple to use, but you could spend hours just playing with it. I want to use this more with my students because it opens up a whole world of design and architecture that I don’t think is available to them in this format. It can be downloaded here.
Massive Change
I wrote about the Massive Change exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago since I was anticipating it before it opened. This weekend, I finally got a chance to check it out, and I was not at all disappointed. It is hard to describe this exhibit in a blog post or through examples, but I will try my best. As I understood it, we are living in a world where design is becoming more important. And when I say design, I do not merely mean graphic or industrial design. As it states for the Massive Change web site:
How can we as humans design the world we live in so everyone has clean drinking water, a place to live, and have access to information? How can we as humans create sustainable design so natural resources are not eaten up, and we are able to reuse and recycle everything? How can we design a world where everyone can live comfortably? I believe that a lot of the ideas presented in this exhibit require an enormous amount of cooperation throughout the “global city”. We, as Americans, tend to ignore the outside world, but I hope that day comes to an end soon. I feel it is only right that this movement take flight, so I’m glad that someone has started the conversation.