Almost Done

My real job has been really busy as of late, so I haven't had much time to model. That said, the Penn Station model is very nearly complete, and I'm starting to think about how I will present it here.

My goal is to put in the final geometry touches by 1 July and to upload it to the warehouse. However, unlike my other models, I think I really want to find or build really accurate surface textures in order to match other top models of classic buildings in the 3D warehouse. That exercise itself will take a good amount of time, so hopefully I can find it.

Update (4 Aug) - the model is finished, including exterior textures and is ready to be uploaded to the warehouse. I'm just writing the blog post and doing the photo album. Everything will be up in seven days.

Old Penn Station: No Source Ignored

As mentioned previously, it's difficult to model a building that doesn't exist. Plans and photos help, but don't always give the complete picture.

I read about some films that Lorraine B. Diehl, author of "The Late, Great Pennsylvania Station" selected as having footage of the original Penn Station.

One of the films was Stranger on a Train. Fortunately this is one of NetFlix's "Watch Now" selections, so I fired up my browser and watched the film.

At 1:27:13 (h:mm:ss) into the film, the protagonist jumps into a taxi in New York and commands to the driver "Penn Station".

For about 70 seconds we see Penn Station in its 1950 glory, including footage of one of the carriage ways, a glimpse of the arcade, the main waiting room, and even a little bit of the concourse through a window.

(P.S. I tried to do some screen captures from the Video of Penn, but I wasn't successful and it started getting late. If I find a workaround I'll update the post with the captures.

Wow, the Scale!

I'm several hours into the model now and I'm shocked over and over at the pure scale of the building. I used the blueprint drawings for the major dimensions, but occasionally I have to eyeball a building element. Whenever I do so, I'll guess, say 3 feet, and then I measure it out in the model. It is never large enough. Something that would be 3 feet in the houses that I normally model would be right, but for a similarly proportioned item in Penn I have magnify by 3-4 orders of magnitude!

One saving grace of the design is the repetition and symmetry. I have lots of recursive and mirrored structures (groups and components), which keeps the model smaller and helps the model perform. Here is a screen shot so far:

Chasing the Ghost of Penn Station

Wow, I should have learned from this abandoned model that modeling something that no longer exists is difficult. And this building has been gone for over 40 years!

When I worked on the Tappan Zee Model it also required some significant research, but I found what I needed on the Internet.
However, despite finding some useful resources online, I wasn't able to get any of the key measurements I needed for my Penn Station project.

Fortunately I had plans to be in New York city, so I would actually have to do research in a book! I took a trip to the New York Public Library, another NYC landmark and Beaux Art beauty.




In room 300, the Art & Architecture Reading Room, I found a book of Penn Station plans that was actually published by the architect, McKim, Mead, and White. It was very exciting to get the exact information I would need to accurately model Penn Station completely to scale.

Play House

This was a small model I did for fun. It is a child's play house that includes lots of different elements. It has a sandbox in the bottom, a climbing wall, slide and swings surrounding it, and inside it has bunks for camping (for pretend or for real) and a hatchway to the lookout roof.

The various gates can be locked depending on the ages of the kids who are using it. This way a variety of ages can enjoy it and it remains a challenging toy even as the children grow a bit older.

Like all my models, if you have Sketchup installed, you can download this from the "My Models in the Warehouse" link that is under "Useful Links".

Salem Towne House

An example of the center hall Greek revival, the leading progressive design of America in the 1790s, where each room is designed to impress, but this one is modernized for today's family. For social occasions it features the traditional entryway, large dining room and formal living room. But when it's just the family at home, the massive master suite pampers the heads of household and also leaves plenty of room for the kids and house guests. Whether entertaining or just at home, everyone congregates in the heart of the home anyway; which in this case is in the natural spot: the extremely large eat-in kitchen that is strategically positioned on top of the two car garage.

2.5 Bathrooms
4 Bedrooms
1.19 Acres
2 car garage

5100 Sq. ft. Interior Space
875 Sq. ft. Exterior Space (Deck)

Retaining Wall
Hidden Door and Servant Stairs

Salem Towne House Guided Tour

Salem Towne House Video Tour

Firetower House

The first design is for a mountain house with several unique features.

It is a large unique custom modern contemporary on beautiful one acre lot. It includes four or more special features as well tons of natural light and airy spaces.

Its roofline is inspired by the mountains themselves, and the rear windows and fireplace are inspired by a classically designed ski lodge.
Rooms : 11
Bedrooms : 4
Bathrooms : 2 Full/1 half
Garage : Attached, 2 car, mud room
Heating : Forced Air, Gas
Cooling : Central Air
Basement : Yes
Approx. Sq. Ft. : 4975
Lot Size : 1 Acre

Firetower House Slideshow

Firetower House

The relatively bad quality of the video is due to my using the free version of Sketchup (I think).