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Charlie Goerges

  • Karma: +0/-0
Armchr Arch Cont... Judges; the moment of truth is NIGH
« on: January 02, 2009, 10:15:43 PM »
Okay, the day is finally here and the contest will commence. Before getting into the details, I’d like to thank the judges for generously donating their time and effort to this contest. They are:

Yannick Pilon
Rich Goodale
Ian Andrew
Jeff Brauer
Tom Naccarato
Mike Nuzzo
Dave Schmidt
Paul Cowley
Ron Farris

Now as for the prize for the winner, a custom score card (as shown below; the reverse side is for a course map) signed by the judges, will be awarded.



Perhaps additional prizes will come about, but for now, that’s it.

There will be few rules for the contest. You’ll have about a month to complete your design. If one or more people just can’t finish in that amount of time we’ll extend it a bit, within reason. We’re going to use Google Sketchup to design the course, but if for some reason you are not able to make sketchup work properly, let me know and we’ll come up with a work-around. That might entail you printing out a hard copy of the map and drawing on it, then scanning it in and sending it to me for final conversion. Bear in mind that there is no way I could do this for everyone, so it’s best if you can do the sketchup work yourself (I’ll be available for questions/help throughout the process). When you’re done, send me your final sketchup file with your name in the filename. It can be emailed, or uploaded to your own online storage (if you have online storage set up...Microsoft gives you 5GB for free) and a link emailed to me. I’ll then replace the name with a number and forward to the judges. I’ll keep the database of names/numbers in a secure spot online.



The plan for rating the courses is as follows:

Each judge will score each course in two areas on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being the best).

The first area is routing. As I see it this includes using the natural features of the site well, providing a good variety of holes, and having a well thought-out course. However, the judges are free to interpret routing however they wish.

The second area is strategy. This should include an evaluation of any built or added features like trees and bunkers, but should also take into account any design decisions made by the contestant that are not covered by routing.

Additionally there will be a contest for best par 3, 4, and 5. The details are not all worked out yet, but the judges will be divided into 3 groups with each group coming up with the winner for one of the 3 categories.

For the purposes of the contest, I assume the judges will want to view the sketchup files, but if a simple aerial image with contour lines is preferred, that will be arranged.

Also, each contestant should prepare a post with an overall aerial and a few close-up shots of individual holes and accompanying descriptions. Those will be posted to another thread.

(Links for sketchup and the contest files will be in a following post. Tutorial and help information will follow as well.)



The client specifications are described in conjunction with the image below. Basically just don’t cross the entrance drive and don’t go into the dark green area. The area for the range is already decided, so all you have to do is design 18 holes. It will be a high-end public facility, but there is no set par or yardage. Returning nines would be preferable, but not to the detriment of the design. The course will be open 6-7 months a year, and under snow for much of the remainder. The actual site has nice mature hardwood trees scattered about its interior, but I have not mapped them in sketchup. So, if an area seems to fit well with a tree, place one there, and we’ll call it a mature transplant. Design it with 3 sets of tees.



Here is a topo map overlay that shows the higher elevations as lighter, and the lower elevations as darker. The contour lines are in 3-foot intervals. A high-res version of this map will be available for use outside of sketchup.



Here is the image rotated so that you can see how the map overlays the 3D model image:





Sketchup was chosen as the medium for the contest because it is free, and it allows for drawing in 2 dimensions, as well as working in 3 dimensions. It also allows for choosing color schemes that make viewing/differentiation easier and for creating views that can help elucidate the design.

Here is an example I did in sketchup using a different map.
Aerial:



View from behind the tee:



So, additional info to follow, but the bottom line is to let the creativity flow.

Oh, and post any questions, comments, considerations to this thread.

Good luck to everyone,

Charlie

« Last Edit: March 15, 2009, 11:06:45 AM by Charlie Goerges »
Severally on the occasion of everything that thou doest, pause and ask thyself, if death is a dreadful thing because it deprives thee of this. - Marcus Aurelius

Charlie Goerges

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2009, 10:17:02 PM »
Now begins the contest proper. First, go here to download Google Sketchup version 7: http://sketchup.google.com/download/gsu.html

Even if you’ve got sketchup on your system, make sure your version is up-to-date. Sketchup 7 won’t uninstall version 6, so you’ll either need to un-install it or make sure your shortcuts and Icons are updated/replaced.

