SoVibrant Opinion8

Postcards from the Edge

2012-03-07T10:32:00.000Z

We often have design critiques here in the office about various projects by SoVibrant and other companies in the design world.

In fact our blog is regularly a sounding board for employees to voice opinions on a variety of buildings and interior projects.

With other people’s work you can usually only go on first impressions, when commenting on a project’s merits or lack of them, especially if you don’t know a project’s life history.

So when I saw these tongue in cheek postcards from a travelling Architect they did make me smile. There’s a critic inside all of us !

Architecture and Design

www.sovibrant.co.uk

The Széchenyi Spa, Budapest

2012-03-05T17:06:00.001Z

2012 has already been a manic year for SOV so as an early reward and break for myself, I managed to sneak off on a little break to Budapest and enjoy some fantastic spa experiences with some good friends of mine.

One of the spas in particular, The Széchenyi Spa is definitely worth telling you about. Known for its beautiful architecture and interior and 15 huge pools, The Széchenyi was certainly worth the visit.

One of the most fantastic features for me was the outdoor pool - no ordinary pool. Heated (naturally) from 910metres below ground and reaching a massive 38 degrees in temperature, it was like heaven. The experience itself was a little unreal, sitting in such a warm pool, outside, with partly submerged old men playing chess in their speedo's !! This is something we thought we would only see in the guide books!

Relaxation aside, the spas are also known and visited for medical help. The hot spring contains a significant amount of fluoride and metabolic acid, along with calcium, magnesium, hydro-carbonate, sodium and sulphate effective to cure degenerative illnesses of joints, as well as chronic and semi-acute arthritis!

If you’re ever in Budapest, The Széchenyi Spa is certainly one to visit!

www.sovibrant.co.uk

Architecture

Remembering Ralph McQuarrie

2012-03-05T10:13:00.000Z

Good Morning Bloggers.

You might not know his name but you will definitely know his work. Ralph McQuarrie, The man who first designed Darth Vader, C3-PO and R2-D2 sadly passed away this weekend.

A hero to many Ralph spent his years working on some of the greatest films ever made from Close Encounters to E.T. Not only this, Ralph worked as a draftsman on such aviation projects as the development of the Boeing 747 as well as creating artist's impressions of NASA's Apollo space missions.

Ralph will be remembered for a great deal of his work, however perhaps nothing in his portfolio is more iconic the mask of Darth Vader.

Here are just a few of his most memorable creations.....

RIP Ralph, you will be missed

June 13th 1929 - March 3rd 2012

Sovibrant / Artist of the Week

One Thirty W1

2012-03-05T09:51:00.000Z

SoVibrant are proud to announce the completion of 130 Shaftesbury Avenue, London.

The project, in the heart of London's West End, was a £7.25m refurbishment over eight floors including all new WC and riser cores, lifts, windows and complete M&E systems, resulting in 59,000 sq ft of grade A office accommodation. The works also included extending the ground and first floors in to an existing colonnade, the creation of a two storey reception and new roof terraces on the fifth and sixth floors.

SoVibrant worked on the year-long project in conjunction with Greencoat Construction to provide architectural, detailed design and on-site coordination services. The tender drawings were developed in to fully coordinated construction drawing packages, enabling Greencoat to complete the project on time and on budget.

Client: LaSalle Investment Managment Ltd

Main Contractor: Greencoat Construction Ltd (web link)

Tender drawings: MCM Architects

Contract Administration: CML (web link)

Structural Engineering: Gifford (now Ramboll UK)

Design Services at SoVibrant www.SoVibrant.co.uk

Decorative Concrete

2012-02-28T12:12:00.000Z

I love this innovative concrete that reveals hidden decorative patterns as it heats up or gets wet. The concrete reacts to moisture content so that the pattern disappears and reappears accordingly. The patterns can be repeating and modular or totally bespoke as required. The possible uses of this product are endless from street art and advertising to domestic use in kitchens and bathrooms.The product has been developed by Frederick Molenschot and Susanne Happle and more information can be found at Studio Molen

www.sovibrant.co.uk

Bradford gets its 'Mirror Pool'

2012-02-28T12:05:00.000Z

Finally Bradford has got something to be proud of that will help put them back on the map.

The central landscaping and eagerly awaited 'Mirror Pool' has been completed, after years of city centre development being put on hold.

City Park in Bradford, designed by Gillespies landscape architects and urban designers contains the largest city-centre water feature anywhere in the UK, at 4,000 sq metres, and the UK’s tallest urban fountain which reaches a spectacular 100ft.

The masterplan for Bradford City Centre was original drawn up in 2003 but wasn't submitted for planning till 2007 before starting on site in late 2009.

The park centres on the Grade I Listed, 19th Century City Hall and helps to connect attractions like the National Media Museum and the Alhambra Theatre with new transport hubs.

Now the city is starting to look like a place where people will want to live and this can only help bring back the developers who pulled out in the peak of the recession.

Lighwave 11 released !

2012-02-27T11:42:00.003Z

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to make a post for all you Lightwave fans out there. I have always been a lover of Lightwave but have found that it was somewhat left behind by the competition in recent years.

Lightwave is one of the most widely used 3D packages on the market today. For a long time it sat in the background, primarily used for its extensive modelling set. Studios would do a vast amount of their 3D model creation in Lightwave then export to another package for their animation and rendering needs. Newtek (the creators of Lightwave) have been working hard to pull back those studios and to improve the software's all round effectiveness so it is not simply used as a modeller.

The last few releases have implemented various features such as a vastly improved renderer as well as cutting edge animation tools. Lightwave has always been a very capable application in all areas of 3D visualisation but it is only recently that Newtek have decided to start pushing and advertising its features. Lets hope they continue to do so and that Lightwave takes its well deserved spot as the top software for 3D visualisation.

The link below leads to the new features Newtek have implemented in this release.

