Bugati Veyron

BUGATTIVEYRON
Let’s start with the Bugatti’s 8.0 litre, 16 cylinder, quad turbo engine, which
produces 1001 bhp, or more than an F1 car. This propels the Veyron to 100
km/h (62 mph) in less than 3 seconds, or approximately the time it takes to say, “zero to one hundred kilometres an hour”. For those of you with a stammer, the Bugatti will be doing well in excess of 100 mph by the time you manage to get that out. The Veyron’s party piece, and the feat which earns it the most column inches in the motoring press, is top speed. Try searching the internet for 400 km/h or 250 mph and see which production car appears most frequently in the results. In order to achieve this heady velocity you’ll need: 1) to engage maximum speed mode using an additional key Bugatti provides; 2) a very long and straight section of road, preferably without any pot holes or speed bumps; and 3) huge bollocks, because if you wuss out and
touch the brakes it will automatically disengage this function, limiting you to a mere 375 km/h (230 mph). With maximum speed mode engaged the Veyron squats down on it’s haunches until there is only 65 mm of ground clearance at the front and 70 mm at the rear. Additionally, to further reduce wind resistance, the flaps on the front spoiler close and the rear wing and spoiler retract. When not trying to reach maximum speed, these aerodynamic aids automatically deploy above 220 km/h (137 mph) to improve high speed stability, but generate too much drag through the air to allow the car to break the magic 400 km/h / 250 mph barrier. One of the design challenges Bugatti faced was finding a tyre which could cope with a 1900kg (over 4000 punds) car capable of such high speeds. Since Bugatti is selling the Veyron in the US it also had tofactor in the possibility of two, junk food addicted, 300 pound occupants – although no doubt they always order a bucket-sized cup of diet coke when supersizing their fast food order - in the tyre specifications. The Michelin tyres were specifically designed for the Veron, and will last for 15 minutes at the top speed, although flat out, a full tank of fuel will only last for 12 minutes… Visually, the Veyron pays homage to Bugatti’s rich heritage, with the horseshoe-shaped grill, and two tone paint, highlighting the elliptical sculpted sides, reminiscent of the marque’s legendary racing and sports cars of the 1920’s and 1930’s. The engine is proudly on display in the open, although that’s more a side-affect of trying to keep it cool than a styling feature. To assist with the cooling the Veyron has a total of ten radiators, which is more than the average family dwelling. The interior is no less stunning, with the combination of leather and aluminium creating a truly unique, sumptuous experience, as befitting a car with a price tag in excess of 1 million Euros. Ultimately, I can’t decide whether the Bugatti Veyron is the best car ever made or an utterly pointless one-trick pony, designed purely to be the fastest ever road car. I for one can’t think of too many places where it would be possible to reach 400 km/h without touching the brakes, even on the unrestricted autobahns of Germany. For the mega rich, knowing they own the fastest car ever built is probably enough of a reason to buy one, as well as advertising to the world that they’ve got so much money that pissing away this trifling amount on a car isn’t a big deal. In some respects the Veyron also represents great value – bear with me on this one – because even though it costs in excess of 1 million Euros, each one is rumoured to cost Bugatti’s parent company, Volkswagen, around 7 million Euros to produce. Although a penis extension may cost less, at least you can openly flaunt the Veyron in public.

The MillauBridge, France

The Millau
Bridge, France

“It’s extraordinary…delicate
and minimalist…driving across
it would feel like f lying a car”
– Sir Norman Foster, Chief UK
architect on the project

Opened in 2004, this 2,460 metres (8,071 ft) long, large cable-stayed, multicolumn road-bridge spans the River Tarn valley near Millau in southern France and is a spectacular feat of structural engineering designed by French bridge engineer Michel Virlogeux and UK architects Foster and Partners. It is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world with one mast’s summit at 343 metres (1,125 ft) – slightly taller than the Eiffel Tower and only 38 m (125 ft) shorter than New York’s Empire State Building. Hold your breath as we plunge (metaphorically!) into the design, construction and mechanics of what was formerly le Viaduc de Millau. What to build and why? Before the bridge was constructed as part of the new Expressway connecting Paris and Barcelona, traffic had to descend into the Tarn River valley and pass near the town of Millau causing heavy congestion at the beginning and end of the summer holiday season, and was dreaded as a ‘great blackspot’ of motoring. Carrying two lanes of traffic and a safety lane in each direction, the bridge now traverses the Tarn valley above its lowest point, linking the Causse du Larzac to the Causse Rouge and is inside the perimeter of the Grands Causses regional natural park.

“There is not
enough money in
the world to entice
me to drive over
this bridge”
– A very cautious
motorist!

