As editors on the Projects Team at ArchDaily, we wanted to reflect on the projects published in 2016—and, based on those submissions, to consider what we hope to see from the submissions we will publish in 2017.

During 2016, the projects we published had a high level of visual impact. Axonometric views were part of the vast majority of our publications, democratizing understanding by creating easily accessible views which closely resemble reality. Secondly, the development of immersive video technology has allowed us to publish full 360-degree tours through the interiors of works of different sizes, generating images which are increasingly representative of the physical reality of the work in question.

In general terms, the graphic representation of published projects has shown a user-oriented approach, typically using methods that eliminate the barriers of technical representation to generate universal participation. However, this graphical progress towards transmitting ideas in a clear way has not, on the whole, been reflected in the texts that accompany published works.

We are now hoping to publish works whose graphics take into account specific contextual situations. As Massimo Scolari discusses in his book “Oblique Drawings”:

Visual and conceptual representations are manifestations of the ideological and philosophical orientations of different cultures.

We expect for each work to be represented by drawing techniques selected not only for their aesthetic effects, but instead because they reflect the ideology of the architect—since it is not the same to use, for example, an axonometric perspective with parallel projection as it is to use an oblique projection. In reference to texts, we seek to promote descriptions which give a complete understanding of the work while clearly highlighting the project’s main aspects, using references if necessary to engage the reader through reflection on the work itself and the proposed design decisions.

The text as a catalyst for thought

Vila Matilde House / Terra e Tuma Arquitetos Associados
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We seek to publish clear and objective project texts that reveal the fundamental aspects of each project in a coherent way, capable of communicating the essential information to the reader and inviting them to create opinions about the work. Here are some good examples we received in 2016:

Estonian National Museum / DGT Architects (Dorell.Ghotmeh.Tane)
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Images as a way of thinking

‘Simone Veil’ Group of Schools in Colombes / Dominique Coulon & associés. Image © Eugeni Pons

Photographs:
We look for photographs that show general views of the project, first with broad views that show the relationship between the construction and its context, and then views which show the relationship between the different interior spaces. Also important are photographs which show particular aspects: close-ups that highlight details, finishes, and materials. Correction of perspective and color should be considered if necessary. Overall, we look for thoughtful photographs of each work, which go beyond fashions in the photographic technique. Here are some great examples we received in 2016:

The Bahá'í Temple of South America by Nico Saieh. Image © Nico Saieh

Diamond Island Community Center / Vo Trong Nghia Architects. Image © Hiroyuki Oki

Plans and drawings:
We expect drawings, plans, perspectives, collages, and sections, among other forms of representation. These should communicate the vision of the architect while delivering technical content in an accessible and readable form, using new technologies in order to accurately report the main characteristics of each project. Here are some excellent examples we received in 2016:

Courtesy of fala atelier

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This article was originally published on ArchSmarter.

For all the work you do in Revit, there’s a keyboard shortcut that can help you do it faster.

Here’s a roundup featuring some of my favorite Revit keyboard shortcuts to create and organize your model. Keep reading to learn how to create your own shortcuts.

This shortcut cheat sheet is also available in a convenient pdf form; simply sign up here to download it.

Create and Modify Elements

CS – When element is selected, creates new similar element

DL – Create detail lines

DR – Create Door

M + Space – Match properties

MV – Move

UP – Unpin

RM – Create room

RT – Insert room tag

SL – Split elements

Select Elements

Arrow Keys – Nudges the selected element

Shift + Arrow – Nudges the selected element 10x.

CTRL – Select multiple elements

MD – Activate the Modify tool

TAB – Cycle through multiple overlapping elements

SHIFT + TAB – Reverse the order of TAB cycling

Views

HI – Isolate element

HH – Hide element

HC – Hide category

SD – Shaded with edges

TL – Thin Lines

VV – Visibility / Graphics dialog for the current view

WF – Wire frame

ZE – Zoom to fit

SHIFT + Middle Mouse – Orbit in 3D views or pan in 2D views. Selecting an object before pressing SHIFT + Middle Mouse will cause the orbit to rotate around the selected object.

File Operations

CTRL + O – Open a new file

CTRL + N – Create a new project file

CTRL + S – Save the current file

Miscellaneous

ALT – Activates the keyboard designation for all the items on the interface. Might be useful if your mouse kicks the bucket before you’ve saved your file.

Create Your Own Revit Shortcuts

You can easily program your own Revit keyboard shortcuts. To do so, go to View > User Interface > Keyboard Shortcuts or type “KS”.

