Friday, March 10, 2017

PROJECT SOANE IS DEAD, LONG LIVE P.S.

About a month ago something very strange happened.  Nobody seems to know how, but most of the data on Project Soane was wiped clean.  I didn't realise this until last week when two project members alerted me.  Over the past few days, with help and support from Autodesk, I have restored the site, taking the opportunity to reorganise it with the benefit of hindsight and a much deeper understanding of the building, the architect, the historical period.



There is a folder called "Current Sheets" which will be updated from time to time.  This contains images exported directly from the sheets in the main model file, plus a few other images that help to give newcomers a snapshot of the current state of the model and some insight into what has been achieved.



The Reference Material has been completely reorganised in a folder of that name.  I think I have re-posted all the original hi-res material sourced by the project founders from the Soane Museum in London.  Let me know if you notice any omissions and we will try to sort it out.  There is also a lot of additional material, mostly slightly lower resolution, much of it downloaded from the Soane Museum online archive, which is THE MOST AMAZING RESOURCE.

SOANE MUSEUM ONLINE ARCHIVE

Please be aware that copyright for most of the images still resides with their original owners.  They are provided here under the original agreement with the Soane Museum for private study and research purposes.  Please respect this at all times.



I have created a new folder called "Stories" where people can share work they have done which extends the core modelling project in some way or other.  I have started this off with a subfolder called "Timeline Images" which are exported from various study files that I have created over the past 2 years or so in order to better understand the sequential history of this very complex project. 
I have also made my first foray into the Wiki Pages section, which was originally set up by the project founders, adding a note to the welcome page, for example.  As you may know, the model is now hosted on C4R, so you no longer have to download and re-upload in order to contribute. 

Everything is 2017 version by the way, and please ensure that you have the latest updates installed before opening anything.  If you want to contribute, please leave a message on the site, and we will come to an agreement about allocation of responsibilities.  I made an excel file to record activity which will be restored shortly, hopefully in a way that enables direct editing of the worksheet.



But my major contribution to the Wiki Pages is a new page based on some of the Timeline images.  This gives an overview of the architectural history of the Bank from its foundation to Soane's retirement.  Future pages will go into a bit more detail and extend the period into the early twentieth century when most of Soane's work was demolished to make way for a design by Sir Herbert Baker. 


TIMELINE WIKI



So every cloud has a silver lining, and this little cloud catastrophe has given me renewed inspiration and energy to take Project Soane to the next level.  Why don't you get involved.  Many people have contributed to the project, not just by modelling but in all kinds of ways, the original founders deserve a very special mention for example.  There were many submissions for the rendering stage of the project and I would like to integrate this work more fully with the A360 site where collaboration is ongoing. 

So there are many ways to participate.  There is at least one student currently developing a project based on the site, and inspired by the spirit of Project Soane.  I would really like to incorporate initiatives of this kind into the Stories section.  So how would you like to contribute?  Lots of possibilities.  Think outside the box.  Give me a shout.

15 comments:

  1. Hello,

    This Project is really interesting and there are a lot I could learn from it. However, seem like sign up and download links on projectsoane.com no longer work anymore.

    Do you know how could I get access to the project at the moment?

    Thanks,
    Thai

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Thai (and anyone else who would like to contribute)

      Please just tell me the email address you use for your Autodesk account and I will send you an invite. You can use the "Contact Me" widget in the side bar of this blog.

      Delete
    2. Hi I would love to get access to the project. I´m doing a VR/Revit presentation for Autodesk and HP so this prject would fit very well.

      patrik.landerholm@pedensia.se

      Delete
    3. Hello, please I would love to get access too.

      e-mail: ggiavoni@Hotmail.com

      Delete
    4. hi if you could add me too engginam22@gmail.com

      Delete
    5. Hi Andy,

      I'm an architecture student and my studio project is based on the Bank of England. It would be great if you could add me to the project. My email is bmonson11@gmail.com

      Thanks

      Delete
  2. Hi, it's the project available, yet? felixvarela@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello,

    I am a new Revit user, this project is really interesting for me; especially for me to learn. But, the download links and sign up is not working. Do you know how could I get access to the project?

    Thanks, Jevon

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jevon. Please send me a message using the contact widget and I will email you more information about how to get involved

      Delete
    2. HI Andy are you still providing cloud access to project Soane?

      Delete
  4. Hi Andy,
    I'm also doing a related project to Soane.. I'd really appreciate if you could send me the invitation via autodesk.

    my autodesk email address is: asteclines@hotmail.com

    thanks,
    Anderson

    ReplyDelete
  5. Does anyone have the complete model set? I would be happy to host it for others to use. I lost my backup from years ago and have started an internet search to find it again!

    ReplyDelete
  6. thank for the wonderful post , lots of information gained , visit us Revit Modeling in usa

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Andy!

    I'm Revit instructor based in Brazil and it's very important to share these experience with my students! this is my e-mail: ggiavoni@hotmail.com. I'm already sign up the project but nothing happening. I don't know how to acess the model files. thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello, I am an architect student looking to get access to Project Soane documents a well for a studio project. I this still accessible? If so, my email is josh.greene@yale.edu.

    ReplyDelete

I've been getting a lot of spam so had to tighten up comments permissions. Sorry for any inconvenience. I do like to hear from real people