Alpha Centauri 2

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri & Alien Crossfire => Modding => Topic started by: gwillybj on October 21, 2014, 05:58:55 PM

Title: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: gwillybj on October 21, 2014, 05:58:55 PM
Some stuff from the WWW. Can be used as-is, or colorized to be a little bit dismal like the SMAC & SMAC originals.

ING Headquarters - Amsterdam, Netherlands

(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_dlkAw43cLC0/SSQVk1luXlI/AAAAAAAAA60/Nk6WRGDLHK8/s800/ING-headquarters-1.jpg)

Location: Amstelveenseweg 500, Amsterdam, Netherlands (alongside the A10 highway Ringweg-Zuid)
Date: 2002
Architect: Meyer & Van Schooten Architecten
Purpose: Company Headquarters
More info: As a headquarters building, it is required to represent the ideals of the company, which are transparency, innovation, eco-friendliness, and openness. The shape of the building has earned a few nicknames for it - “shoe”, “space ship”.

http://unusual-architecture.com/ing-headquarters-amsterdam-netherlands/ (http://unusual-architecture.com/ing-headquarters-amsterdam-netherlands/)
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: Buster's Uncle on October 21, 2014, 06:03:24 PM
 ;b; ;b;

You know, where you can find aerial views of buildings -roughly 30-45 degrees, and preferably, lit from the right and unobscured by bushes and trees- bases can be made from the shot, too.
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: gwillybj on October 21, 2014, 06:04:07 PM
KAFFEE HEADQUARTERS, GERMANY

APRIL 30, 2012 LUCY GRAPH

(http://static.squarespace.com/static/51eed906e4b0953024980af9/53004400e4b0fa8137bd486c/53004405e4b0fa8137bd4875/1392526343103/Kaffee-Partner-Headquarters-3deluxe-3.jpg)

One of Germany's most beloved coffee brewing companies, Kaffee, has just moved into their curvy new 106,000 square foot headquarters. 3Deluxe, the visionaries behind the architecture and design of the project, wanted to combine the effect of a striking sculptural architecture with the functionality of commercial workplace needs for 300 employees. The result of this idea manifested into a 4-story, asymmetrical, form-flowing layered structure.
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: gwillybj on October 21, 2014, 06:06:01 PM
;b; ;b;

You know, where you can find aerial views of buildings -roughly 30-45 degrees, and preferably, lit from the right and unobscured by bushes and trees- bases can be made from the shot, too.

Thanks for the reminder about the lighting. I'll change the search settings and see what's out there.
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: gwillybj on October 21, 2014, 06:20:25 PM
ESO (European Southern Observatory)

(http://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/screen/140609038-cc.jpg)

The ESO Headquarters in Garching, Germany, seen from above. The old headquarters, the extension offices and the new technical building are all visible. The place which now hosts the white barracks on the top left will be the future building site of the ESO Supernova.

Credit:

ESO/E. Graf


(Angle is steep, but light direction is right.)
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: Buster's Uncle on October 21, 2014, 06:25:43 PM
Slightly steep angle is easy to fix - squash the vertical a little.  ;b;

Three viable base structures in that shot, actually.
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: gwillybj on October 21, 2014, 06:35:16 PM
Trevor Paglen Takes Aerial Photos of U.S. Spy Headquarters, Submits Them to Public Domain
FEBRUARY 11, 2014, 8:30 AM

Quote
(http://blogs.artinfo.com/artintheair/files/2014/02/NSA.jpg)

New York-based artist and geography PhD Trevor Paglen has provided the world with the first new images of U.S. spy headquarters in the 21st-century. Published yesterday, on the new digital magazine The Intercept (part of the Pierre Omidyar and Glenn Greenwald initiative First Look Media), Paglen’s images were taken at night by helicopter and are now part of the public domain.The photographs, produced in partnership with Creative Time Reports, are stunning and dramatic views of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in Chantilly, Virginia, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) in Springfield, Virginia, and the National Security Agency (NSA) in Fort Meade, Maryland. Apparently, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) denied Paglen’s requests to take aerial shots of its headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

(http://blogs.artinfo.com/artintheair/files/2014/02/NGA.jpg)

“Since June 2013, article after article about the NSA has been illustrated with a single image supplied by the agency, a photograph of its Fort Meade headquarters that appears to date from the 1970s,” Paglen wrote on the Intercept. “My intention is to expand the visual vocabulary we use to “see” the U.S. intelligence community. Although the organizing logic of our nation’s surveillance apparatus is invisibility and secrecy, its operations occupy the physical world.”

The high resolution images are accompanied by a lengthy explanation written by the artist detailing the inspiration for the project, his intentions for placing them in the public domain, and  a short video about the process of bringing it all to fruition.