View > User Interface > Keyboard Shortcuts. Image Courtesy of ArchSmarter

This will open the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box.

Keyboard Shortcuts dialog. Image Courtesy of ArchSmarter

All of the default keyboard shortcuts are listed. Any shortcut listed in gray is a system shortcut and cannot be changed. To add a shortcut, find the command in the “Command” column or enter the command name in the “Search” field. Once you’ve selected the command, enter the shortcut combination in the “Press new keys” text box then click the “Assign” button.

You have a lot of flexibility assigning shortcuts. A single command can have multiple shortcuts. Likewise, a single shortcut can be used on multiple commands. In this case, you use the arrow keys to cycle through the commands as displayed in the status bar. Once you have the command you want, press the space bar to execute the command.

Some custom shortcuts you might want to consider are:

33 – Default 3D View

AA – Activate view

DD – Deactivate view

JJ – Join geometry

ML – Manage Links

MM – Macro Manager

SAV – Select all instances in view

SAS – Select all instances in project

WS – Worksets

WW – Create walls

Want some more suggestions? Check out this discussion on LinkedIn.

Naming Your Shortcuts

Speed is king when it comes to naming your shortcuts. Consider defining your shortcuts using the same letter or letters closely located on the keyboard. JJ for Join Geometry or AA for Activate View are two good examples.

You can even create three or four letter shortcuts if you need similarly named shortcuts. You could define WW for Create Wall and WWW for Worksets.

This method minimizes the amount of hunting and pecking required to find your shortcuts. It lets you keep one hand on the keyboard and the other on the mouse.

So how about you? How do you save time in Revit? What are your favorite shortcuts?

You can also download a convenient PDF of these shortcuts – simply sign up here to get the PDF, the ArchSmarter Newsletter, and free access to the ArchSmarter Toolbox, a library of time-saving Revit tools.

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Yesterday, the Board of La Biennale di Venezia appointed Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Grafton Architects as curators of the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale.

Farrell and McNamara established Grafton Architects in 1978. They have held the Kenzo Tange Chair at Harvard GSD and the Louis Kahn Chair at Yale University. The pair has also been invited as visiting teachers at EPFL in Lausanne and the Accademia d’Archittettura, in Mendrisio, where they were appointed as teachers in 2013, in addition to visiting several other universities worldwide for lectures and crits.

At the end of last year the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) awarded their UTEC Engineering and Technology University – UTEC project with the first RIBA International Prize, hailing it for “setting a new global standard for architectural achievement.” The award was judged by a grand jury chaired by Richard Rogers.

In addition to UTEC, you can see all of Grafton Architects’ projects featured on ArchDaily via the links below:

Engineering and Technology University – UTEC / Grafton Architects + Shell Arquitectos

© Shell Arquitectos

Engineering and Technology University – UTEC

Waterloo Lane / Grafton Architects

© Ros Kavanagh

Waterloo Lane

University of Limerick Medical School / Grafton Architects

© Dennis Gilbert

University of Limerick Medical School

Solstice Arts Centre / Grafton Architects

© Ros Kavanagh

Solstice Arts Centre

“Sensing Spaces” Installation / Grafton Architects

Installation by Grafton Architects © Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2014. Image © James Harris

Installation by Grafton Architects © Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2014. Image © James Harris

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© Amit Geron

• Architects: Levin Packer architects
• Location: Tel-Aviv Port, נמל תל אביב, Tel Aviv-Yafo, 6350600, Israel
• Architect In Charge: Rona Levin Ruth Packer Architects
• Area: 224.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Amit Geron

• Design Team: Rona Levin, Ruth Packer, Eli Chakarova, Einav Lampit
• Text : arch. Eli Chakarova

© Amit Geron

Floor Plan

From the architect. In the project we started, facing the current situation – an old warehouse, part of Tel Aviv port complex of restored warehouses (from the Tel Aviv Bauhaus period).  The task was to design a showroom of four different kitchen types for two kitchen companies, Le Cornue and SieMatic.

© Amit Geron

We decided to use the existing cross plan, thus carrying out the idea of four sleeves – four show spaces, each with its very distinguished and articulated character, offering different experience, while part of an organism that functions and breathes with all its parts as one.

© Amit Geron

The building was ripped off, the four spaces were cleaned of all that is unnecessary, left naked on their construction, this way exposing the authentic materials – bricks, metal and concrete structure of the building. 

© Amit Geron

 The four show spaces were knitted together by the overall rough background and the installation ducts passing through it – the electricity and air conditioning, placed in black ducts, while the brass light lines extended like golden threads.  The electric installation ducts are exposed and stretched, in order to emphasize the linearity and the horizontality of the space and interconnect everything altogether, being like life veins of the organism, supplying the necessity to each space.