Download the course sketchup file here: http://cid-f73fd6728c175582.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Armchair%20Architecture%20Contest/armchair%20architecture%20contest.skp

Download the high-res Map separately here: http://cid-f73fd6728c175582.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Armchair%20Architecture%20Contest/Map.jpg

Download the files located here: http://www.crai.archi.fr/RubyLibraryDepot/Ruby/Bezierspline.zip
and here: http://www.crai.archi.fr/RubyLibraryDepot/Ruby/ToolsOnSurface_131.zip
to your desktop.

Rather than do a whole bunch of complicated image-based tutorials, I decided to just run the video camera over my shoulder while I talked through all the setup steps. It will look somewhat amateurish, but it was much faster than the alternative. (For those interested, I use adobe captivate at work for this sort of thing, but unfortunately don’t have it at home; it is an excellent program). Anyhow, they are large files, so if you have trouble, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

Section 1: http://cid-f73fd6728c175582.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Armchair%20Architecture%20Contest/tutorials%201.wmv

Section 2: http://cid-f73fd6728c175582.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Armchair%20Architecture%20Contest/tutorials%202.wmv

Section 3: http://cid-f73fd6728c175582.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Armchair%20Architecture%20Contest/tutorials%203.wmv

Section 4: http://cid-f73fd6728c175582.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Armchair%20Architecture%20Contest/tutorials%204.wmv

You’ll notice my hand makes an Anthony Gray-esque appearance in one of the videos.

« Last Edit: January 02, 2009, 10:30:11 PM by Charlie Goerges »
Severally on the occasion of everything that thou doest, pause and ask thyself, if death is a dreadful thing because it deprives thee of this. - Marcus Aurelius

Peter Pallotta

Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2009, 10:52:43 PM »
Charlie - just wonderful work here, and very much appreciated.  Thanks for trying to make this as easy as possible. And to the judges - thanks much, gents. (Why would they want to do it, I keep asking myself?...)

Peter

Mike Nuzzo

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2009, 11:26:18 PM »
Wow.
Very impressive.
Peter - I'm sure I'll learn a few things myself with this exercise.
I already have just by looking at those images.

Charlie - why did you locate the clubhouse?
If you make that the optional spot - there will be a lot more options...
Or the options will be quite a bit different...
And the process is much harder....
Or are you saving that for the next one....

Cheers

Thinking of Bob, Rihc, Bill, George, Neil, Dr. Childs, & Tiger.

Charlie Goerges

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2009, 11:37:55 PM »
Thanks Peter and Mike, I only hope it lives up to the hype!

Regarding the clubhouse location, since the site is a real course that already exists, I decided to place the driveway, clubhouse, range etc where they are on the real course. This was partly so that folks can compare their design to the original, and partly to make it easier for everyone to get started. BTW, it wasn't designed by anyone who posts here; to the best of my knowledge.
Severally on the occasion of everything that thou doest, pause and ask thyself, if death is a dreadful thing because it deprives thee of this. - Marcus Aurelius

Mike Nuzzo

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2009, 12:57:36 AM »
So how do I judge someone who relocates the clubhouse?
I'd also suggest that the entrants are allowed to clear a few acres of trees.

I predict the winner will be a good one.
I also predict that the average attempt will be better than usual based on the shape of the property.
Good choice in that regard.

I think most of the entrants will make a sketch by hand in the course of a couple days.  They can take a picture of them and post 'em.
Sketch-up may be easy for you, but a lot of guys here can barely figure out how to post an image - and many can't - for good reasons too.

Cheers
Thinking of Bob, Rihc, Bill, George, Neil, Dr. Childs, & Tiger.

Ian_L

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #6 on: January 03, 2009, 01:19:25 AM »
Mike, I am by no means technically talented (just ask Charlie), but I had almost no problems with Sketchup.  Charlie made a PDF tutorial for the earlier activity which was very good, so I suspect his video tutorials are even better.  Charlie, is there anything else we need to learn about Sketchup that we did not use in the previous activity?

