The All Nighter

Month

June 2011

31 posts

Things You Should Invest In But May Not Know It...

In Studio there are many things to buy and spend money on…but there are also some things that you may overlook.  Sure, they are luxury items but sometimes they really do make your life better.   Here are some “not so obvious” items you should spend your summer cash on:

1 - A Comfortable Mouse - you think it’d be obvious since you use the computer everyday (especially later years) that you should invest in a good mouse.  You would not believe the mice that some kids use…tiny ones that cramp your hands…crappy ones that don’t allow precise movement…etc.  I own a Logitech and I’m pretty sure I used it more than my ipod and I obviously used it as much as my laptop so yea…treat yourself to a good mouse

2 - A Good Studio Chair - your gonna use this more than your bed and it’s probably gonna be your bed at some point.  Where I went the chairs were good but not the best, unfortunately I never got to buy one but I envied the kids who did.  Buy a nice chair and a lock to chain it to your desk cause trust me…people are gonna “borrow” it all the time. \

3 - A Nice Big Coffee Maker - This, for obvious reasons but there are also some more benefits that are not so obvious.  Everyone who drinks it, you can make chip in, and your doing other people a favor for something you were gonna do anyway…never know when that favor will come back at ya!

4 - A Piece of Carpet or Rug - Obviously you would be in studio more often than your apartment or dorm. So instead of planting your bare feet on the cold studio floor or wearing your shoes all night, a nice carpet can do wonders. Similar to what John Mclane did in Die Hard, dig your toes into the fibers and feel at home.. even though you’re in hell. 

None of these are necessary but can make your life better in studio which is always a good thing.  You guys got any more suggestions?

May 31, 201129 notes
#Architecture #studio #mouse #coffee #maker #chair #comfort

May 2011

43 posts

We need Beer and BBQ money!!!

Happy summer to all. As the topic says we need Beer and BBQ money for the season. In honor of yet another fun filled summer vacay many of our followers are taking we are now reducing our shirt prices to $12.  That’s right just email us at theallnightr@gmail with your full address and shirt size. If you have a paypal account the transaction would go so much smoother. Enjoy the time off from studio but look stylish while you’re doing it. 

 

May 31, 2011
Being 9 Days to NYC. What do you recommend the TopTenMustSee for an architectural student?

If you don’t mind we can actually tour you around ourselves.

May 26, 20111 note
May 25, 201149 notes
#pencil #art #Architecture #mechanical #pen #lead holder #set
LuLu Self Publishing → lulu.com

Also for binding check out this site.  Not sure of the quality but great for mass printing and binding 

May 25, 20114 notes
how do people bind portfolios?

Most places that print portfolios also bind. Whether its spiral, plastic bind or center staple. I once actually did a nice Japanese bind for my second year. Binding is actually quite important in my opinion.

May 24, 20112 notes
My professor is obsessed with collages;however I always have difficulty creating one. I don't know if this is a universal thing or not, but he wants us to follow what is called the "rules of the collage". This seems a bit ridiculous to me because I would have thought a collage was something that required no "rules", so can you guys help me find some examples?

I think collages are great. They are like a fun way to express your ideas besides your sketchbook because lets face it sometimes sketching can get alittle bland. I guess the only rules I would follow is legibility. One might think a collage should be insanely obscure but I say that even though the proportions and orientation don’t seem that refined there are subtle ways to project a very organized and concise idea

The first thing that comes to mind would obviously be the order things go in. In a collage there realy is no indication whether you’re reading from left to right or visa versa. So if you are trying to communicate chronologically or in order of importance you should put more consideration of the Z axis. 

Secondly even though a collage doesn’t really have a scale you should keep the proportions correct, emphasize the adjacencies of items (if applicable), play with opacities (play with photoshop in general)

A collage is a free for all but the rules are made by you. Whatever needs attention or emphasis must be under some sort of underlying principle.  

May 24, 20111 note
Play
May 23, 20112 notes
May 23, 20111 note
May 23, 201134 notes
May 22, 201110 notes
Half of these buildings were taught to me in history class → cracked.com
May 22, 20114 notes
Archibot.

This is what happens when you find a roll of card, 12 hours into a studio sesh.

I am all for fun but the inner student within me thinks this is a big waste of material but looks like a shit ton of awesome

May 18, 201113 notes
May 17, 201112 notes
Re: the portfolio question a few down Can you provide some links to good portfolios as reference?

Ummm tumblr people. Yeah a lot of our student followers have their portfolios on their tumblrs. Indicator a.k.a Keith Bradley has a very solid portfolio on his site. http://www.keith-bradley.com/arch/Portfolio/Portfolio.html

May 17, 20116 notes
I briefly used rhino this past semester, however I don't quite understand what exactly it should be used for. I know 3ds max well, so I'm not quite sure which is "better."

