Check-in

I thought I'd post up a bit of the progress I've made over the last few days...

First of all, the glazing system.  I've got most of the script done for the glazing triangulation, the cable truss system, spider connections and the exterior shading mesh.  It's clear in the images below that I still need to resolve the edge conditions of the glazing, the edges of my script are a bit tricky... (you know what I'm talking about Tony).  Also, obviously, the large vertical 3D trusses are absent in the render, I've got the script for those done but I haven't integrated the two together yet (so that all the edges match up nicely).

You really don't get a sense of the triangulated glazing here at all.  I'm thinking that I'll add a thin line between each triangle to exaggerate the effect. 

Screenshots:

 The ragged edges of the glazing will get stitched up once I add the trusses that will border the vertical edges of the this strip (and the other ones...)

 The other thing missing here is the horizontal HSS braces for the glazing at each floor plate, and maybe one intermediary brace as well..

I realize that it's a little hard to get a sense of the scale of things in these images.  That bit of a plane at the top right is the opaque roof and there should be two of the upper catwalks in this image as well.

I'm wondering if, in addition to the larger HSS braces, if there should be smaller, more frequent horizontal tension rods linking the vertical cable truss points.

Now, the service stack.  I've rendered a few views but bear in mind that the colours are not even close to final and the actual renders leave a lot to be desired as far as lighting, etc.  That said, currently the stack is comprised of six elements as well as a steel core.  Based on previous comments I think I'll be adding more services to it.  The way the horizontal pipes meet the stack looks unusual but I've designed it (or rather, the script) so that the pipes never collide with each other or the central structure.  This necessitated the the circular departures from the stack.  Though these might seem convoluted I think it's the best resolution I'm going to get for that bit.  The more I look at it though, the more I think that it really does need a few more pipes and that the vent pipe needs to be larger.

Both renders show and additional element that I've been playing with: using the pipes to differentiate spaces in the restaurant.  Since each pipe either begins or terminates at the mechanical room, a opportunity presented itself to use the transfers to the stack to form an overhead condition for some of the restaurant tables.  Right now it is a little sparse, but again adding more pipes will increase the density.  Also, some sort of (simple) structure will be needed and tat will also contribute to the density of the canopy (as I picture it).  The actual locations/paths of the pipes on their way to the stack is not final yet.

One other thing that is obvious in the first of the two renders is that I need to add restaurant furniture in before I render.  Of course this is normally something that I would add in photoshop afterwards but I doubt that I will be able to find a good restaurant image taken from above like that...  Still, I'm not looking forward to having to model all that detail.

Still to do:
3D trusses that support (and separate) the glazing and carry along the ceiling for roof support as well.  In the last render two of the splits in the roof are visible (just the cracks of light), those will be the paths of trusses, glazed above.
Also, I still need to bring the mesh into the restaurant to break up the space (as both wall and overhead conditions), as per my suggestions in my previous post.