© Amit Geron

 Materials were chosen to make the linkage and to give the desired atmosphere in a performance. On one hand there is the background that is with the authentic bricks, metal and concrete, on the other hand – the repeating brass theme across the building, seen in the library, the delicate light long threads, the decorative lamps over the working area, as well as the elements in the “Le Cornue” part. 

The “Le Cornue” kitchens with their particular design like old vintage suitcases gave us a platform to play with materials and forms, turning the space into a scene, giving to it a specific atmosphere. All La Cornue appliances, placed individually, present its real character and pop out like jewels, thanks to the contrast between the luxury metals and the rough background. We added the pot hanger that added character as well as the mirror doors that multiply space and materials, and create illusion.

© Amit Geron

    Left from the entrance, the “Pure Black” SieMatic island has its video art wall as a modern way to experience the kitchen space. In the front the “Urban” kitchen is treated as a loft which also enables the salesmen to use the space as a working place for them. The fourth kitchen type is the “Classic White” kitchen.

© Amit Geron

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UTEC / Grafton Architects. Image © Iwan Baan

“When you read Love in the Time of Cholera you come to realize the magic realism of South America.” Yvonne Farrell, Shelley McNamara and I were nestled in a corner of the Barbican Centre’s sprawling, shallow atrium talking about the subject of their most recent accolade, the Royal Institute of British Architects inaugural International Prize, awarded that previous evening. That same night the two Irish architects, who founded their practice in Dublin in the 1970s, also delivered a lecture on the Universidad de Ingeniería and Tecnologia (UTEC)—their “modern-day Machu Picchu” in Lima—to a packed audience in London’s Portland Place.

While this project firmly angled a spotlight on their work, they were today revealed as directors of the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale – the most important architectural event on the cultural calendar.

UTEC / Grafton Architects. Image © Iwan Baan

Farrell and McNamara, who together lead a team of twenty-five as Grafton Architects, are both powerful thinkers, considered conversationalists and unobtrusively groundbreaking designers. For a practice so compact their international portfolio is exceptionally broad. The first phase of the UTEC in the Peruvian capital, which began following an international competition in 2011, represents the farthest territory the practice have geographically occupied. It is, in their words, a “man-made cliff” between the Pacific and the mountains – on one side a cascading garden, and on the other a “shoulder” to the city cast from bare concrete.

The scale and character of the UTEC belie a rich portfolio of smaller projects, which began in the mid-1990s. A specialism in higher education buildings has evolved out of successive competitions, culminating (prior to UTEC) in Milan’s Universita Luigi Bocconi (2008). Burrowed into a small site along one of the city’s wide, tall streets, the monumental twenty-two-meter cantilever of the building appears to defy gravity – or, in their words, exists “in dialogue with gravity.” The spatial control required to achieve this structural feat was, for Farrell, a simple matter of “positing the two main beams on the roof, and then hanging the offices so they could be like soffits, adjusted.” Stood in the marble-lined, brightly lit ante-space, one is acutely aware of the weight suspended above.

Bocconi / Grafton Architects. Image © Grafton Architects

Ireland, where Shelley and McNamara were both born and educated, and from where they now teach and practice, has been crucial to the development of their temperament as architects. The country is defined on the one hand by geological, primal coasts and landscapes and, on the other, elemental vernacular structures. “The places that you love do seep into your unconscious,” McNamara says. “And they have probably also seeped into our way of thinking. We found at a certain moment that in order to find a way of discussing our own work to ourselves—to be liberated from just the plan, section and elevation—required a different sort of language. We would ask: is it a cliff? Is it something floating, like a cloud?” These sorts of terms have partially transposed Grafton’s practice from the confines of their own discipline into another area of thought.

“At the same time,” Farrell argues, “there is also a fantastic heritage of town, sprawl, and street in Ireland. When I was a child I was part of a town structure but I could always run out and into the fields – there exists this duality between urban and rural.” “Ruined monasteries, tower houses, and fragments standing in the landscape are all incredibly strong,” McNamara suggests. And there is certainly a particular sort of elementalism to these images, particularly where the west coast of the country faces the uninterrupted expanse of the Atlantic. “We’re aware of sky and we’re aware of wind; we’re on an island in which things are constantly changing,” Farrell states. “We are very conscious of weather and, therefore, outside and inside change.”

