Put Letchworth on the 3D Map!

Up to 29 October, there were 21 models completed and 19 in progress or to be replaced.

URGENT: We need to gather as many entries as we can! So if any model of yours is marked in bold style please upload it to the 3D Warehouse whether  you consider it to be completed or not! Let us know if you want any help.

The buildings listed below have been modelled or are in progress at 29 October (shown with the modeller’s initials; in 3D Warehouse, DB is identified as ‘World6440’ and JC is ‘Coops”).

1. The Goldsmith Centre, Broadway (CJ) – preceded this Competition – completed
2. The former Town Hall, Broadway (CJ) – preceded this Competition – completed – twice!
3. Broadway Cinema, Eastcheap (CJ & DB) – completed – twice!
4. Spirella Building, Icknield Way (CJ) – completed
5. The Community Hub, Station Road (formerly North Herts. Homes) (RL) – needs updating
6. North Herts. Homes (formerly the main Post Office) (SY) – cancelled
7. Fenners Building, The Wynd (JW) – draft to replace or improve
8. MacKay’s Junk & Disorderly, The Wynd (former drive-through garage) (JW) – draft to replace or improve
9. The Nexus Building, on Broadway Gardens (JH) – completed
10. An Exhibition Cottage (DO) – in progress
11. The Round House (historical – the house no longer exists; 140 Wilbury Road) (DO) – in progress
12. Station Place, shops and offices (CJ) – completed
13. The Public Library block (Broadway & Gernon  Road) (DB) – completed
14. The HBOS block, Leys Avenue & Gernon Road (DO) – in progress
15. Double-dormer house (_R) – in progress / out of contact
16. St Hugh of Lincoln church, Broadway Gardens, SG6 3PQ (DB) – completed
17. Fortescue Hall, Pixmore Way, SG6 3TP (DB) completed
18. Salvation Army Centre (Norton Way North, SG6 1BH) (JS) – in progress
19. Howgills (2 South View, SG6 3JJ) (JS) – in progress
20. Mrs Howard Memorial Hall (Norton Road South, SG6 1NX) (DB) – completed
21. North Hertfordshire Leisure Centre (Baldock Road, SG6 2ER) (JC) – completed
22. St Michael’s the Archangel church (Broadway Gardens, SG6 3PQ) (MH) – completed
23. St George’s church, Norton Way North, SG6 1DA (MH) – completed
24. The Free Church,  Norton Way South, SG6 1NX (MH) – completed.
25. Letchworth Baptist Church, West View, SG6 3HJ (MH) – completed
26. Hawksley Type BL8 pre-fabricated bungalows, 30 units = 60 semi-detached dwellings in Highover Road and Campfield Way, SG6 4XJ/4XH/4XL (JW) – draft to replace or improve
27. Cumberlows Composting site, Buntingford, SG9 0QD (where our biodegradeable waste is recycled)  (JW) – draft to replace or improve
28. St Alban Liberal Catholic Church, Norton Way South, SG6 2HG (MH) – completed
29. The North Herts. District Council’s offices, Gernon Road, SG6 3JF  (DB) – completed
30. The Settlement, Nevells Rd, SG6 4UB (MH) – completed
31. Brotherhood Hall, Gernon Road, SG6 3HL (JC) – completed
32. St Paul’s Church, St Paul’s Church, 179 Pixmore Way, SG6 1QT (DB) – completed
33. Broadway Gardens, with fountains and two pergolas, SG6 3… (JC) – in progress – Fountains model uploaded.
34. Letchworth Outdoor Pool (Lido, 1935), Norton Common, Icknield Way, SG6 4UF (JW) – to replace or improve; JC may improve it.
35. The Cloisters, Barrington Road, SG6 3TH (DB) – in progress, uploaded
36. Foundation House, Icknield Way, SG6 1GD (JW) – completed, to replace or improve
37. Letchworth Museum and Art Gallery (now closed), SG6 3PF (JW) – draft to replace or improve
38. Church of St Mary the Virgin, Letchworth Lane, SG6 2AJ (MH) – completed
39. Letchworth Railway Station, Station Place (JH) – in progress, uploaded

Only one version of each site’s model can appear in Google Earth but there are plenty of notable buildings to choose from. So please avoid the sites of existing models (except as noted to replace or improve).

NOTE: The examples shown in italic style are not entries in the Competition so you are welcome to improve any of them or replace it with your own version. See the page Learning to Use SketchUp for the photographs used for most of their textures.

We now have an additional sponsor for  match funding the main prize, the Google Nexus 7 tablet: the creative agency Harmony Internet based in Biggleswade: web site – portfolio.