Lightwave 11 Feature List

3D Visualisation
www.sovibrant.co.uk

Fords on Film/TV

2012-02-27T10:12:00.001Z

Following the incredible success of my recent Ford Cortina 50th Anniversary blog (so far two people have ticked the 'cool' feedback box and one of them wasn't me), I thought I'd follow up with an article about classic Fords in classic films. Or a least old Ford's in films or TV:

1969 Mk 2 Ford Cortina 1300 - Michael Caine, Get Carter (1971):

1962 Ford Anglia Deluxe - The Young Ones, Vyvyan (Ade Edmundson)'s car, driven in to the student's front room, 1982. See also Harry Potter - Ron Weasley's flying Anglia):

1976 Mark II Ford Capri 2.0S, Terry McCann (Dennis Waterman), Minder - series 1&2 (see also Doyle's Capri in The Professionals):

1979 Escort Mk 2 RS2000, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998):

Lock Stock also featured a 1984 Mk2 Ford Transit:

Sierra Sapphire Cosworth (exact model varies per series), Spender (Jimmy Nail)

1974 Ford Cortina Mk3, 2000E - Life on Mars Detective Gene Hunt (Glenister):

1976 Mk1 Ford Granada 3.0 Ghia - John Thaw in The Sweeney 1975-80's

...and also a 1973 Ford Consul GT:

I'd better stop now, as this is supposed to be a 'design' blog, and I may be stretching the imagination to suggest that all these cars are design classics, or indeed the shows (Spender and the Sierra for one)

Design at SoVibrant www.SoVibrant.co.uk

Just paper?

2012-02-24T12:32:00.000Z

The below paper sculptures are the beautiful works of art Jeff Nishinaka.

Using only paper, glue and a sharp knife, Nishinaka creates an incredible new level of origami and with artwork selling for thousands.

Many of Mr Nishinaka's pieces, which usually measure from 2ft in height, are snapped up for around £5,000. But one tree sculpture, which measures an incredible 20ft high, was sold to the five-star ANA Hotel in Tokyo for nine million yen - or £66,000. The piece, which was commissioned to celebrate the hotel's fifth anniversary, took four months to complete.

Nishinaka’s commercial portfolio includes some prestigious clients such as Bloomingdale’s Galleries Lafayette, Paramount Pictures and Coca Cola. Actor Jackie Chan is a close friend of the artist too!

www.sovibrant.co.uk

Design

The New London Bus

2012-02-22T16:49:00.000Z

Back in November 2010 we blogged the old London Routemaster bus as a design classic (routemaster blog link).

This week saw the introduction of the new London bus, the NB4L, or less formally, the 'Borismaster', designed by Heatherwick Studio (www.heatherwick.com).

The new bus echos the old classic Routemaster by reintroducing a rear door in addition to the front and side doors. The glass then wraps elegantly around the rear and up to the first floor, following the internal circulation. This principal also applies to the front stair, resulting in light, airy interiors with clear and sylish fenestration.

This is the first bus specially designed for London since the Routemaster and and is well worthy of following in its footsteps (or tyretracks if you prefer).

Design at SoVibrant www.SoVibrant.co.uk

Silver Surfer

2012-02-17T12:09:00.000Z

Having skied for many years and spent whole seasons waiting for those very special powder days, I fully understand the drug like experience every powder junky craves.
There's no better feeling for a snowboarder or skier to find deep virgin powder after a big dump of snow the night before.

However when I saw this striking video , not only does it help visualise the floating experience, but beautiful lights the power snow from the snowboarder LED suit.
Pro Snowboarder William Hughes said “Filming in the suit was the most surreal thing I’ve done in 20 years of snowboarding”
It's also a great way to beat the queues and get first dibbs on some fresh tracks !
See video link below

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIX3ntiTV-g

Design and Photography

www.sovibrant.co.uk

Artist of the Week : John Brown

2012-02-16T16:56:00.000Z

Afternoon bloggers This week's Artist of the Week is one of the more well known traditional artists. For the past several years John Brown has worked with some of Hollywood's biggest films including Aliens Resurrection and Superman.

These days however John has swapped the big screen for the lecture theatre my starting his own sculpture training centre. Figures & Focus School specialises in teaching the techniques required in Hollywood Visual effects, sculpting and casting.

Just check out some of the models and concepts below.

Sovibrant / Artist of the Week

Gotye - Music to my ears!

2012-02-16T16:23:00.001Z

The past few days I’ve been struggling to get one specific song out of my head, “Somebody I used to Know” by Gotye.

When I first heard it I wasn’t a fan, but now I can’t help but think it’s pure genius. There’s something exciting (and slightly odd) about the video too, is it haunting? Is it sexy? Or is it musical art?

I know we talk a lot about design and creativity that catches our eye but this “artist” has caught my ears! This tune takes us back to the 80’s, with its retro shapes and colours and it’s Sting-like feel. However, it’s surprising to find that although there was much critical feedback from music critics Gotye has had huge success in Australia, it peaked at number one in the country for eight weeks, becoming the longest running Australian song since Savage Garden’s 1997 song “Truly Madly Deeply”.

Some say “it’s a Sting rip-off” and others say “without Kimbra it would BE Sting” but in honesty, who actually cares? Gotye has given us something, that’s not over original but stands out against the other mainstream sounds in the charts today.

Gotye currently stands at the UK number 1 hot spot and we hope he remains there for a many weeks to come.

Click to hear "Somebodody that I used to know"

www.sovibrant.co.uk

Cathedral Made From 55,000 LED Lights

2012-02-16T11:15:00.000Z

This fantastic 'Luminaire De Cagna' cathedral like structure is formed of 55,000 individual LED lights and was the highlight of the recent 2012 Light Festival in Ghent Belgium. If only all churches could look this cool...

www.sovibrant.co.uk

If Computers Could Sing...

2012-02-14T08:52:00.000Z

I recently came across this brilliant cover of one of my favourite songs from Puretune. Using only the old computer equipment listed below they have managed to produce a great version of House Of The Rising Sun by The Animals. Could robot bands be the future of music....

Instruments

A. HP Scanjet 3P, Adaptec SCSI card and a computer powered by Ubuntu v9.10 OS as the Vocals.
B. Atari 800XL with an EiCO Oscilloscope as the Organ
C. Texas instrument Ti-99/4A with a Tektronix Oscilloscope as the Guitar
D. Hard-drive powered by a PiC16F84A microcontroller as the bass drum and cymbal

The Animals House of the Rising Sun Old School Computer Remix from PURETUNE on Vimeo.

www.sovibrant.co.uk

50 years of Ford Cortinas

2012-02-13T14:45:00.000Z

2012 sees the 50th anniversary of the immensely popular Ford Cortina. The Cortina took its name from the Italian ski resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo. Apparently several were driven down a bobsled run at the resort, including by racing driver Jim Clark, as a publicity stunt.

The Cortina was Britain’s best-selling car every year between 1972 and 1981 and nearly 2.6 million were sold in Britain alone. I used to have a 1967, 2-door mark 2, 1500 super (pre-crossflow). I had to drive it with the doors locked to keep out all the crazed lady admirers.