It’s really up to preference. Rhino is a surface modeler while 3DS Max is a solid modeler. I don’t want to say which one is better but Rhino busts shit out pretty quickly. Even though Rhino is not owned by Autodesk it works well with AutoCad and 3DS Max. For example you can take line drawings from Rhino and work with them in AutoCAD or even fucking Illustrator! You can also take a Rhino model and render it in 3DS Max! When it comes to program interconnectivity you have to develop your own lingo and shortcuts.  

May 17, 20111 note
Hey guys, I always wanted to learn Rhino, wouldn't have an instructor, did you teach yourself/was it easy to learn? Also how useful do you think it is in the ~~real world~~?

One of my professors gave me a quick rundown of the essentials in ten minutes. After that I pretty much learned it myself. The motto I go by it that if you describe a command odds are thats the name of the command. For example “unroll” unrolls a surface. “Smash” smashes a surface. Also googling Rhino commands aren’t too bad. I myself taught a handful of people who knew nothing about 3D within an hour. I guess since it’s the summer time play around with it but try to keep it within the confines of architecture. In my opinion it’s easier than learning fucking Excel LOL.

May 17, 20113 notes
hey! so this summer my friends and I are thinking about taking a course in either 3dsmax, rhino or autocad. which one of these do you think would benefit the most? (we just finished our first year.)

Autocad is a “must know” but it’s easy to pick up.

 Rhino is super helpful and probably my favorite program…this will put you ahead of the game by far in terms of possibilities and production.

 3dsmax is awesome and I really don’t know how to use it myself.  It produces the sickest renders and animations…In my opinion its the most advanced so learn it last

I would take the rhino course and learn Autocad on your own

May 16, 20112 notes
hey! i have yet to see some posts about portfolios.. do you guys have any advice for em? and i mean mostly for jobs, not uni entry

The average employer would go through a fifty page portfolio in less then a minute. This is more of less fact because they have hundreds to go through. A university has more time and man power to go through everything. The key is too have as many what I like to call “big nuts” as possible. A series of spreads that would stop them from clicking a hundred miles a second. Obviously we should all strive for perfection but what most would call a truly good portfolio works in unison. This is NOT good for a job. A portfolio that makes more sense as you go through it is indeed a very good one but an employer doesn’t give a shit. That’s where the “big nuts” come in. Either have a page/spread be totally fantastic. Several that shocks, impresses and best of all makes them ask questions. Because simply getting an interview is fucking impressive these days.

When you do get an interview it’s really up to you which version of you portfolio you want to show. The one that works in harmony or the one with the “big nuts” in it. But I would like to stress how important it is to have several versions of your portfolio. I guess if we were to use analogies…. the one that fully explains the project, goes through the meticulous thought process, documents everything, fully explains objectives and more or less looks and functions like a thesis is like a very long commited relationship that took a lot of effort. The other portolio is like a super hot guy or girl you met on spring break and fucked but will never see again. One renders more results with less effort.

May 16, 20119 notes
May 15, 201155 notes
May 14, 20115,117 notes
I am currently deciding what computer to buy between a dell xps or a mac pro. What architecture programs do not run on macs?

Usually people with Macs install a seperate windows partition to run things like Rhinoceros. I feel like this topic comes up a lot and we always give the same answer because I have an Alienware and my partner for this blog has a Mac.

Autodesk programs do not run on mac…there is a version of CAD that does but it’s not the best…same with Rhino.  I have a Mac pro and using bootcamp is fine for me so it’s really up to you and what you wanna do

May 13, 2011
May 12, 201175 notes
May 12, 20117 notes
May 11, 20114 notes
#Architecture #fail #design
Hi, what brand or os do you prefer for architecture student? (for cad, sketch-up& rendering)

LOL I have a PC and my partner has a MAC. So split.

(just to add a comment) - Mac runs smooth but until they make all the arch programs universal you will have to use bootcamp for autodesk programs…etc.  Adobe runs better on mac though, in my opinion 

May 11, 20111 note
May 9, 201117 notes
May 9, 20117 notes
Happy Hour this Friday and you're all invited!!!

Hey just another reminder to all that this Friday at Turtle Bay in NYC you are all invited to a 2 hour 1/2 off on everything Happy Hour. In honor of all of our awesome followers and the end of the school year everyone of you is invited. Just say my name “Ben Chan” at the door and you will get a drink bracelet 9pm-11pm. So if you’re in NYC this Friday the 13th swing by because we all know that architecture students turn into blazing fiends when alcohol is involved. Lastly, first one to introduce themselves to me or Stanz gets a free shirt!!!! BOOM THAT JUST HAPPENED!!!!

May 9, 20112 notes
Dudes, I've visited your blog like 100 times and still try to click the original Photoshop buttons and to see what comes out. :) sick

Hmmm maybe we should design a CAD style

May 9, 20113 notes
Which school do you guys go to?

Friend us on facebook and your question will be answered.

May 9, 2011
May 9, 201139 notes
#optical #illusions #sculpture #Neil Dawson
Attn Architectureofhappiness!!!!!!!

