This guide shows how to use a D5 Render a free live-sync plugin to improve SketchUp workflow.

In a recent article published by The Guardian, Renzo Piano encourages architects to make sandcastles. "There is no age limit," he says, "... it helps you think like a child." The Italian architect credits the start of his career to the first sandcastle he ever made on the Genoa shoreline. "Making things has always been a pleasure for me – happy hands, happy mind – and making sandcastles was my training in fantasy."

Side by Side is an exhibition by photographer Robin Hill that explores the similarities and differences between two of America's most iconic houses. The Glass House by Philip Johnson and The Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe. Through a series of dyptychs, Mr. Hill's lens explores both the geometry of the structures and their place in the environment. Tellingly the exhibition is housed in the Seagram Building designed by Mies van der Rohe and assisted by Philip Johnson. The lobby of The Four Seasons is an ideal venue for this exhibition as much of the design aesthetic of both architects is prevalent in the space as well as in the photographs.

The Chicago Architecture Foundation has launched an open international ideas competition for a facility that will include a new headquarters, visitor center and exhibition space for CAF; a new headquarters for the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH); a design and allied arts high school; and flexible learning spaces for out-of-school-time youth programs. The project, dubbed the Center for Architecture, Design and Education (CADE) will a new kind of learning campus aimed to "equip young people to be stewards for the built environment of the 21st Century."

The Royal Academy of Arts in London have launched a new international ideas competition which aims "to refocus attention to the huge potential of the brownfield sites that still exist across London." 'Brownfield' sites, or those earmarked for potential building development that have had previous development on them, are plentiful in the UK capital. This competition seeks "speculative ideas [which] make the most of these missing pieces in London’s urban jigsaw."

The emphasis on light and lighting now is more than ever and this is evident from the global initiative by UNESCO to declare and celebrate 2015 as the International Year of Light. With this in mind, Nightscape 2050 is a unique exhibition dedicated to Lighting and is aimed to explore a completely new horizon of lighting design. This exhibition aims to explore the interactions between people, light, and cities in the year 2050. “Nightscape” does not just mean the evening view; to us “nightscape = humans and cities at night.”

Building a city has never been so easy. With Duncan Shotton Design Studio's Sticky Page Markers you can create your own urban landscape, while marking the pages of your books, catalogues, or notes.

The paper post-it sets feature landmarks like the Empire State Building (complete with King Kong), St. Paul’s Cathedral, Skytree, and Peak Tower to create a micro landscape of either New York, London, Tokyo, or Hong Kong. City packs can also be combined with Forest, Desert, Ocean, or Polar sets, among others, to add a natural touch to some of the world’s best known urban skylines. Explore more Sticky Page Markers here.

Article 25, the charity which designs, builds, and manages projects to provide buildings for some of the world’s most vulnerable communities, have announced that late last month "the Managing Director [...] was made aware by its bank of irregular account activity." They have stated that a full investigation was immediately launched and the trustees have since "uncovered what appears to be a systematic falsification of financial statements that have hidden multiple unapproved payments, which are believed to be in excess of £200,000" (€280,000 or $310,000 USD). They have announced that William Golding, the office manager and book keeper, "was absent on Monday June 29 and has been uncontactable since then."

This conference will examine the unique challenges facing architects and designers when creating environments and technology for people with autism.

Key speakers will outline recommendations and concepts that show good practice in the design of buildings and technology. They will also give insights into understanding sensory issues for people with autism and how to take these into account when designing environments.

Eighteen years after its original publication, Paul Oliver’s Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World will be updated, revised, and expanded to include over 30% of new material. With around 3,000 entries, the new version of the encyclopedia is set to be published in 2018, and will reflect the considerable growth and changes in the architectural field.

In order to complete the second edition, Oxford Brookes University is asking for submissions for both the already existing sections, as well as for new sections on Consumption and Sustainable Development.