One of my brothers had a mark 2, 1600GT (complete with twin choke webbers) which was way faster. He wrote it off and then had a brown mark 4 which was a complete dog.

I really wanted a lotus-engined version, like the one used as a getaway car in the 1963 Great Train Robbery. Anyway, here's a few photos of these design classics:

mark 1

mark 2

mark 3

mark 4

mark 5

Design Classics at SoVibrant www.SoVibrant.co.uk

Quadrotors - The Future of Construction

2012-02-09T14:34:00.000Z

At Christmas a large quantity of toy helicopters were bought by fathers claiming they were presents for their very young offspring.

These mini remote control machine are getting better and cheaper every year, so when I saw the video links below the Quadrotor must be the next big thing.

These video links may seem like boys with toys (and a lot of spare time) however you may be witnessing the future of construction.

The people behind these video are Gramazio & Kohler and Raffaello D’Andrea, and it's all a pioneering project around training dynamic and robotic procedures applied to architecture.

The process has been named 'Flight Assembled Architecture' and the first major installation constructed entirely by robots is currently underway.

From December 2nd to February 19th the architectural structure will be designed and constructed on the scale of a “vertical village” of 600 metres in height.

The installation addresses radical new ways of thinking and creating architecture as a physical process of dynamic formation.

It sounds complicated but basically a computer program will tell these mini robot what to do and how to work together.

'SkyNet' is only just round the corner !

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YQIMGV5vtd4

www.youtube.com/watch?v=W18Z3UnnS_0

Architecture and Design

www.sovibrant.co.uk

Artist of the Week : Jordu Schell

2012-02-09T11:08:00.001Z

Good morning bloggers and welcome to another instalment of Artist of the Week.

This week we bring you a legend of the visual effects world. Jordu Schell has been working on Hollywood blockbusters since before I was born. In a world of digital artwork, he is one of the few people in the industry sticking to traditional techniques.

Since entering the Film industry Jordu has worked on some of the more creative films out there including Predator, Narnia and Avatar. That's enough from us though so let's let Jordu's work do the talking. Below are some of Jordu's best known work as well as a sneaky peak video at what he does best

Enjoy.

Sneak Peak: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI094xaa98o

Avatar - Ney'Tiri

300 - Spartan, King Leonidas

Battle Los Angeles - Alien Concept

Preditors - Facial Concept

Planet Of the Apes - Attar

Preditors - "The Dogs"

Sovibrant / Artist of the Week

The scale of our Universe

2012-02-09T09:01:00.000Z

As scale obessessed designers you can imagine we were very drawn to this wonderful interactive tool investigating the scale of our own universe. Scale and perception of scale is notoriously difficult for those with an untrained eye and this is a fantastic way to begin to get your head around just how big our universe is. A real mind-bender!

click me to have a go...

Enjoy!

and the 2012 Pantone colour of the year is....

2012-02-07T10:13:00.000Z

....(I can hardly contain my excitement)....

Tangerine Tango!!!

SoVibrant www.SoVibrant.co.uk

Crossmap for 3D Studio Max

2012-02-03T14:34:00.001Z

Hi everyone,

I recently came across this handy little shader for 3D Studio Max which randomly distributes selected images/maps across an object on a per-poly basis.

All 3D visualisers know the pain of trying to re-create those random differences that exist in real life as these are what separate a good render from an amazing render. On first look I didn't realise the power of such a shader, however after further investigation I think it has a lot of scope to improve not only the workflow but also the look of final visuals, by helping us to achieve that random factor in the materials which is usually so much more work to do.

Check out the link below in which CGarchitect feature the new shader and explain a little more on how it works. The images below show the results you can achieve using the shader (images courtesy of CGarchitect.com).

Click here for the CGarchitect article

3D Visualisation
http://www.sovibrant.co.uk/

DC Comics gets overhauled

2012-01-23T17:47:00.000Z

Brands don't get much more loved by their fans than DC Comics. Fans don't get much more precious about their brands than DC Comics fans.

It was always going to a tough brief to realise, but see below Landon SF'sdesign for DC's recent re branding.

I must say I am loving the "duality" concept created by the layered typography. It really mirrors the secret powers beneath the skin of their most famous characters. The new mark really adds a wealth of adaptations and potential to the brand. It was always going to annoy the traditionalists, but we at SoVibrant applaud Landor for taking on a tough project and coming up with a great next generation brand identity for DC.

See some of the best bits below.

Rising Chair

2012-01-23T17:35:00.000Z

I really like this chair design by Robert van Embricqs:

In the same way that Rietvelt's 1917 'Red and Blue Chair' uses standardised sections of timber, van Embricqs design utilises only one timber section, yet manages to create beautiful curves from the straight lines.

Incredibly, the Rising Chair also folds flat!

Design at SoVibrant www.SoVibrant.co.uk

Twinnings... "gets you back to you"

2012-01-20T10:58:00.001Z

For a long time I’ve been meaning to share this beautiful animation with you.

Believe it or not it’s for Twinnings tea!! On first viewing some believe it’s an advertisement for a new song album or about mental health but in actual fact, it’s all about having a cup of Twinnings tea... that “gets you back to you”... It’s hard not to be impressed!

It’s a fantastic piece of animated art that many feel advertisers should be taking notice of. No flying text or “catchy slogans”, just a simple refreshing style and slick execution to grab attention, and it certainly does that.

Take a look below and see what you think...

Twinnings advert

www.sovibrant.co.uk

Design Classic no. 412: The BMC Mini

2012-01-16T17:52:00.006Z

Continuing our Design Classic Series, time has come to honour the BMC Mini. Designed in 1959 by Sir Alec Issigonis, the Mini was an instant success whose popularity lives on today. In 1999 the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century, behind the Ford Model T (Wikipedia).

The Mini's reputation was enhanced by a series of Cooper 'S', Monte Carlo rally victories in '64, '65 and '67 (dubiously disqualified in '66, having filled the entire podium).

The car went on to star in The Italian Job movie, cementing its place as a British icon of the 1960s.

Now maunufactured by BMW, the new 'Mini' is not so small, but equally popular...

SoVibrant Design Classics www.SoVibrant.co.uk

SoVibrant Exclusive! Interview with Kris Hardy

2012-01-13T14:42:00.003Z

Good afternoon bloggers and welcome to another exclusive interview with one of my old friends Kris Hardy. Since Kris graduated from studying at the Royal College of Art in June 2002, Kris's canvas's have featured in various exhibitions, bars, show homes and salons worldwide.

