Solar Time Vs Man made Time

On a very recent trip to Italy, I happen to see this excellent pair of clocks on a church, one was a solar clock, the other a mechanical clock.

If you look carefully, you can see that the solar clock shows 12 pm, yet the mechanical clock shows 11 am, yet both are right. Let me explain, the solar clock is as the sun depicts, it can not be changed, well not on this stone solar clock, yet the mechanical clock can be altered, as we enter daylight saving.

I like this a lot, it show how time works and how man has altered time to suite his needs, it opens up a lot for both shadow work, surveying and a simple yet fundamental view of our Solar system, the tilt of the earth to the sun, and its effect on weather.

Such a simple photo yet so full of information.

I will use this next year as I teach first year students in both simple surveying and detailing.

A site view not to miss, watch and learn

This week, I shall take some of my students to the top of a carpark roof to view a construction site below, its the ideal way to watch a site in daily operation, see the way the site is laid out and where and why construction is started.

We take with us the gantt chart and look for items that should be completed and whats just started.
I wanted to add a time lapse video, but it just got messy, so the photo is all I can do, except it will be the same photo spot and on each Friday, so given enough photos I can make a nice time lape video.

There is so much to be learned by just sitting and watching, shadow, rain its worth the time to observe, and see how it interacts with your details.
I like to touch and feel, old details, even on the surface there is still things to learn, drip details, overhangs, change of material, and in an old city ike Birmingham, there are detail example that have been working well for over 100 years.

So often details are the result of committees, groups of well meaning people who look after buildings and add things without realising the effects, adding pipes, drainage, ramps, thinking the builder will sort it out, so often not,,,,,,,

Related articles

• Sequence of Operations
• Architectural Technologist - Gantt Charts
• Great Western Arcade Glazing
• A Walk Through the back Streets of Birmingham
• Architectural Technologist - Model making
• My Students use of a Library

Night Time Shadows or Architecture by night

It's not till you walk through a city by night, do you get the chance to see all sides of a building, from the daylight shadows, and its general use by its occupants.

But its a night you see a completely different side to a building, the suns shadows replaced by artificial lighting that competes with the moon and plays tricks on shadows never intended by the Architect.

And it was as I walked back from the Hotel of the CIAT presidents ball, that I suddenly noticed this, the cold wind biting through a rather thin dress suite, I stood to look at a grand old building and admire the new silhouette that now presented its self to me, where hours before I saw something completely different.

We spend so long designing for daylight, but so often we ignore the dark and often n=missed opportunity to see a completely different side of Architecture, yet its one that during the winter months presents its self more.

For me its a new side to my CPD, looking at shadow, and reflecting on the Dark Shadow of the moon and artificial light.

RMI report on the Energy Storage North America conference (ESNA 2015)

One thing is unmistakably clear: the energy storage market is only in its infancy and is poised for huge growth in the coming decade, and it will make the biggest impact we have seen on construction in general.

Why do I say this, well I have just been reading the report of the RMI, Rocky Mountain Institute on the  Energy Storage North America conference (ESNA 2015) in San Diego, California. 

We can expect massive changes in the way we create, store, distribute, and use electricity, and you can easily see that this will have an effect on the way we design, and detail. Plus the way we treat the sun, its position, and out use of via both PV and water panels, ie roof orientation, and the attachment of panels to gather the best of the sun, ie tracking software.

This is not just a USA project, the impact is global, so perhaps the UK government can take another look at the nuclear plants they plan to build.

Big apologies for the blatant use of the battery logo from the RMI report, but it say's it all.

To read the report use this link