The road to construction was lengthy: 15 years in the planning with initial studies beginning
in 1988 as to whether a bridge or tunnel was the design solution. By June the following year, a bridge design was elected as having the least impact on the environment. In 1994 a restricted design competition began limited to submissions by five teams of architects and in summer 1996, the winning cooperative was announced which included Britain’s very own Foster & Partners. Sir Norman Foster said that the Millau Viaduct “illustrates how a collaboration between architects and engineers can result in a structure of breathtaking beauty,” adding that this beauty “lies primarily in its clarity of expression.”

The result
“We were attracted by the elegance and logic of a structure that would march across the heroic landscape, and in the minimal way would connect one plateau to the other,” Foster commented. “We were driven by the scale of the idea and a shared passion for the poetic dimension of engineering and its sculptural potential.” This meant, he said, that during the design process there were never any conflicts between satisfying structural demands and aesthetic ideas, because they evolved together. The design gives the impression that the bridge
piers had grown from the soil, in line with Foster’s conviction that “A work of man must fuse with nature.” With bridge construction costs upwards of €390 million, it’s no surprise that to help recoup some of the huge financial outlay, the viaduct operates as a toll bridge costing around €6-€7. Pay bridge or not, over 600,000 tourists have already paid their toll to take in the unparalleled 360º panoramic views… Those of you interested in seeing world records before your very eyes should pay a visit to the Millau Bridge before December 2009 when the Chenab Bridge in Kashmir, India will be completed at 359 metres high, making it the new world record holder in the tallest suspension bridge stakes by 16 metres. Where will it all end, we here you ask?...

Expo.02, Towers of Biel, Switzerland

Expo.02, Towers of Biel, Switzerland

Towers are regarded as signs of power and symbols of freedom, and to architects they’re erotic signals of the human desire to be “monarch of all I survey” – as the parable of the Tower of Babel tells us. The design for Expo.02 was orientated on strategies of urban construction to create reference points for further developments. All functional preconditions were integrated into the urban masterplanning, enabling designers to react to changes in a flexible way. The site of the great exhibition was conceived as a roofed platform jutting out over Lake Biel and ending in a space with three towers coincidentally and fully intentionally resembling an aircraft carrier. Under the roof, the platform is available for multi-use purposes while the towers are visible as giant signs by day and experienced as sculptures of sound and light by night, “emphasising the vivacious transistor-like character of
Expo.02.” Completed May 2002.

UFA Cinema Centre, Dresden, Germany

UFA Cinema Centre, Dresden, Germany

Tackling the problem of Europe’s endangered public spaces, COOP HIMMELB(L)AU analysed the mono-functionality of such spaces and decided to add new urban functions to them, enabling a new urbanity to arise in the city. The character of this urbanity would not only be determined by functional differentiation and the creation of new spatial sequences but also by the injection of exciting new media events. The project for the UFA Cinema Centre is a result of the urban design concept interweaving together public squares, public interiors and passageways as a way of re-energising Dresden’s new centre. The design is characterised by two intricately interconnected building units: the Cinema Block with eight cinemas and seating for 2,600 viewers; and the Crystal, a glass shell simultaneously serving as foyer and public square. The Cinema Block opens up towards the street for pedestrian traffic and is differentiated by the circulation system of the cinemas and by views through to the square. The Crystal functions as an urban passageway with bridges, ramps and stairs to the cinemas acting as urban expressions in themselves, allowing views of the movement of people on a multitude of levels while unfolding the urban space into three dimensions. The lively quality of this space can be described in relation to the dynamic structure of film. The Skybar, the “floating” doublecone inside the foyer hosts different functions (café, bar etc) and in this way, the content of the building becomes visible to the city as much as the city is visible from the building as an inside-out building which sustains a dialogue with the city. The media event projected from the interior towards the exterior – assists in the creation of urban space. Completed March 1998.

Apartment & Office Building Schlachthausgasse,Vienna, Austria

Apartment &
Office Building
Schlachthausgasse,
Vienna, Austria

Following the closure of the Mautner Markhof Children’s Hospital in Vienna’s third district in 1998, COOP HIMMELB(L) AU won the limited design competition for a new building to occupy the vacant
6,000 m² space. The architects suggested conserving the valuable trees along the Kleingasse and set two slim building volumes in line with the Schlachthausgasse to return the urban block into its previously defined form. The remaining part of the property along the Kleingasse forms a garden yard which is acoustically separated from the busy Schlachthausgasse. The building complex contains 82 dwellings and approximately 12,000 m² of office space with underground parking for 260 cars integrated into the sloped surface towards the Danube and allowing for access at almost the same level from Schlachthausgasse. The above ground, 6+1 storey building is individually differentiated by sculpturally protruding building components with special room programs which make possible an optimisation of the internal sequences of functions, as well as
making better use of daylight. In the “Head Building” oriented to the south, a 450 m² basement youth centre with its own meeting rooms is fully integrated into the building. Completed July 2005.