Since 2003 Kris has been selling his exclusive artwork through John Lewis in over 22 of their stores nation wide.

Kris Painting for John Lewis

Not only is Kris doing what he loves on a daily basis but he is spreading his love of art to the next generation of young artists by occasionally dropping in to universities like Huddersfield as a visiting lecturer, which is where Kris and I first met. But let's get going and find out what makes Kris tick.

SoVibrant: " How did you get started and what inspired you to become a traditional canvas artist ? "

Kris: "I have always loved painting and drawing, it is something I have done in my spare time for as long as I can remember. My granddad was a really good oil painter so I grew up watching him paint. looking back at when I did my A-levels even on top of all the work for those I still managed to paint about an extra 3 hours a day. I was massively into Manga and Anime in the mid '90s and motorbikes, so all I wanted to paint and draw was, Japanese comic characters and bikes."

"I was basically doing my A-levels and didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life, art was always the only thing I loved and felt at home doing so I thought, right, I might as well do an art foundation course at a local college, it would be great to do a course where I can just draw all day. "

"Once on the course, the main push for the year was to get you to university, so I decided to have a look at the new transport design course at Huddersfield university, as my main passions were drawing/painting and motorbikes."

"After completing the course. I went onto the MA course at the Royal College of Art. When I left there I went to work at Lotus Cars, but while waiting for the project to come up, due to setbacks, it took nearly a year before I started I decided to get back into painting, which had taken a back seat during my car design years."

"I then decided I wanted to do this full time as it opened lots of different possibilities I had not thought about and also it just felt right, I felt at home painting. I started to supply John Lewis stores with originals and it basically went from there."

SoVibrant: " So what would you say is your favourite aspect of painting on canvas ? "

Kris: "I just love being able to do something every day that I love, painting is just so rewarding, especially when you paint a piece as a commission that is so personal to someone and they love it."

SoVibrant: " Who is your biggest inspiration right now and why ? "

Kris: "My main inspiration at the moment is Caravaggio, I love his use of light and shadow, but other influences are concept artist (and old student Jon McCoy, for his digital brush strokes and scale in his environments, as cityscapes are a subject I love to paint) Rolf Harris, again for his use of a brush, and ability to capture something in a couple of strokes, Jack Vettriano, for how he captures feelings in his work, Ian Mckeever, for his amazing depth and simplicity."

"Outside of artists, I am constantly inspired by contemporary architecture and beautiful women."

SoVibrant: " Out of everything you have created in the past what would you say is your favourite piece ? "

Kris: "They all mean a lot, and it constantly changes, but my current favourite painting is ‘How did I get here?’ it means a lot because not only do I like it as a painting, but it is of my wife and was just a random idea we had in a hotel while on a short weekend away at the hotel du vin in Newcastle."

SoVibrant: " Now I know that painting on canvas can take a hell of a lot longer than painting in Photoshop, but what do you do with any spare time you have ? "

Kris: "If I'm not painting I really only do two things, I am either walking my dog, Alfie, or I am at the gym, constantly pushing myself to be a better me, I think if you want to be the best you can, it has to apply to every aspect in your life, we only get one go at this, so i think we should make the most of it

SoVibrant: " And finally, Were would you love to be in 10 years time? "

Kris: "Ideally, I would love my work to be seen and known by as many people as possible."

Kris With Alfie

SoVibrant / An interview with...

Microsoft Office Vision of the Future

2012-01-13T13:09:00.000Z

In a follow up to their 2009 Future of Productivity video Microsoft's Office Division have recently released an updated vision that carries on from where the last left off. The technology predictions on show are simply breathtaking. If this is the future I cant wait to live in it! Both the 2009 and 2011 vision videos are shown below and more videos predicting the future of manufacturing, health and banking can be found at Microsoft Office's Youtube channel.

www.sovibrant.co.uk

The Obliteration Room

2012-01-12T19:30:00.001Z

As part of an installation for the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, Yayoi Kuasma recently constructed a large domestic scene painted completely white and over the course of two weeks handed out small coloured stickers to the any child visitors. The amazing results are shown below.

The new beauty secret taking the world by storm - Fotoshop, by Adobe...

2012-01-11T16:30:00.000Z

Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

Absolutely brilliant satirical comment on the artificial world of beauty and unrealistic ideals delivered by our favourite image editing software. Enjoy.

Iconic Album Covers

2012-01-11T10:44:00.000Z

After a recent conversation about iTunes libraries and album covers at SoVibrant HQ I thought I would share a sample of some of the most iconic album covers of the 20th Century. With the emergence of iTunes and digital music the canvas size of album art has reduced dramatically from the days of the 12" vinyl L.P. A seemingly exponential increase in the quantity and availability of new music has led to a reduction in the attention span of the average listener to the album as a complete art form. Albums are now a much less tangible commodity than in the past and the days of studiously studying cover notes and lyrics are seemingly over. Apple has recently tried to buck this trend with the introduction of the iTunes L.P. but Peter Saville the designer behind some of the most iconic covers for New Order and Roxy Music declared in 2008 that 'the album cover is dead'. Please feel free to add any personal favourites to the list in the comments section below.

www.sovibrant.co.uk

SoVibrant exclusive! Interview with Tianyi Zhu

2012-01-10T16:23:00.002Z

Hi everyone,

Being strict followers of SoVibrant Opinion8 you will recognise the name Tianyi Zhu, as we have featured her amazing 3D artwork a few times in past blogs.

Zhu has won several awards for her work including the 2007 Architectural 3D Awards (Best animation) and the 2005 Architectural Visualisation Competition (first place). Most recently Zhu was nominated for the 2011 CGarchitect Architectural Awards (Film category).

Recently we have been lucky enough to be given an exclusive interview with her. We had the opportunity to ask a few key questions and we hope that these help to inspire and motivate others to create some amazing artwork.

Below you will find the interview along with some of Zhu's artwork showcasing her talents.

SoVibrant : How did you get started and what inspired you to start out as a 3D artist/visualiser?

Zhu : I started training with traditional paints from the age of 12 and discovered a love and natural talent for it. Continuing this creativitiy on through to college, I majored in interior design which led on to learning 3D visualisation. I have a strong passion and love for painting and find that I am still a painter at heart, the only difference is that I now paint with 3D software as opposed to a brush.

SoVibrant : What is your favourite aspect of 3D visualisation? Modelling/lighting/texturing/directing etc?

Zhu : Lighting, I enjoy painting a beautiful 3D scene.

