Welcome one and all to this latest installment of the Armchair Architecture Contest. I’m greatly pleased with all of the interest in it. This year’s contest will be a bit different than last year.
- For starters, contestants won’t be required to use google sketchup. You may still use it if you wish, and I do think it is great for people who are not experienced with reading topographic maps.
- Second, there will be far fewer constraints placed upon you based upon site restrictions and other factors. So you’ll be free to just design whatever makes you happiest.
- Lastly, this site is FICTIONAL. Not a real site. That’s not to say that the contours are all from my imagination, because they are not. Most are from a couple of real courses melded together (and flipped, stretched, shrunken etc.) with my imagination just tying them together.
So now to rules; there are none! (or at least very few)
- Place the clubhouse/entrance road whereever you would like.
- Design as many holes as you would like (as long as it’s at least 18)
- You must be able to submit electronically. That may mean you print out a map, draw on it, then scan it back in, but that is a lot of work for you, and leaves all of your eggs in one basket. Better for you to use one of the free paint programs and draw in layers that can be turned on and off (more on that later).
- You’ll have to submit some sort of “presentation” that consists of some design info like strategies, overall look and feel of the course, and anything else you think is pertinent. Not looking for a PHD thesis on this, but something that would appeal to a real client. Also, some sketches or ground-level perspective images would be great (this is where sketchup can really shine).
Without further ado, here is a scaled-down version of the topo. The darker the shade of gray, the lower the elevation. The squares represent 40-acre parcels. The topo lines are on 2-foot intervals, so the elevation range is from 90 to 140 feet. The distance scale is included on the bottom.
I’ll be providing several full-size file types (i.e. photoshop, paint.net, Sketchup) in a day or so along with instructions, but I want to get the contest out there and give you guys a couple of days to digest it. Feel free to do some preliminary routings or whatever, but I suggest you wait to get the full-size files so that you can see all of the elevation numbers and have as much room as necessary for your designs.
A few thoughts. Please feel free to give any feedback you’d like now or at any point during the contest. It all helps. Also, while a 640 acre property may seem overwhelming, it needn’t be. Use as much or as little as you feel like. You don’t need to use every possible parcel for an 18 hole course. This contest is for YOU! You can go as in-depth as you like on your design/presentation, and you can do it in the method of your choosing. SO NO EXCUSES FOR ANYONE! If you don’t have time etc, that fine and good, but there are no software requirements for you to do this exercise.
Last thing, we currently have 3 judges and one grand prize. I’ll expound on the subject more later, but we can use more judges, if there are some folks out there with the time and desire to do so. Feel free to post or PM me if you’d like to judge. Anyhoo, our judges are currently Tommy Naccarato, Tim Nugent, and Mike Nuzzo. Mike and Tommy were judges last year, Tim is new for us this year. Again, more judges would be greatly appreciated, but three is great too. Thanks to our judges!
EDIT:
Okay, below are the files that have been requested. If you would like to use a paint program but don't have one and would not like to buy one, there is a free one called
Paint.Net that is relatively easy to use. It will let you use the PDN file I linked below and you can draw on a separate layer so that you don't have to keep starting over. Just go to google and put in
Paint.Net and you'll get there.
You only need to download
ONE of the files below. You can download as many as you wish, but you only
need ONE.
Shaded JPEG version: http://cid-f73fd6728c175582.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/AAC2%20Base%20Files/AAC%20topo%20map.jpgUn-shaded version: http://cid-f73fd6728c175582.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/AAC2%20Base%20Files/AAC%20topo%20map%20no^_shading.tifSketchup File: http://cid-f73fd6728c175582.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/AAC2%20Base%20Files/AAC2.skpPhotoshop File: http://cid-f73fd6728c175582.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/AAC2%20Base%20Files/AAC%20topo%20map.psdPaint.Net File: http://cid-f73fd6728c175582.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/AAC2%20Base%20Files/AAC%20topo%20map.pdnCAD File (dwg): http://cid-f73fd6728c175582.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/AAC2%20Base%20Files/AAC%20topo%20map.dwgThere they are, please post any questions.