Architectureofhappiness. You have won a free shirt but I have no idea how I should contact you. Please email us your full address and shirt size! theallnightr@gmail.com

May 9, 20111 note
what brand do you print the shirts out on? American Apparel? Hanes? just trying to figure out what the quality of these are.. i know beggers can't be choosers, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

I actually had to outsource the work to Korea because no silk screener in America would press 29 different colors. The shirt itself is comparable to a Gildan Ultra Cotton shirt and has a nice softness to it. Yeah I wish we could have gotten American Apparel preshrunk but we’re making thin profits as it is. Hope that answered your question.

May 9, 2011
10 tricks to the trade

Here are some tips submitted by formative …can’t say I fully agree with everything but as a whole it’s on point

10 Tricks to the trade i’ve learned from the past 4 years:

1. when you’re caught in that moment where your brain is literally making a buzzing noise in your head because you’ve been up so long and class starts in a couple hours and you’re desperate for a couple hours of sleep AND you know that you WILL NOT wake up no matter how loud is your alarm is here’s the trick: Sleep on the floor. Lets face it, you’re know you’re at the point you’re going to sleep no matter what angle you’re sleeping in, just sleep in a really really uncomfortable spot so that you’ll wake up, if not by the 6+ alarms you have than through the shear pain the floor is impacting on your hips.

2. If you don’t want to work, you simply won’t work. Your mind says go but your body just won’t do it. Don’t force it- might as well as get a good few hours in instead of 40 hours, of which 80% of it was spent on facebook. Besides architects work best under deadlines

3. deactivate your facebook account. The creepy thing about it is, is that you can never actually delete your account. Just fall off the face of the earth so no facebook message will ever distract you, then you can retrieve it whenever you’d like.

4. never look at the clock. Why the hell do you think casinos don’t have clocks?

5. laugh. Putting on a funny movie while you work will always keep you up. Just gets you excited.

6. Never use hot glue. That stuff is used for people who glue fuzzy pipe wire things on to paper plates. We are architects goddamit. Hot glue are marks of a first year.

7. Also pretty against foam core as well. There’s nothing as nauseating of seeing a model where you can tell your blade hasn’t been switched so it does this thing where it catches on to the foam and tears up the rest of the foam core. 

8. You know you fancy when you make your whole model out of plexi glass.  (almost as fancy as 3d printing a huge model)

9. Have wet wipes and nail polish remover at your desk. Nothing uglier than finding finger prints on museum board. or places where you’ve clearly have gotten your finger stuck from the super glue

10. Models have a life span. Don’t expect models to move very far nor take a car ride without some damage. Have a tool belt with such supplies as: Super glue, small slab of extra materials, and an xacto. Also if you are going to move stuff, save stuff like people and trees to put on AT the site of your presentation.

May 8, 201150 notes
Play
1:51
May 8, 20112 notes
Shirts fo Sale

Hey if anyone is interested in buying one please email a request to theallnightr@gmail.com with Minimalist Arch Shirt in the subject. As of now we’re just going to use paypal to conduct these transactions. Shirts cost $16 before shipping. Once you email us your full address we can estimate cost for ground shipping. What a way to end the semester with a purchase that’s not FUCKING CHIPBOARD!!!! O crap almost forgot! We promised to give away a few of these babies. Well this weekend we will be drawing names out of a hat. Remember only those who reblogged that post from ages ago will be in the raffle. For those who haven’t please donate to theallnighter Beer Fund and in return you will get a shirt.

May 5, 20118 notes
Dudes, how about you "give away" a shirt for me ?? :))

We are drawing for the raffle this Saturday. Another opportunity is to come to our open bar at Turtle Bay May Friday the 13th and be the first to find either one of the founders of The All Nighter. Ony then will we give you a free shirt. But hey you can always buy one. LOL.

May 5, 20113 notes
May 4, 2011112 notes
Open Bar and all of my followers are invited

Hey everybody!!! Congrats on finishing yet another year of architecture school or congrats on graduating or congrats on getting into grad school. In honor of of yet another year passing by I would like to cordially invite all of my followers to an open bar in NYC. It will be on May 13th at Turtle Bay Bar in Midtown. If you would like to come simply email us at theallnightr@gmail.com so I can put you on the guest list. All drinks will be half off for two hours so expect some drunk ass arch kids. So kick off your heels, throw away your arch scales and join me in an end of the year celebration. O yeah if your the first one to approach me “Ben Chan” you get a free shirt. Yeah!!!! So for my Pratt, Cooper Union, Columbia, New School, NYIT and City College followers I expect you guys to be there. If you’re just in the city passing by you should def drop in. 

May 4, 201111 notes
May 2, 201120 notes
“What’s better than two girls scissoring? Two girls using xacto knives to cut their material instead. WORD PLAY!” —Ben Chan
May 2, 20113 notes
R.I.P. F.O.A. → archinect.com
May 2, 2011
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