SoVibrant : Who is your biggest inspiration right now and why?

Zhu : There are a lot talented people that make great work, I can learn from them all, but the biggest inspiration should be the photograph.

SoVibrant : What is your favourite project/render/visual and why?

Zhu : "Art Museum" is my favourite project. In this animation I managed to create the mood and feeling that I really wanted to portray. At the same time, I managed to also put forward a great story, I hope I can improve on it next time!

SoVibrant : What do you love to do while not working? hobbies/interests etc?

Zhu : I love dancing as well as still having a strong passion for painting. Unfortnately I haven't had a chance to do much of these since I started 3D visualisaion. Of course I also love music, film and travel!

SoVibrant : Where would you dream to be in 10 years time?

Zhu : To be honest, I don't think about what will be in 10 years .I just focus on now and strive to be better and better each and every day.

Below you will find some more of Zhu's amazing visuals. You can also visit her website http://www.tianyizhucg.com/ to view more of her work and also her award winning animation "Art Museum".

We look forward to bringing you many more interviews with leading artists in the industry, in an effort to inspire and motivate everyone out there to create more brilliant artwork.

3D Visualisation

http://www.sovibrant.co.uk/

Kingdom Tower to end Burj Khalifa's reign

2012-01-10T10:10:00.001Z

In the new world order of the 'Megatall' buildings planned over the next decade, the Burj Khalifa at "over half a mile" high (828 metres) is soon to be nudged into second place.
Kingdom Tower in Jeddah is set to begin construction early this year and aims to break the 1,000 metre mark, doubling the height of the world's tallest building in less than 20 years.

At the start of the 21st century, the 452-meter high Petronas Tower held the title of “The World’s Tallest”.
However the era of the 'Megatall' is upon us with 20 buildings planned across the globe aiming for heights of 600 metres and above.

China will lead the way, with 10 of the 20 projects in their pursuit of the Megatall, followed by Korea (3), Saudi Arabia (2) and the UAE (2).
Asia counts for 70% (14) of the buildings and the Middle East counts for 25% (5).

Below are some of the projects soon to be fighting for third place on the list of “The World’s Tallest”.

China’s Shenzhen’s Ping An Finance Centre is scheduled for completion in 2015.
The 660-meter tall building will become the tallest in the country.

Standing at 632-meters, the mixed-use Shanghai Tower will join a supertall cluster in the city’s Pudong area.
The project began construction in 2009 and will be completed in 2014.

The tallest amongst 3 planned in Seoul will The Seoul Light DMC Tower, measuring in at 640-meters.

Towering above Indonesia’s current tallest tower is The Signature Tower Jakarta that will rise to 638-meters.

Finally with The Shard nearing completion at 306 metres, Europe’s tallest building is still a shadow of all this Eastern promise.

Architecture and Design

www.sovibrant.co.uk

Artist of the week : Raphael Lacoste

2012-01-05T10:08:00.002Z

Raphael has had a hell of a career. Starting off as an illustrator at Ubisoft, he soon worked his way up the ladder to become the art director on such games as Prince of Persia and the original Assassins Creed.

In need of a bigger challenge, Raphael left the gaming industry with his eye set solely on Hollywood. He caught a break be becoming senior concept artist on Terminator Salvation and the remake of Journey to the Centre of the Universe

Since then Raphael has returned to the gaming industry as Senior Art Director at Electronic Arts and Ubisoft working on one of this year's newest additions. Assassins Creed Revelations.
To view more of Raphael's work follow the link below.

http://www.raphael-lacoste.com/

Enjoy

SoVibrant / Artist of the Week

Through the lens... Infrared Hong Kong

2012-01-05T09:43:00.000Z

Happy New Year to all our readers! We hope you all had a good holiday break and wish you all the best for a fanatastic 2012. Let's hope the Mayans just realised that they didnt yet need a calendar that went beyond 2012. ; )

We are always interested in looking at the familiar in a different way and so were really excited to see this beautiful collection of photography by Hong Kong based designer & photographer Yiu Yu Hoi.

Using infrared post production techniques, the photos give an otherworldly ambience to one of the worlds most fast paced urban connurbations. We love how the world seems to slow down in the photos.

The images have become reminiscent of photography of Japan's Cherry blossom festivals another beautiful natural phenomenon. Well worth checking out if you aren't aware of it.

For more of Yiu Yu Hoi's photography and design work, check out his FlickR page using the link below. Definitely one to keep your eye on.

Enjoy!

Yiu Yu Ho's FlickR

Design Classic no.199: lenticular clouds

2011-12-23T13:09:00.000Z

Check out these awesome rare lenticular clouds see over various parts of West Yorkshire yesterday:

Contrary to modern meteorological theory, these clouds were not actually formed by ‘stable but moist air that had travelled over the Pennines causing a standing wave to be established’. No, these were from space.

They are watching you.

SoVibrant. Design and paranoia. www.SoVibrant.co.uk

357 and counting

2011-12-22T15:35:00.003Z

Following on from our blog about the new Apple store at Grand Central Terminal, I found this link with all the previous 356 stores.
Thomas Park has compiled a gallery of all 357 of Apple’s stores from all over the world.
He has compiled the images directly from Apple’s own website and include information about where the store falls among the 357, where it is located and when it was opened.

Park’s initiative was sparked by the desire to detect the evolution in Apple’s strategy of storefront design.
The stores have a simple, crisp and sleek design that aim to mirror the products they sell and give off the same feeling of reliable design.

For me the concept has hardly changed in 10 years, with only the decision to lose the black shopfront cladding used on some earlier stores, and stick with the silver panels from then on.

My 2 favourites are the well known Apple glass cube in New York and a similar approach in Shanghi China, only this time with a glass tube leading to the glass spiral staircase.
Take a look at the link to see all 357 stores in their minimalistic glory.

applestorefronts.appspot.com

Architecture - Interior Design

www.sovibrant.co.uk

Merry Christmas from SoVibrant!

2011-12-22T15:27:00.000Z

Merry Christmas to all our blog readers.

This year seems to have flown by but it has certainly been a busy one for us here at SOV. We're definitely ready to take a break, but just a short one as we have some fantastic projects and exciting developments lined up for 2012.

Many thanks to you all for your support this year. We look forward to seeing you all in 2012.

Merry Christmas!
The SoVibrant team x

www.sovibrant.co.uk
Christmas

High Flying Design

2011-12-22T14:41:00.001Z

Being an ex-RAF pilot myself, I have a keen interest in anything to do with the world of aviation. I absolutely love this new flight simulator in Stuttgart, Germany and would love to have a go if anyone would like to pay for me to go out there!