We have just made contact with the following outstanding local contacts, with a view to their becoming fully involved in this project:

• Mike Tanti Design – associated with Digswell Arts Trust – runs one-day SketchUp training at six levels: workshops and gallery. Levels 1 to 3 are sufficient for this purpose.
• Virtual Viewing based in Milton Keynes. One of the company’s services is 3d modelling of products, retail environments and built environments, from single buildings to entire cities! web site and portfolio

At the same time, Earthware/The Design Studio are having to ‘take a back seat’ doe to staff changes (positive – congratulations!) and pressure of work. We thank them for their valuable support from the outset of this project.

It has been a concern from the outset of this project that the use of computer tools for design prevents anyone with a visual disability from taking part. That is probably still the case if you are blind.

However in terms of visually impairment this concern now seems misplaced. It turn out that computer-based design software, used with magnification so as to work on part of a design at a time, gives the precision and convenience for producing award winning results. That is the experience of David Hampson, winner of the BBC Radio 4 competition for Children in Need to design a limited edition, digital radio: notice, picture, competition – which is now available to order. He used computer aided design (CAD) software as he relates in today’s programme: listen again from 07:22 am.

Last night we held a SketchUp training session at the Goldsmith Centre thanks to Chris Jackson and there was a practice session on Saturday at the Community Hub thanks to Richard Lovewell. The level of demand is low but the enjoyment level is high and some stunning models are in progress.

Next we’re planning some practice sessions to assist local entrants with working up entries by the closing date of 30th September. At present these will be held on a basis of mutual support, without a tutor. Details to follow.

Since this project is about raising awareness of our local built environment and living spaces, you are invited to calculate your Carbon Footprint. here

By running through it once for your present dwelling and habits, then changing an answer, you can use the tool to assess the effect of any particular improvement yo might make!

P.S. on 15th/20th August: we’ve just had the first of these grants confirmed! Many thanks to Councillor Keith Emsall of Letchworth South Division for responding so promptly to this urgent request. Since Chris Jackson has already prepared the artwork and we have NHC Reprographics lined up for the job, we’ll get the posters & flyers printed and distributed forthwith.

We’re submitting applications to the local powers-that-be to boost our publicity as follows:

• Hertfordshire County Council: an urgent request for £125 for printing of large, middle-sized and small posters & flyers for our final round of advertising the Competition during September.
• Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation: a sum of £475 for a. match funding of the main prize, a Google Nexus 7 PC tablet with 16GB: £100; b. underwriting the cost of hiring a Broadway Cinema theatre for 2 hours: £250; c. printing the final round of publicity materials to advertise the Finale: £125.
• North Hertfordshire County Council: a sum of £400 to back up a. above if need be, £100; extra advertisement in a local paper, plus editorial if accepted, £300.

Those are the core elements we’re applying for. There are also opportunities: to match-fund the main prize fund and to fund incentive schemes before and after the closing date. The latter are needed because our free training sessions are unlikely to yield enough entries to merit all of the prizes and to justify to the big screenings in the Finale:

• During the Competition: a grant of £500 so as to reward the first 10 valid 3D models entered via Google 3D Warehouse with say £50 each.
• After the closing date of 30 September: another grant of £500 or more to commission further 3D models of selected, iconic buildings to a professional standard in Google Earth.

Here’s another example of effective town modelling in 3D. A company www.worldin3d.com has modelled the streets in the centre of Harpenden, Herts., UK, with the street-facing sides rendered in some detail. The buildings are displayed individually in 3D Warehouse and located in Google Earth. (See the screenshot attached.) The set of 3D models is the basis for the Harpenden Online Business Directory (with steps and tips for using it). There is even a virtual Bus Tour you can use!

“Marketing restrictions on Olympic contractors and suppliers are unlikely to be lifted before the end of the year, …” here, quoting the Armitt report, London 2012 – a global showcase for UK plc

What has 3D animation to do with the Olympic Games? The answers are so many and diverse that we need only mention coaching, advertisement / TV trailers / documentaries, venue planning, security, play-backs, big screen visuals …

That’s worth mentioning here for at least two reasons: 2D/3D modelling, animation, visualisation etc. are a vital element of the creative industries in which we in the UK excel and which contributed to an unprecedented degree to presentation of the Games (and hence London and the UK) to the rest of the world.

Another reason is closer to home: the ‘fly-through’ visualisation of the Olympic Park was orchestrated by our main commercial sponsor Earthware. Congratulations to Earthware and all who worked behind the scenes (quite literally in this case) to make the 2012 Olympic Games outstanding!

Two meetings ago we decided to put faces into our publicity. Well, here goes – see the new page on Our Team. If you’re shown and would prefer a different photo, please send it!