(http://blogs.artinfo.com/artintheair/files/2014/02/NRO.jpg)

The images are all available for download through links on the Intercept, Creative Time Reports, Flickr, and Wikimedia Commons.

[BoingBoing]

— Alanna Martinez (@lanna_martinez)

(From Top: NSA, NGA, NRO, all photos courtesy Trevor Paglen)


A little trimming of the first two for proportion, and they look okay reduced to the 231x122 size.
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: gwillybj on October 21, 2014, 06:55:44 PM
Amazon Plans Intersecting Biospheres for Seattle Campus Headquarters
By David Szondy
May 21, 2013

(http://images.gizmag.com/hero/amazon-biodomes.png)

If Apple can have a "spaceship," then Amazon can have a biodome.

http://www.gizmag.com/amazon-biodome-seattle/27600/ (http://www.gizmag.com/amazon-biodome-seattle/27600/)
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: gwillybj on October 21, 2014, 07:02:07 PM
Porsche Cars North America, Inc.
Quote
(http://costingservicesgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Porsche-Headquarters-Aerial-View-Image-Credit-HOK.jpg)

POSTED BY CSGUSERS ON 18 MAR 2014

Costing Services Group, Inc. provided cost management for the ambitious new 200,000 SF 26-acre headquarters at Aerotropolis near the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The center will consolidate the company’s North American administration, technical, training and other operations in a contemporary workplace for 400 employees, a Technical Service and Training Center, and a Customer and Driver Experience Center with an integrated road handling track. The design by HOK turns the go-go feeling of zipping around in a Porsche into glass and steel. Subtle motorsport-related cues and a test track cutting through the heart of the building immerse employees, dealers and customers in the Porsche experience.
LEED Silver certification is anticipated: the building will be enveloped in an energy conserving shell that will protect it from solar gain. Natural ventilation will help the large campus maintain cool air circulation efficiently. The richly planted green grass roof shields the interior from the hot Atlanta sun while filtering rainwater. The storm water runoff will be collected and stored for use on the track wetted surfaces.

http://costingservicesgroup.com/porsche-cars-north-america-inc/ (http://costingservicesgroup.com/porsche-cars-north-america-inc/)

(Not a striking image, but I like the grass on the roof.)
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: gwillybj on October 21, 2014, 07:17:07 PM
Darcons Headquarters, Mexico by Arquitectura en Proceso

Quote
(http://karmatrendz.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/darcons_headquarters_01.jpg)

Darcons Headquarters has been recently completed by Arquitectura en Proceso in Mexico.

The building was conceived as a frame that captures part of the surrounding landscape and at the same time defines a plane that divides the intercity from the suburbs.

This skin was manipulated in order to differentiate the public space from the internal activities of the company: the main reception and the costumer rooms are outside the envelope raised above the ground as a Piano Nobile and organized as self defined entities.

The operation space is contained within the envelope and flows throughout the building in a three dimensional open plan that honors the hierarchical organization of the company.

In order to solve the continuity of the circulation the mass of the building was divided in various transversal slices, each presenting an intentionally different profile and two of them defining the geometry of the north and south elevations.

http://karmatrendz.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/darcons-headquarters-mexico-by-arquitectura-en-proceso/ (http://karmatrendz.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/darcons-headquarters-mexico-by-arquitectura-en-proceso/)
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: Geo on October 21, 2014, 07:44:55 PM
Here's a building I actually had to go in as part of my patrol during my guarding days.

(http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/20092598.jpg)
OCAS building and ArcelorMittal Gent in the background
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: Flux on October 23, 2014, 05:37:19 AM
ESO (European Southern Observatory)

(http://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/screen/140609038-cc.jpg)

The ESO Headquarters in Garching, Germany, seen from above. The old headquarters, the extension offices and the new technical building are all visible. The place which now hosts the white barracks on the top left will be the future building site of the ESO Supernova.

Credit:

ESO/E. Graf


(Angle is steep, but light direction is right.)

I have to give you credit for the rounded building on the bottom. Used that in the Creche.
Thanks a bunch, I guess.
Title: Diplomacy Landscapes1
Post by: Buster's Uncle on October 28, 2014, 11:25:34 PM
(http://alphacentauri2.info/MGalleryItem.php?id=869)

I had to google up two SF cityscapes to round it out to 23, but here goes.  Click to view full size.