Sketchup really is a fun tool because it allows you to "see" your holes.  As a true amateur, I found many of my holes looked different than I envisioned on the topo.


Also Charlie, I noticed you shaded in rough for your sample hole.  Would you recommend doing this in our final project, or should we just assume nearby grass will be mowed to a reasonable height?  I guess it depends somewhat on what the surrounding vegetation is.

One more: is the practice putting green in the "driving range" area, or do we need to include one?
« Last Edit: January 03, 2009, 01:39:17 AM by Ian_Linford »

Charlie Goerges

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #7 on: January 03, 2009, 01:52:16 AM »
Mike, I'll leave the judging up to you and the other judges. I am sure that there are occasions where the client is wrong :o and a change of plan will improve the course. So if someone does relocate the clubhouse and/or remove some trees, feel free to rate it as you see fit (I'll try to mute my sobs over the loss of tree life :'(). As far as folks possibly not wanting to use sketchup, all I'll say is that I think everyone will find it easier than they expect.


Ian, the main difference with the last exercise is the addition of some new tools. The last couple of downloads in my second post are plugins. They are a set of bezier tools (for making more organic-looking curves that are easier to edit) and surface drawing tools for drawing directly on the 3D surface. The videos show how to install the tools, and demonstrates drawing with the bezier tools. I haven't used the surface tools for anything other than closing paths that are causing problems, so I didn't demonstrate them, but they may come in handy later on.

EDIT: I missed the part about the rough. I guess I just tend to prefer the look because in my mind the rough is part of the design. I envision the brown colored area in the examples as sort of a long-fescue/scrubby area, so the differentiation is pleasing to my eye.
« Last Edit: January 03, 2009, 02:01:04 AM by Charlie Goerges »
Severally on the occasion of everything that thou doest, pause and ask thyself, if death is a dreadful thing because it deprives thee of this. - Marcus Aurelius

Garland Bayley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2009, 12:22:06 PM »
Bump,

Don't want this going off the first page for awhile.
"I enjoy a course where the challenges are contained WITHIN it, and recovery is part of the game  not a course where the challenge is to stay ON it." Jeff Warne

Charlie Goerges

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #9 on: January 03, 2009, 03:13:12 PM »
All:

I am going to PM all of the judges and the people on the "information-gathering" thread who showed interest with a link to this thread. Once again, if you have questions please post them to this thread. And don't wait until you are extremely frustrated to ask, let us know right away, and someone will probably be able to help immediately.
Severally on the occasion of everything that thou doest, pause and ask thyself, if death is a dreadful thing because it deprives thee of this. - Marcus Aurelius

Nicholas Coppolo

Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #10 on: January 03, 2009, 07:20:48 PM »
do we have deadlines?

Charlie Goerges

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #11 on: January 03, 2009, 07:43:32 PM »
We'll set the deadline for February 3rd (so as not to interfere with all the Groundhog Day festivities). If you want to participate, but the deadline is a problem, PM me and we'll work on an equitable solution.
Severally on the occasion of everything that thou doest, pause and ask thyself, if death is a dreadful thing because it deprives thee of this. - Marcus Aurelius

paul cowley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #12 on: January 03, 2009, 10:29:58 PM »
Charlie....really very good stuff, not to mention the considerable effort you've expended.
paul cowley...golf course architect/asgca

Garland Bayley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #13 on: January 03, 2009, 10:37:09 PM »
Now begins the contest proper. First, go here to download Google Sketchup version 7: http://sketchup.google.com/download/gsu.html

Even if you’ve got sketchup on your system, make sure your version is up-to-date. Sketchup 7 won’t uninstall version 6, so you’ll either need to un-install it or make sure your shortcuts and Icons are updated/replaced.

Download the course sketchup file here: http://cid-f73fd6728c175582.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Armchair%20Architecture%20Contest/armchair%20architecture%20contest.skp
...