“We often say that James Joyce,” the great Irish poet and novelist, “held Dublin in the words of a book,” Farrell recalls. “In a similar way I think that we also imagine verbally, and then make.” Projects become more than just a story or a narrative – they become an inhabited physical reality. “When you read Thomas Hardy, for example, you realise that he was an architect. Literature, words, imagination and making are all very deeply connected.”

This approach to architecture has, in recent decades, become more and more a part of how Irish architecture is perceived around the world. “It’s a value system,” Farrell believes. “Irish architects are very well trained. Shelley and I have taught in many architecture schools around the world but the thing about Irish schools of architecture is that students have their feet on the ground, but their eyes on the stars.” This culture developed through the generosity of heads of schools, McNamara recalls. “They gave young architects teaching jobs which meant, for instance, that Yvonne and I were working as teachers only one year out of college. It means that we now have twenty-five years of conversation with people about their work, and our work.”

For a practice born in such an intimate context, Grafton have emerged as highly international. Alongside their creative leadership of the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, they are currently working on the London School of Economics’ Paul Marshall Building in London, the Institut Mines Telecom in Paris, the University of Economics in Toulouse, and a new city library for Dublin. “This sort of global practice,” Farrell explains, “can be about learning from new places; being mobile enough to go and understand them. Or it can be about cultural imperialism and homogenisation. Earlier I was reading about what was supposedly the first university in the world, with primarily Chinese and Indian scholars. It was about nothing more than the exchange of culture and ideas – and certainly not about one taking over the other. So ‘globalised’ practice is not about conquering something, or asserting your presence someplace – it’s about contributing to something that you find is good.”

Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara Named Artistic Directors of 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale
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© Davide Galli

• Architects: Evastomperstudio
• Location: 11013 Courmayeur AO, Italy
• Architect In Charge: Giovanni Capri
• Area: 600.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Davide Galli

© Davide Galli

Floor Plan

From the architect. Aim of the architectural intervention of Jardin de l’Ange is the requalification of a square that, for its own nature and position has always been the crucial and strategic hub for the community life. 

The main goal is to improve and consolidate the fruition of the square, thought as an amphitheatre with permanent bleachers covered by the typical local stones, created in order to mark (delimit) the public space defining the pedestrian access. 

© Davide Galli

The Jardin de l’Ange, if during the day is an interaction point and an open air living room, by the nights, due to its new conformation becomes an interactive social area. 

© Davide Galli

The chalet façade, included as well in the intervention, has been elaborated with a technological wall provided by mechanized LED walls that, when needed, reveal a convertible stage, always different in size and shape, adaptable to any kind of event. Sideways now there’s an innovated technical covering, a white multifaceted texture that, playing with lights and shadows gives a new alternative imagine to the front building. 

Axonometric

© Davide Galli

The project also includes a total white covering composed by a metallic structure with circular section elements, variable in length and diameter. This metallic twist, completely visible in the winter season, during the summer months will be upholster with tie rods and a white technical plastic fabric, which allows the shade in the hottest hours, lighting effects during the summer nights and protection from frequent rains. 

© Davide Galli

The lines that mark the profile of the covering are an explicit reference to the Mont Blanc skyline and its peaks raising behind the chalet. They recall the grandeur and majesty of the majestic “Giant”.

© Davide Galli

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© Åke E:son Lindman

• Architects: Elding Oscarson
• Location: Kungsgatan 34, 111 35 Stockholm, Sweden
• Design Team: Johan Oscarson, Jonas Elding (partners in charge) and Gustaf Karlsson (project architect)
• Area: 730.0 m2
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: Åke E:son Lindman

• Client: Identity Works
• Building Contractor: Öhmans Bygg
• Carpenter: Grötlingbo Möbelfabrik

© Åke E:son Lindman

From Office to Creative Atelier
The independent branding agency Identity Works is housed in one of Stockholms most iconic commercial buildings from the Swedish Grace era, designed by Cyrillus Johansson. When expanding within the building Elding Oscarson were given the opportunity to thoroughly look into the agency’s workflow in relation to the disposition of spaces. Within a tight framework of standard requirements, a project tailored for the client regarding openness, transparency, communication, and creative flow, could be crafted.

© Åke E:son Lindman

The envisioned creative atelier, however with the need of many enclosed rooms, resulted in a layout where enclosed spaces are arranged to form a series of interconnected open spaces. Like buildings, towards a square, these volumes have been given facades with large windows providing light and transparency. Their contrasting cladding of clear lacquered MDF shelving, highlights the spatial organization while functioning as an ever-changing mood board.