Villa Soravia, Millstatt, Austria

Villa Soravia, Millstatt, Austria

The Villa Soravia vacation home lies on the shore of Lake Millstatt on the southernmost tip of the Millstatt health resort in Carinthia,
Austria. COOP HIMMELB(L)AU embarked on this as a renovation rather than new build project since building regulations required that the contours of the previous structure and angle of its roof be preserved. With these specifications, they produced a vacation home whose form is defined by the original gable roof, a slanted tower, a generously defined exterior and an inimitable spatial structure. The simple structural concrete, white painted wood and metal and consciously anti-tectonic joint pattern of Villa Soravia lend the home a flair of ease and serenity. A “table” platform of reinforced concrete elevates the upper area of the former house so that a free floor plan is possible on the ground level. The “table” separates the private rooms in the upper area from the semi-public transparent rooms in the lower area. A terrace extends the living room on the ground level out toward the Lake. The room, with its ceiling-high glass panels, can be opened allowing inside and outside spaces to flow together. The Villa Soravia is also transparent on the street side, another of its important characteristics. Here, local artists have the opportunity to use the public area as an exhibition space. Directly above the docks – where boats can be hoisted up by means of a cable winch lies a kitchen counter. When the window is open, it’s almost as though the motor boat hangs directly in the kitchen. To reinforce the open and Mediterranean flair of the summer villa, Sicilian olive trees adorn Villa Soravia’s interior and exterior spaces. Completed August 2005.

Guangzhou Opera House,

Guangzhou Opera House,
Guangzhou, China

The Guangzhou Opera House design considered the opera as a new expressive icon for the city, recreating city life by
means of interaction, convergence and overlap of activities,
together with the surrounding buildings in the Cultural and
Arts Square becoming a focal point of active urban life through
its museum, library and youth centre. Main building elements
are the elevated, massive, cubic volumes of the theatres, composed in two sculptural blocks: the opera block with the auditorium, stage, fly tower and backstage building; and the multi- purpose hall block. A third sculpture is placed in the centre of the composition and serves as connector between the two theatres. The glazed tube-like lobby skin is the space of convergence, where public events and exclusive private functions overlap in one fluid space and from here, stairs and vertical circulation cores access the private functions above –this tube is open with energy lines reaching out into the plaza and towards the museum. At the back and around the main auditorium the tube skin encloses the exclusive opera lobby and from here a grand staircase with escalators and elevators
lead up to the main Opera House auditorium. Completed 2002.

JVC New Urban Entertainment Centre Guadalajara, Mexico

JVC New Urban Entertainment Centre Guadalajara, Mexico

Redefining the meaning of entertainment in the 21st century, this project combines entertainment and commerce in new facilities based on the production
and exchange of knowledge, while incorporating the health of body and mind into the process. Different cultural and regional themes will be offered and
different guest architects are designing the 1,000-seat theatre, 700-seat cinema, 500-seat IMAX theatre, 7 restaurants, 7 bars/clubs, shops, fitness and pool area
and offices for research and technological development. The building consists of 5 major elements: ground plane, cinema blocks, shopping decks, sculptural
figures and roof. The ground plane is partially broken into the ground to create the central sunken plaza. The plaza contains the cinema blocks and provides
the main access to the multiple functions of the building. Still below ground, loft structures including park decks flank the cinema blocks and central plaza to
both sides and contain the shops, pool, fitness area and offices. Completion scheduled March 2011.

Busan Cinema Complex Urban

Busan Cinema Complex Urban

Plaza, South Korea

Creating a new public space as a lively, ibrant landmark for the Busan Cinema Complex and home of the Pusan International Film Festival. The concept envisions an Urban Plaza of our overlapping zones including an Urban Valley, Red Carpet zone, Walk of Fame and PIFF Canal Park. The zones are formed by highly recognisable building objects housing project functions including Cinema Mountain, PIFF Hill, Double Cone concourse and BOWL outdoor amphitheatre. Roof elements acting as a Virtual Sky connect objects and zones in a continuous, multi-functional public urban space where media, technology, entertainment and leisure are merged in an open-architecture of changeable, tailored events and experiences. The result is a responsive, flowing space acting as an urban catalyst for cultural experimentation and transformation. Completion scheduled October 2011.