I guess I'm in real trouble with this contest. I clicked on the above, nothing downloaded, but a new tab opened up with a bunch of what appears to be gibberish to me. I have no idea what to do with that page other than to read the QWest ad.

What's Dovetail Saw? And of what significance is it?
"I enjoy a course where the challenges are contained WITHIN it, and recovery is part of the game  not a course where the challenge is to stay ON it." Jeff Warne

Tom Dunne

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #14 on: January 03, 2009, 11:07:12 PM »
What template do you use if you're installing Sketchup for the first time?

Garland Bayley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #15 on: January 03, 2009, 11:10:27 PM »
I don't know what is recommended by Charlie, but I read through the list and there was something like landscape or some such that I chose the feet and inches version of.
"I enjoy a course where the challenges are contained WITHIN it, and recovery is part of the game  not a course where the challenge is to stay ON it." Jeff Warne

PCCraig

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #16 on: January 03, 2009, 11:23:58 PM »
Awesome!

I'm getting started right now.
H.P.S.

Charlie Goerges

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #17 on: January 04, 2009, 12:07:55 AM »
Sorry it took me a while to get back and read the replies.

Garland, the popup page is the landing page for my skydrive account. Upper left corner of the page below "armchair architecture.skp" is dovetail saw (that's my handle on there, and my favorite woodworking tool) and right below that is a link entitled download, that will download the file.

Tom, the template doesn't matter much, I believe that when you open my file, it will use the template I used, so selecting what Garland recommended will work just fine.
Severally on the occasion of everything that thou doest, pause and ask thyself, if death is a dreadful thing because it deprives thee of this. - Marcus Aurelius

Garland Bayley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #18 on: January 04, 2009, 12:16:21 AM »
There were the words dowload and embed that looked like links. I clicked on the word download and nothing happened.
"I enjoy a course where the challenges are contained WITHIN it, and recovery is part of the game  not a course where the challenge is to stay ON it." Jeff Warne

Charlie Goerges

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #19 on: January 04, 2009, 12:22:57 AM »
Garland, I logged out of my account and opened up Internet Explorer. I am now having the same problem as you. I'll try to get it figured out.

Is anyone else having the same problem?

Sorry about the difficulty,

Charlie
Severally on the occasion of everything that thou doest, pause and ask thyself, if death is a dreadful thing because it deprives thee of this. - Marcus Aurelius

Michael Dugger

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #20 on: January 04, 2009, 12:52:05 AM »
yes same prob.  i want to get started!!!
What does it matter if the poor player can putt all the way from tee to green, provided that he has to zigzag so frequently that he takes six or seven putts to reach it?     --Alistair Mackenzie--

Ian_L

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #21 on: January 04, 2009, 12:53:31 AM »
Charlie, I did have the same problem yesterday, but it's working fine for me now.  I'm using Google Chrome.

Charlie Goerges

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #22 on: January 04, 2009, 01:03:07 AM »
Okay, I was able to download the file with firefox, apple safari, but not with Internet Explorer.

If you have one of those browsers available, or chrome as Ian mentioned, you may have more luck.  I'll keep on it, but I've got to run. best of luck.

Charlie
Severally on the occasion of everything that thou doest, pause and ask thyself, if death is a dreadful thing because it deprives thee of this. - Marcus Aurelius

Michael Dugger

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #23 on: January 04, 2009, 02:31:45 AM »
Update....

I could not get the file downloaded with Google Chrome, not on a vista machine at least.

I did get it downloaded with Opera, though.

I watched the tutorials.  Epic work Charlie.  You've outdone yourself.

Question, though, is there a way to free form bunker shapes, or are we stuck with round and square?
What does it matter if the poor player can putt all the way from tee to green, provided that he has to zigzag so frequently that he takes six or seven putts to reach it?     --Alistair Mackenzie--

Ian_L

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: The Armchair Architecture Contest...Finally
« Reply #24 on: January 04, 2009, 03:55:40 AM »
Wow Charlie, great tutorial.  One more question: do you see any possible problems if I hide the mesh & contours when drawing on the 2-D map?  Doing this drastically increases my computer's performance in Sketchup.

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