The simmINN Flight Simulation Center is the brainchild of architect of Frankfurt based architect Boris Banozic who dealt with the concept, interior and graphic design.

You can fly either a Boeing 737 or take the controls of a Leerjet 45x all from the safety of the ground without ever having to leave it.

A sleek and fresh take on flight simulators.. Let us know what you think.

www.sovibrant.co.uk
Interior Design

SoVibrant appoint Cicada for PR services..

2011-12-22T11:48:00.001Z

We are delighted to announce that we have appointed Harrogate-based Cicada communications to handle our PR services. Exciting times.. Press, online, publicity stunts galore, we can't wait to see what the magic they can work on our already fantastic story. Cicada begin work on January the 3rd, so we are looking forward to a regular slot, replacing Grand Designs on Channel 4 by January the 5th.

Anyone interested in PR we recommend you check out Cicada..

http://www.cicada-comms.com/

Happy Christmas everyone!

Festive lights!

2011-12-16T11:15:00.000Z

Here at SoVibrant HQ we’re slowly coming to terms with Christmas being only “9 sleeps” away, so we’re starting to get into the Christmas spirit! One of our most festive finds has to be the amazing house decorations and the lengths that some people go to. Have a look at the images and links below and see which your favourite is. (There are a couple that aren’t Christmassy but we thought they were pretty cool and worth seeing!)

Christmas

Trillion frames per second camera

2011-12-14T11:16:00.001Z

Hi everyone,

Here at SoVibrant we are always on the look-out for cutting edge technology that strives to be at the head of its industry. In doing some research into current and new technologies we came across the link below.

The link explains how the guys over at MIT have managed to create a camera that can track the fractional movement of light. This is a first and there is nothing else that currently exists capable of displaying anywhere near this type of information.

Visit the link below (Courtesy of BBC News) to read more about it and view the video they have created to demonstrate the technology.

Click here for the link to the MIT light-tracking camera

3D visualisation
http://www.sovibrant.co.uk/

National Business Accelerator

2011-12-14T10:21:00.000Z

Yesterday I presented along with our investor, mentor and general SoV sage, Alan Kitching, at the regional finals of the National Business Accelerator Award. The award has been set up to provide £15m of free advertising to a range of entrepeneurial, fast growth companies, with the overall winner receiving a years mentoring from Deborah Meadon of Dragon's Den fame. An amazing number of companies entered and we are down to the last 6 in our region, with 3 going on to the national finals early next year.

It is a real accolade to have made it this far and we are proud to be flying the flag for Yorkshire and the North of England and proving that the recession doesnt have to be all doom and gloom.

The session yesterday was very much a Dragon's Den style arrangement with 5 dragons representing leading blue chip companies, cameramen, a darkened room and questions thrown at you from all angles. Anyone who knows me will know I get off on challenging situations like that, so I very much enjoyed it! Hopefully we have done enough to progress to the next stage! Fingers crossed.

Winners are announced on January 13th in the Yorkshire Post.

Wish us luck!

Banksy does it again..

2011-12-14T09:05:00.000Z

Some lovely new exterior wall decorations from Banksy... How anyone can call this vandalism is beyond me. Satirical, well executed and a touch of humour for your stroll to work. Love it.

Leeds Train Station gets a New Entrance

2011-12-13T16:26:00.000Z

Finally, for all those commuters and office workers living and working on the south side of the River Aire, a new entranced is planned for construction in 2012.
The proposed scheme for a new southern entrance to Leeds station will include new lifts, stairs and escalators and exiting onto Granary Wharf.

The curvaceous structure has been described as a new “door’ for the city." and has been passed by Leeds city planners.
Hopefully the scheme doesn't get watered down in the construction phase, as the curved design with a curved glass balustrade should look very striking.

With existing pedestrian links to the southern end of Neville Street, office workers around Holbeck, Bridgewater and Asda house are sure to benefit.
As well as all the bars and restaurants around Granary Wharf, as people stop off for a cheeky pint if they accidently miss their train.

Design Classic no. 30: British Road Signs

2011-12-12T17:58:00.000Z

It's official - Britain's road signs have been recognised as 'design classics' by the Design Museum.

Created by graphic designers Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert in the mid-sixties, the entire language of the signs we see today was standardised from what had previously been a haphazard assortment of confusing and dangerous symbols, colours and lettering.

New fonts were created and most importantly, upper and lower cases combined to enable place names to be read by shape as well as lettering. For more on this story follow: more....

The signs are so recognisable they can be considered as art in their own right. Tim Blackhouse, sick of cars speeding past his house, decided to paint a giant 30 in an attempt to slow drivers down. It looks brilliant:

Which reminds me a bit of this 'deface-your-own-home' British eccentricity:

SoVibrant - design classics - www.SoVibrant.co.uk

CryEngine 3 & Crystal CG

2011-12-09T16:22:00.000Z

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to post up some news I found recently when browsing the usual 3D visualisation community sites. The link below is courtesy of CGArchitect and is a very interesting step forward in the CGI industry.

Real-time visualisation giant Crystal CG has recently licensed CryEngine 3 from Crytek GmbH (Crytek). CryEngine 3 is one of the leading real-time game engines on the market today and has taken realism in the gaming industry to new heights. With this convergeance of talent and technology I am sure we will be seeing some amazing real-time visualisation coming from Crystal CG in the near future.

The link below is to the CGArchitect post and is a very good read for all of those out there with an interest in real-time visualisation.

Click here for the CGArchitect article

3D Visualisation
http://www.sovibrant.co.uk/

The Future of Home Cinema

2011-12-09T15:10:00.001Z

15 years ago the "big thing" was “virtual reality”, a phrase that seemed to be applied to anything from enormous monitor wielding headsets, to almost everything interactive. Thankfully the buzzword has been buried with cyberspace, Y2K and Dirty Den, however that doesn’t mean the ideals and notions have gone away. Instead, now they’re actually possible, they have less ambitious and more meaningful names like ‘Personal 3D Viewer’.

Designed to work with the Playstation 3, Sony’s Personal 3D Viewer dispenses with the futurisms, to provide a viewing experience that often fail to leaves most company’s concept departments. When worn, the device provides two 720p OLED monitors, one for each eye, replicating the 3D cinema experience and proving ideal for 3D movies and gaming. Costing around £700, the headsets aren’t cheap but for those with plenty of disposable cash, this surely has to be the ‘must-have’ gadget of the year.