Facebook raises $150 million more to cash out employees

Facebook has almost finished raising $150 million in capital, in an extraordinary move by the company to buy out shares of hundreds of regular employees.
Hundreds of the Palo Alto, Calif.’s employees have now toiled at the company for more than two years, and many have worked three to five years. Increasingly, some have become restless, and would like to cash in on the huge value they’ve created. Most employees were awarded several thousands of shares valued at far less than a dollar each. Now, by selling to those shares investors for a private market value of $10 each, employees can enjoy a nice windfall. According to our sources, the transaction will include the buying out of roughly 15 million common shares — thus equaling around $150 million total value.
Facebook declined comment on the financing.
The deal has not quite closed yet. But it’s another sign that large private companies like Facebook are desperately seeking ways to find “liquidity” for their employees — especially now that the IPO market remains difficult, in particular for unprofitable companies.
Because of the size of the round, Facebook’s existing investors — Accel, Greylock, Founders Fund and several others — found it a stretch to supply the full amount of capital. We’re hearing the final part of the deal is being sold to new Asian investors.
Speculation about Facebook raising cash has swirled for several months, but most reports have misunderstood the reason why Facebook wanted to do so. Some outsiders claim the social networking company needs the cash to cover high storage and server costs, now that more than 200 million users are sharing photos at an increasing rate. But the company has constantly rejected such arguments, and now our sources are corroborating that.
The company declined to comment specifically on the fundraising, or the amount. Spokesman Larry Yu confirmed the existence of a Facebook common stock sale program, which lets employees sell up to 20 percent of their common share holdings, but he wouldn’t comment on any other details. “Facebook is a private company, so as a matter of policy, we don’t typically share details about our financial plans or comment on rumor and speculation,” he said, using a prepared statement. The company delayed the program in October, but we’re hearing the program will resume once this latest funding is finalized, which should happen very soon.
Before this, the company raised more than 400 million. It also raised debt of at least $100 million, much of that coming last year, and most of it in the form of a lease line to buy servers.
There’s no denying the company faces significant costs in covering photo-sharing costs. However, over the past six months, the company dedicated a crack team of three engineers to drive down the costs considerably. The initiative, called Haystack, replaced off-the-shelf storage products — which contained a lot of “head room” costs — with a proprietary architecture that shrunk the company’s computing costs to what really mattered. There’s also no sign the company is holding back from rolling out new high-bandwidth initiatives. It’s about to roll out a new live video chat feature, according to a report by AllFacebook (Update: We’ve since heard from another source that, while this is video chat feature in testing, there are no current plans to launch it).
Yu said speculation last last year by TechCrunch about Facebook’s server costs were an “order of magnitude wrong:” He added: “There’s a perception that our costs are skyrocketing…But those costs are not as nearly as radical as people are beginning to report.” He said that if nothing were to change at all, the company is on a “clear path to be cash-flow positive in 2010.” This is possible given Facebook’s cash in the bank, its managing of infrastructure costs and growth of its business, he said.
The company has repeated several times that it doesn’t need cash. Last month, the company’s COO Sheryl Sandberg told Bloomberg: We could not be doing better financially … We might take money—but it doesn’t mean we need to.”
The buyout of employee shares in this latest transaction should be distinguished from the separate process of “secondary market” transactions, in which former Facebook employees sell their shares to accredited investors. Those transactions are commonplace. Until now, however, Facebook has asked its current employees to refrain from such sales.

tips setting dan istilah render 3ds max with vray render

Semoga membantu buat teman2 yang akrab dengan 3dsmax dan vray


- Vray Camera
vray pc merupakan camera dari vray. ada beberapa istilah didalamnya yang mungkin buat anda bingung n ini yang sering dirubah2.
saya akan memberitahu maksud dari istilah tsb.

f-number = rana (ibarat mata adalah diameter pupil) pada camera manual sett. defaultnya adalah 5,6 pada camera digital defaultnya adl 8

shutter speed = kecepatan mengambil cahaya cahaya, kalau km ingin merender eksterior siang dan interior berarti sett. antara 125-200, kalau eksterior malam atw didalam ruang yang gelap sampai 400

ISO = intensitas cahaya, exposure dari camera tersebut apakah mau diterangin atw digelapin.untuk default adl antara 100-200 lebih dari 200 akan terang bgt.


- Material
Pada saat anda membuat material dengan file misalnya material batu alam, byasanya klo dirender miring qo materialnya ga sharp atw ngeblur why???...

cek di material, klik "m" di diffuse, setelah itu ada tulisan "blur = 1.0" anda ganti jadi "0,1(evermotion punya)" atw "0,01"

- Settingan Render (for 2 processors computer)
Klo anda ingin merender eksterior, menurut saya gunakan settingan ini:
* default lightingnya tidaj dicentang
* IRR (1) + LC (0,8-1)
* IRR, klo coba2 -3 -3, klo final gunakan "high"
* Environment, skylight gunakan vraysky yang ada di environment(reflectionnya) gunakan vraysky jg
* Color mapping, eksterior pake linear (dark=1 bright=1), interior bisa pake exponential (d=1, b=2) dan (d=2, b=3) dan reinhard (d=1-2 burn=0.55)
* rqmc, noise threshold = 0,001, sample = 12-24
* LC antara 800-1500

Smoga bermanfaat

B.E.R.S.A.M.B.U.N.G....