Plan

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© Quang Tran

• Architects: a21studio
• Location: Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam
• Area: 142.0 m2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Quang Tran

© Quang Tran

From the architect. The house is nostalgia for Cham ethnic’s traditional house with a modern living space.

© Quang Tran

The aim of the design is making a house using all familiar local materials and nomal building methods, so the design can speak itself with minimum care for artificial lighting and material use.

© Quang Tran

Plan Sketch

© Quang Tran

The house is a 45degree diagonal block, divided the 18mx20m site into 2 triangle gardens. From here, all the views inside the house and toward gardens are framed in various ways – from the combination of basic elements: white brick walls, wooden beams, openings and the roof.

© Quang Tran

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© HOU Bowen

• Architects: ZHOU Ling Design Studio
• Location: Nanjing, Jiangsi, China
• Design Studio: School of Architecture And Urban Planning, Nanjing University /Atelier Zhouling Nanjing Changjiang Metropolitan Design CO. Ltd
• Principal Architect: ZHOU Ling
• Area: 11910.0 m2
• Project Year: 2015
• Photographs: HOU Bowen

• Design Team: WU Shijia, YANG Hai, Wang Sujing，ZOU Feng, ZHANG Ru，Li Hongrui, Chen Tingting

© HOU Bowen

From the architect. The primary school form resembles a cube along with the slope, such as a stone cross-wall embedded in slopes. 

© HOU Bowen

In order to make the building appear lower, the original three-layer buildings look like only two layers high, which helps create intimate visual experience for children and reduce the pressure of the volume.

Axon

This design paid full attention to the creature of public space. An 8-meter-wide north-south corridor runs through the building is an inner street-style pathway inside of the building, which provides two-story high public communication space for children. 

© HOU Bowen

Through linking teaching space with 25-meter distance in the west and serving space with lower requirements in the east, ‘the inner street’ makes the building a whole part. This layout, both conducive to the partition, the function does not interfere with each other, but also to streamline the shortest, each part of the users can easily reach the mostly used regions.

© HOU Bowen

First Floor

© HOU Bowen

Due to the highway in the east and north side, the design minimized windows in the east and north facade in order to create a quiet environment. To increase th lighting, the architect inserted a variety of large and small courtyard in-between rooms, which constitute interactive small communities for teachers and students together.

© HOU Bowen

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© Ravi Kanade

• Architects: Abin Design Studio
• Location: Santiniketan, West Bengal 731204, India
• Architect In Charge: Abin Design Studio
• Design Team: Abin Chaudhuri, Poorvi Dugar Ajmera, Angshujit Mazumder
• Area: 2585.0 ft2
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Ravi Kanade

© Ravi Kanade

‘Bonochhaya’ is an exclusive housing project themed around the heritage of Shantiniketan, which as a place, is a tribute to the legacy of Rabindranath Tagore. It is a project for a luxury retreat with a rural, nature-inspired flavour. 

© Ravi Kanade

Built as the client Interaction zone for ‘Bonochhaya’, the experience centre for this development is designed to bring out all these aspects and more. It consists all essential functions of meeting spaces, presentation areas, discussion zones, set in the environment showcasing the local flavour as a unique selling feature of the project. 

© Ravi Kanade

Nature, romanticised through the emphasis on sitting in the shade of trees, is an integral part of the design and is woven in through its conceptualisation. The glass waiting lounge overlooking the open-to-sky deck invites one from the street to taste the environment created through these green connections. 

© Ravi Kanade

With temperatures soaring upto 45°C, it was imperative that the design keeps out the harsh summer sun. Double brick walls and Southward-tilted terracotta tile roofs were ideal passive cooling measures to employ as they also lent an earthy vibe. The sloping roofs were split into 3 different heights to work as an interesting way to bring greens in to the various volumes. The shaded northern green courtyard capitalised on existing trees and translated into the ‘Soul’ of Shantiniketan life. 

© Ravi Kanade

Inspired by Tagore’s teachings, tribal art, intrinsic to Shantiniketan, was woven into the design and graphics. Brick walls and Terracotta Tiles complement the Steel Structure and Concrete floors to bring out the contemporary and forward-thinking nature of the true Tagore disciple. 

© Ravi Kanade

Once the development is fully occupied, the experience centre is planned for re-use as a doctor’s clinic for the local community. The facility would include a day care ward, a small diagnostic centre and an out-patient department. This is something the developer had planned at the start of the project as a means to give back to the community. We managed to integrate the social aspect with their requirement of a space for marketing into a single structure, saving cost and time while adding sentimental and architectural value to both functions.

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