3D & Media
www.sovibrant.co.uk

Design Classic no. 28 - The Triumph Bonneville

2011-12-05T18:29:00.000Z

The Bonneville range of Triumph motorcycles easily finds a place in our series of design classics. The Bonneville was made in three different production runs from 1959 to 1983, and 1985 to 1988, by the now-defunct Triumph Engineering in Meriden; and since 2001, by Triumph Motorcycles in Hinckley. It is named after the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, where Triumph and other motorcycle companies made attempts on motorcycle speed records. All share a parallel-twin four-stroke engine configuration. The current version, produced since 2001 by the modern successor of the original company, is a completely redesigned and re-engineered evolution of the original design (text courtesy of Wikipedia 2011).

Incidentally, the bike Steve McQueen rode in the infamous Great Escape film was a another Triumph, this time a TT specialist 650, made to look like a war time BMW. Steve was way too cool to ride a BMW. There. I said it.

SoVibrant design www.SoVibrant.co.uk

Micaël Reynaud - Awesome animated Gif's

2011-12-05T17:19:00.000Z

Loving these clever animated Gif's from Micael Reynaud. Enjoy!

A day in the life of a New Yorker

2011-12-05T12:10:00.001Z

This day for me was 19th November 2011, my 40th Birthday, spent with Mags experiencing what all New Yorker's have right on their doorstep.
With an early start to beat the queues, we arrived at the Rockefeller Centre at 8.30am to buy a double trip up the elevator to the the 69th floor.

It was a beautiful day and a great way to see New York with the Empire State on one side and Central Park on the other.
The perfect start to build up an appetite for a New York Diner ‘monster breakfast’ which basically keeps you full all day.

To walk off our triple eggs and bacon brunch we headed for Central Park and museum mile.
After escaping the perils of ice skating, to make the most of the unusually mild sunny weather, we hired a rowing boat at the boathouse, how romantic !

Next for me was the pinnacle of my trip and top of the list of museums and experiences I had in mind - The Guggenheim, a Frank Lloyd Wright Masterpiece.
We walked in the door with excited eyes only to be met with the biggest installation of Italian tat strung haphazardly from the oculus of the Guggenheim’s rotunda.

Maurizio Cattelan an Italian artist based in New York was exhibiting virtually everything the artist had produced since 1989.
He is known for his satirical sculptures, particularly La Nona Ora (The Ninth Hour), depicting the Pope John Paul II struck down by a meteorite.

However the one piece that got my goat was a massive marble scoreboard of England losing every football game to a host of countries (see photos)
Well Mr Cattelan your pieces may be satirical but they hid to much of this beautiful building for my liking.

We ended our day with a sunset up the Rockefeller and a visit to the unspoilt Grand Central Terminal and drinks at the famous Oyster Bar.
Lucky for me it wasn't the 'Blue Oyster Bar'

Movember update

2011-12-02T15:02:00.002Z

Hi everyone,

We have reached yet another December and the Christmas festivities are already full steam ahead here in the SoVibrant office.

This December also marks the end of our month of Movember. As we mentioned earlier, three of the team were growing moustaches in order to raise money for men's health and testicular cancer. During the last month we have managed to raise a grand total of £435.00 between us. A massive thank you goes out to everyone who donated to the cause and we are sure that all your donations will make a big difference.

Below is a photo taken on the final day of Movember and I trust you will agree that we definitely looked very silly!

Visit the SoVibrant Movember page here -- http://uk.movember.com/mospace/2336852/

3D Visualisation
http://www.sovibrant.co.uk/

Artist of the Week: Daniel Simon

2011-11-30T16:57:00.002Z

Daniel Simon is definitely one of the concept artists of the future. Whereas many concept artists have stayed with two dimensional work, Daniel takes a lot of his designs from the drawing board and into 3D, making sure the design works from every angle.

With such an extraordinary imagination conjuring up such fantastic ideas of what the future might look like it's no wonder Daniel was the lead concept artist for Tron Legacy.

Check out the latest concept art from Daniel Simons portfolio here

Light Jet Concept, Tron Legacy

Light Cycle Concept, Tron Legacy

Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde, Joe Kosinski (director), Sean Bailey

(Head of Production, Disney) and Daniel Simon. UK premiere

Light Runner Concept, Tron Legacy

Concept Bike from Cosmic Motors

SoVibrant / Artist of the Week

Rags to Riches : Call Of Duty

2011-11-25T13:34:00.002Z

Good afternoon Bloggers.

As we all know from the continuous bombardment of news articles and TV coverage, times are hard out there at the moment, companies are having to let go of staff and people are finding it extremely hard to find work. We are living in a time when countries and governments are going into debt and the world is commonly perceived as being in turmoil.

But one company seems to have come from nowhere and created one of the biggest and most well known franchises in the world.... The recession proof - Call Of Duty

8 Years ago games were designed to give players a past-time in which the aim was to finish first, or survive. They were basic stories in which you could pick up, play and give-up whenever you felt like it.

Then came Call of Duty

Infinity Ward, Call Of Duty's producers was built up from a team of ex-EA staff that had an idea for a new way of producing a first person shooter. EA on the other hand didn't like the idea

The group of developers created Infinity Ward. They threw away the book when it came to gaming and brought the cinematic feel to the player and created an emotional bond with the character you play and develop

Currently there are some 17 Million People are online playing at any one time around the world.

Recent figures show that the series Call Of Duty is more successful than some major recording artists and blockbuster films. It has made waves in the gaming industry almost bankrupting rival gaming studios and with social Networking taking a big part of people lives, we see Call Of Duty has ruined numerous relationships and marriages. Which has paved the way for adverts like this

So how can all this come from just a game?...and how has a company, who came from knowhere created one of the greatest and most profitable pieces of entertainment of all time?.

Just watch the History of Infinity Ward and Call Of Duty on the link Below and See for yourself how Infinity Ward changed the gaming world for ever.

SoVibrant / Inspiring Animation

Zhu Tianyi - 3D visual

2011-11-24T10:09:00.000Z

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to post a recent image created by one of my favourite artists, Zhu Tianyi.

The image below was created as an entry submission for the Autodesk 3DSMax Hero competition. The aim of the competition was to create an image which incorporated the 3DSMax logo in a subtle yet impactive way. I love how Zhu has managed to do this in such a creative manner, by forming the logo in the snow.

My favourite part of this visual is the atmosphere she has managed to capture, you can almost feel how cold it would be to walk down the street.