The architectonic models of 41 Japanese architects are on display at the Triennale di Milano.

Using models created by a wide variety of Japanese architects – including Kengo Kuma, Tetsuo Furuichi, Shigeru Ban, Arata Isozaki, Koh Kitayama, Rike Yamamoto, Archi Depot Tokyo Exhibition explores the visions of the architects.

In a fast-paced and ever expanding city, looking at time as measure and inspiration will be this year's challenge. The workshop will investigate novel techniques of design for a crucial architectural and urban condition: time.

From its adventurous departure to today's worldwide architectural stardom, we will investigate the transformation and prospects of the city-state's curated architectural image. Defining methods and artefacts to represent the past and future of a city that never stops changing, the workshop will immerse itself into the existing condition of Singapore.

Japanese office, The Shelter Corporation, has announced their 17^th international architectural ideas competition, open to undergraduate and post-graduate students (as of September 11, 2015) across the world. The Shelter Corporation, which focuses on timber and wood-framed buildings, hosts this competition annually to generate discussion among students on the future of wood and timber construction. Believing in the importance of a sustainable built environment, the firm hopes that this competition can be the gateway for many young architects-to-be to enter the workplace with new ideas.

Daniel Libeskind will be joining CNN for a month-long editorship that will explore the "interplay between architecture and emotion." As CNN reports, CNN Style is a "new international destination for cosmopolitan, global audiences" that will kickstart with Libeskind's architecture series this July.

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As a part of its #ILookUp campaign, the American Institute of Architects has announced its Look Up Film Challenge, a competition that invites filmmakers and architects to collaborate on a short film that illuminates how architecture enriches our lives and our communities.

In order to learn the challenge’s secret prompt on July 17, teams of one to three members should register by July 15.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)’s Future Trends Survey for May 2015 continues to show widespread consistency in comparison to March and April, with the workload index remaining "remaining virtually unchanged" at +37 from +36 last month. The private housing sector, which remained strong last month, fell slightly to +34 from +38 while the public sector moved into negative territory for the first time since July 2014. The RIBA claim that "respondents anticipate public sector spending on building projects to be flat at best over the coming quarter." However, the forecasts for the commercial sector rose to +21 from +15 last month, and the community sector forecast "made a recovery from its recent decline" rising to +4 from -3 in April.

2A Magazine is pleased to announce the first annual 2A Asia Architecture Award; 2AAA 2015, which celebrates “The Emergence of Contemporary Architecture in Asia”.

PURPOSE This annual international award is to honour architects -individuals or groups- whose substantial contributions to today’s architecture and urban design in Asia, have made waves and impact on Asia or even international architecture scene. As the Middle East regional source for information regarding architecture, design and art ,2A Magazine has always attempted to avoid the extinction of cultural identity in architecture and art and emphasis on these unique distinctions rather than global modernism. Accordingly this Award will be the context to highlight and recognize the essences of architectural identity in Asia and present them to the audience.

Realtà e Fantasia. Cartoline dall’Italia exhibition conveys a selection of Sergei Tchoban’s architectural drawings. The walls of of the gallery will be covered with 60 sketches – depicting landscapes and fantasies. As a part of the exhibition installation pictures shot in Tchoban’s Berlin atelier – nps tchoban voss –, document some of his completed architectural projects, will give a good idea about the artists visions not only as an architect, but also as someone whose passion is architectural drawing.

The 15th edition of the "Days of Architecture" is almost here! This festival will take place from 25 September 2015 to 24 October 2015, in the Upper Rhine Valley. Punctuated by nearly 200 events, the festival aims to bring the architecture to the largest population.

The "Days of Architecture" will start with an opening night on the 25th of September 2015, in the Zénith of Strasbourg. During this opening night, we will have the honor to welcome the architect Richard Rogers (Pritzker Prize 2007) and his associate, Ivan Harbour, for a conference. Currently, more than 600 people have already registered for this conference!