CENTRO DE DISENO PORTOBELO

My house is on a slope. I’m interested in building a deck that needs to have a 30 foot beam span. Anyone know of any nifty solutions like trusses or steel beams that can accommodate a large span? What’s more, I’d love to put a hot tub on the deck, but that may be asking for too much…

For an exterior situation, and given the span, you’d probably have to use a steel I-beam. Steal beams can easily span that distance and bear your load if properly engineered. There are wood beams that can span that distance as well, but I’d have concerns about the lifespan of the beams depending on your environment and how you would properly protect the beam.

I am going to be a Junior in high school this September and was wondering when I should start building a graphic design portfolio and what to include in it such as assignments. What do colleges look for?

I would keep everything you do!!! You can pick all the best as you go and add them to your portfolio as you go. If you later decide you don’t want one of your works in your portfolio any longer you can always replace it with a new one – but you can’t go back if you don’t keep any.

You can organize by chronology, or subject matter, et cetera.

But the best way to go is to start as soon as you have a finished project.

(note) Don’t only put your assignments into your portfolio, but also put in any of your own original works as well – things done on your free time.

You can never have to much to show……….

I was wondering if anyone knows any good places to find floor layouts or pictures of warehouses turned into houses. I was thinking that when i buy a house i might just buy a warehouse or a plot of land and build a warehouse and then make that my house.

I’m pretty much looking for an open floor plan with the only walls being for a bathroom. I was also thinking of having it 2 floors, the second floor only having floor space on either end with a catwalk of some type and maybe have walls around those to make them bedrooms. Does anyone have any ideas of where I can find some good floor designs or pictures of anything like this?

Everything you want points to the standard "loft" design.

Large commercial buildings / factories in inner cities converted to the extreme open concept look are fabulous to say the least.

I can think of a dozen amazing designs seen on TV – HGTV, as buddy above me says – and also by googling "loft" or "loft layout" in text and Image searches. (the latter generates good results.)

I’m a huge fan of open concept designs, and bought a house 5 years ago with 900 Sq ft. of windows just on the back side of the house (130 feet long.)

If you were here I could design you an amazing loft / warehouse design on my Architect 3D 4.0 program (free download off limewire.com) in about 10 minutes.

I’m going to toss a couple things at you:

Steel buildings:
You can buy brand new steel buildings (round tops) with 20′ ceilings, eg 40 x 100 (4000 SF) here in Toronto for 55K CAD delivered, and another 12K installed (on a poured concrete pad.) You can do window cutouts, and so forth.
There are dealers all over the US that carry and custom build these to your specs.

I am just starting to really get into photography, I had taken pictures a lot that turned out well with a smaller camera… but, I would like to step up and start using professional cameras.

What is best to start off with that is in the price range of 600 – 900
If it helps, I like photographing people… children, couples.
I do like taking landscape and architectural pictures, but i enjoy photographing people more.
just take better photos. the quality of the camera i have isnt all that great.

Canon XS, XT, XTi, XSi, T1i

Nikon D40, 60, 90

I want to do something in home design. I wanted to know what job titles there are for home design? I am looking into architecture right now. But I would like to know of some more jobs! Thank you for taking the time to read my question!

Architect is the most obvious but there are also design jobs that don’t require you to be an engineer.

I worked for a firm previously. I am being laid off and looking to get some freelance jobs in the interim, or maybe a small business if there is enough interest. Unsure how to charge clients? Per hour or area? Amount range?

Any related advice is welcome!

Look at the scope and estimate how many hours of effort it will take. Multiply that by you desired hourly wage to get a lump sum estimate. Compare this amount to the estimated construction cost multiplied by a percentage.

If you have a license and will be stamping the drawings, you can charge more.

Assuming the AE program taught in the UK university and US university are of equal quality, what would essentially be the difference between the two? Would it be easier to find work with a Bachelor’s degree of AE from the UK or US?

Get it in the UK and you won’t have to deal with imperial units

are these the same degrees with different names? some colleges’ interior design programs are within the architecture dept. and some are within the fine arts dept. the coursework doesn’t seem that different. does anyone know which degree would be the best choice for future career income? i’m currently looking at the art institute of dallas..id degree in fine arts. help!

Architecture is what holds up the walls and the ceiling, including details like entries and windows.

Design is how the room is filled and decorated.

Of course, there are crossover elements, such as when a designer decides that exposed redwood beams need to be replaced with gothic arches. In such a case, it takes an architect to determine a safe way in which that ceiling can be redone. The designer is interested in "the look." The architect is interested in making sure the ceiling doesn’t collapse.

On the inverse, an architect has esthetic choices as well. If he wants "cathederal ceilings" and lofty staircases, he has only do design the structure in such a way that it, too, does not collapse.

The course work may have some similarities, but, an architect has more knowledge of physics and engineering principles while the designer would have more detailed knowlege of color theory, fabrics and such.

Is having your home built by known architects really expensive? is it reserved only for the rich? can someone who is not rich build his home through a known cabinet?

I think that Foster and Partners may decline to take on a project as mundane as a residence, unless it was exceptionally prominent in some way. And yes, their design fees would be quite expensive, not to mention the construction cost. If there are certain features that you would like incorporated into your house, you’d be much better off to assemble a package of photographs and drawings to take to a lesser known architect that would be willing to spend time working with you on your design.

I recently finished an AA degree in photography and have a pretty good portfolio. I would really like to get into architectural photography for either architecture developers or designers. How do I get started? Is there a website for construction architects I can ask in?
I live in Seattle, WA.

Since you have an AA in photography, I will assume you have the equipment to shoot architectural photographs.

This would include a 4×5 view camera with bag bellows and a 90 mm and 65 mm wide angle lens as well as at least one PC lens for either your Nikon or Canon 35 mm SLR or DSLR.

Then armed with your absolutely perfect architectural shots, exterior and interior, black and white and colour make appointments with all the architects and building developers in your area. But before you do that, call a few photographers who shoot architectural and find out that the going fees are. Look at their samples on line and then with a fee page in hand, start interviewing with the architects.