For those who don't believe that this is a full 3D visual, I have also attached Zhu's block model render.

To see more of Zhu's work, visit her website at http://www.tianyizhucg.com/.

3D Visualisation
http://www.sovibrant.co.uk/

Artist of the Week: "Sparth"

2011-11-23T15:08:00.000Z

Afternoon Bloggers and welcome to another Artist of the week. This week we bring you Nicolas Bouvier commonly known in the industry as "Sparth".

Since 1996 Sparth has been at the forefront of the gaming industry, designing concepts for well known franchises and labels such as Prince of Persia, Assassins Creed and Ballistic Publishing.

Sparth has the ability to create some of the most inspiring pieces of artwork with real depth and emotion.
Check out some of his greatest master pieces below.

Enjoy

SoVibrant / Artist of the week

Inspiring Animation - Justice 'Civilization'

2011-11-23T14:57:00.000Z

As part of our inspiring animation series I thought I would share the music video of the new Justice track; 'Civilization'. The video directed by Edouard Salier is one of a long line of brilliant Justice music videos - some of which have been featured on this blog in the past. Although I'm unsure as to the deeper meaning of the animation, it is perfectly suited to the amazing source track which has recently featured in the new global adidas advertising campaign. Check out the video below and let us know your thoughts.

www.sovibrant.co.uk

"Holidays are coming"

2011-11-22T12:31:00.000Z

Yes, it’s official (in my mind) that Christmas is finally here!!

The famous Coca Cola advert is making a weekly appearance on our television screens, so that can only mean we are allowed to get excited about Christmas.

Click here to get into the festive spirit!

The advert was sadly taken off screen in 2001. After much uproar from customers and thousands of telephone calls to the Customer Information Centre sad not to see the “start of Christmas”, Coca Cola brought it back in 2007! YAYYYY!
To this day support continues for the “Holidays are coming” advert especially from the social networking site, Facebook.

Not only are we seeing the Christmas truck on TV, this year it’s even more exciting... THE TRUCK IS ON TOUR!
The Coca Cola trucks are making their way from the very north of the UK right down to London. Unfortunately, I’ve missed both Leeds and York but next week it will be making an appearance at Manchester’s Trafford Centre – and I shall be there for that! To find out when you can catch a piece of Christmas, take a look at the link below:
Click here to find out where the Coca Cola Christmas truck will be next!

Excitement aside, isn’t it funny that a huge part of the UK start the planning of Christmas when an advertisement for a drink established in 1886 is broadcasted!

To see how the Coca Cola branding and advertising has developed since 1886, check out the link below:

The history of Coca Cola's advertising

www.sovibrant.co.uk

Design / For fun

Artist of the Week : Rick Hilgner

2011-11-17T11:51:00.000Z

Good afternoon bloggers. Today we bring you an artist from behind the scenes of Hollywood. You may not recognise the name initially however you'll no doubt be familiar with his work.

Rick Hilgner is a prop and set builder working on such films as Aliens : Resurrection, Terminator: Judgment day, Fifth Element, Starship Troopers, Titanic and many more. If the big guys at the top need a miniature world, they come to Rick. Check out some of the photos below.

Miniature Frigate from Aliens: Resurrection

New York of the future from Fifth Element

K2 Miniature modelled for Vertical Limit

Super Miniature of a star ship from Starship Troopers

The Titanic miniature. One of many large scale models built for destruction

Rick Hilgner Stood by his model of Starship Troopers main frigate

SoVibrant / Artist of the Week

Life begins at 40

2011-11-16T15:37:00.001Z

Only one day to go now to my 40th Birthday trip to New York and my first experience of major jet lag and a spectacular skyline.
Mags and I have three days of sightseeing ahead, and looking at various websites and Google Earth we have a lot to go at.

Along with visits to the Empire State, Central Park, MoMA and the Guggenheim, Ground Zero is one definitely on our list.
10 years on from the tragedy of 9/11 the memorial and museum are now completed with the new Freedom Tower taking shape (see photo attached)

We should get to see the impact this new structure is having on the New York skyline and see the plot for the 3 other buildings proposed for the scheme.

Architecturally Freedom Tower is very simple and a bit uninspiring compared to Daniel Libeskind original proposals, that have been drastically watered down by SOM's David Childs.
The building is now more commercial but has lost a lot of its sculptural form and significance previously proposed in the concept design stage.

The time lapse video of the memorial site is worth a watch, and when it zooms out you can see it’s scale and positioning in relationship to the new structures.

Other Architects on the site include Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Fumihiko Maki and Santiargo Calatrava who has designed the transportation hub.

Architecture and Design
www.sovibrant.co.uk

Google - Trying Not To Be Evil

2011-11-16T12:12:00.000Z

Check out this video on the development and future of Google - whose motto 'trying not to be evil' is seemingly harder and harder to achieve.

Google "Trying not to be evil" from Patrick Clair on Vimeo.

Hidrosalud Headquarters Offices By Cuartopensante Arquitectura

2011-11-16T09:51:00.000Z

Hidrosalud a Spanish water treatment company have recently refurbished their office accommodation in Valencia. The architects Cuartopensante Arquitectura have created a contemporary office space based on the theory of analysing the form and properties of water and extrapolating them into a physical working environment. I'm sure you will agree that the results are visually stunning.

Movember!!

2011-11-15T13:46:00.000Z

Hi everyone,

We thought we would share with the world, just how silly a few of us here at SoVibrant are currently looking. We are partaking in the annual Movember event to help raise awareness of and donations for mens health, specifically testicular cancer.

We have put a link at the bottom of the post for you to donate something to the cause. Any donations are welcome, no matter how small and they will help us to feel a little better about just how silly we look!!

Mo Akhtar - AKA Craig David!

Peter Pringle - AKA Ned Flanders

Charlie Herries - AKA Lemmy (Motorhead)

The link below will take you to our SoVibrant Movember page where you can make a donation to help raise awareness of mens health.

Visit the team page here -- http://uk.movember.com/mospace/2336852/

3D Visualisation

https://www.sovibrant.co.uk/

Raiffeisen Bank NAU Architects

2011-11-10T17:15:00.000Z

I really like this impressive interior design scheme for Raiffeisen Bank by NAU an architectural practice from Switzerland. The use of a muted colour palette and feature lighting give the scheme a mixture of retro space age and high quality aesthetic reminiscent of the space shuttle in one of my favourite movies - 2001 A Space Odyssey. I particularly like the portraits of key historical figures that have been stylised and milled into wall panels in the front facing reception area.