And everyone - do try to be all helpful and cooperative, like my man gwilly here.
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: Flux on October 29, 2014, 12:34:40 AM
Here is a few pics suited for alien factions.
The third could be a human faction, although it wouldn't be realistic unless there was MAJOR terraforming.
The second one is actually perfect. The way the models are made looks like AC, and the soil color is right for Chiron.
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: gwillybj on October 29, 2014, 01:28:20 PM
;b; The first looks like it could be the approaches to The Ruins.
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: gwillybj on October 29, 2014, 01:53:27 PM
(http://ecofriend.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/chinatrust2_sBCmB_69.jpg)

http://www.ecofriend.com/eco-architecture-the-best-bank-in-taiwan-to-get-even-better-headquarters.html (http://www.ecofriend.com/eco-architecture-the-best-bank-in-taiwan-to-get-even-better-headquarters.html)

Eco Architecture: The ‘Best Bank in Taiwan’ to get even better headquarters

Eco Factor: Sustainable architecture for Taiwan’s Chinatrust Bank.

The Chinatrust Bank has often been referred to as the “Best Bank in Taiwan.” The bank is now looking not only to benefit its customers with its practices, but to benefit the environment on the whole with a newly designed skyscraper that has broken ground in Taiwan. Designed by Los Angeles-based NBBJ Architects along with local Fei & Cheng Associates, the development will consist of a 30-story main building, which will serve as the headquarters of the Chinatrust Bank.

Scheduled to be completed by 2012, the headquarters building will be accompanied by another 21-story skyscraper serving as the commercial office building, a 10-story hotel and a four-story retail level. The architecture is designed to serve the people of Taiwan along with great results for the environment too. The podium of the architecture will carry roof gardens and systems will be installed to minimize rainwater runoff. The façade will be designed to maximize daylight in an effort to reduce the energy required for indoor lighting during daytime. These sustainable features will make the architecture benchmark with the Taiwanese equivalent of a LEED-NC Gold Rating.*

The Dark Side:

The systems put in place would just reduce the amount of energy it requires. Energy will still be sourced from conventional electricity grids, something which futuristic architecture should not depend on.

(http://ecofriend.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/chinatrust1_5YGlA_69.jpg)

(http://ecofriend.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/chinatrust3_nHUAk_69.jpg)

(http://ecofriend.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/chinatrust4_jktTe_69.jpg)

Quote
* (LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a set of rating systems for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green buildings, homes and neighborhoods. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED is intended to help building owners and operators be environmentally responsible and use resources efficiently. Proposals to modify the LEED standards are offered and publicly reviewed by USGBC's member organizations, which number almost 20,000. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership_in_Energy_and_Environmental_Design (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership_in_Energy_and_Environmental_Design))
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: Buster's Uncle on October 30, 2014, 11:28:28 PM
(http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/KVES4XAteLpPsseqCjuBXw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTMyMjtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz01NzU-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_US/News/SPACE.com/NASA%27s_Asteroid-Capture_Mission_Won%27t_Help-7085919678d1e7d6178846ea9753acb9)
Title: Re: Graphics
Post by: Dio on November 17, 2014, 04:16:14 AM
I found this image that make for an interesting Diplomacy landscape.
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: Buster's Uncle on November 25, 2014, 11:49:35 PM
Antarctica to Architects: Only Sci-Fi Looking Structures Allowed
http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=13838.msg62944#msg62944 (http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=13838.msg62944#msg62944)
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: Buster's Uncle on November 25, 2014, 11:54:37 PM
Developer's $25B Underwater City Will Totally Happen, Honest
http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=13797.0 (http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=13797.0)

I think there's plenty for Diplomacy Landscapes6 now...
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: Buster's Uncle on December 22, 2014, 04:10:25 AM
(http://cdn.rt.com/files/news/34/cd/b0/00/34.si.jpg)
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: gwillybj on December 22, 2014, 01:12:33 PM
 ;b; I read that article about Venus. Not any more far-fetched than anything else anybody's proposed.
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: Buster's Uncle on December 22, 2014, 03:36:20 PM
I agree - there's so much more air to work with.
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: Geo on December 22, 2014, 08:28:43 PM
I wonder if Venus' sky is really that blue&bright 50 clicks above the surface...
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: Mart on December 22, 2014, 09:39:54 PM
The site is for Earth only? I think, cause I did not read it all, but there may be clues. And there are links to some opensorce:
http://vterrain.org/Atmosphere/ (http://vterrain.org/Atmosphere/)

Some time ago, I was thinking about rendering planetary images. There is good software for that. Some that come to my mind:
- POV ray
- Bryce (there is a freeware version, I've read)
- Terranim8or (from author of anim8or)
Title: Re: Headquarters - Images for Landscapes
Post by: gwillybj on December 23, 2014, 12:46:45 AM
I do a few (fictional) renders from time to time with Terragen.
Templates: 1: Printpage (default).
Sub templates: 4: init, print_above, main, print_below.
Language files: 4: index+Modifications.english (default), TopicRating/.english (default), PortaMx/PortaMx.english (default), OharaYTEmbed.english (default).
Style sheets: 0: .
Files included: 31 - 840KB. (show)
Queries used: 14.

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