Pages

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

The Conservatory - Update

Well, I've been catching up on some lost time.  I decided to go ahead and render the conservatory again (twice in one day!).  The cathedral ceiling and dormers are still to come.  I did change the colour of the walls to a rich burgundy, which I think contrasts beautifully with the greenery of the room, as well as brings out the texture of the walls. 

I have added seating to demonstrate the scale of the room.  I really love the multiple tiers that the stairs provide. 

In my next rendering, I do plan to put a floor medallion around the fountain.

Just wanted to see what you guys think!

Monday, July 26, 2010

The Biltmore Inspired Conservatory

I thought I would share with you the "preliminary" rendering of the conservatory, inspired by Biltmore's Winter Garden.

The room has a modified octagonal design, as opposed to Biltmore's "full" octagon. A set of three arched doorways lead into the room from the Grand Ballroom. The entire room is sunken a few steps, to add a dramatic flair. The centre-piece of the room is a magnificent bronze fountain. The exterior walls are wrapped in windows and doors, providing a wealth of natural light.

Although not completed presently, I plan for the room to have a cathedral ceiling, and I plan to incorporate rounded dormers above each exterior wall to bring additional light into the room as well as to complement the rounded archways leading to the ballroom.

The room will contain lush greenery and seating areas, serving to function as a more "intimate" space for guests to converse, away from the main function in the ballroom. The room, despite being "intimate," is on a grand scale, measuring 26' (twenty-six-feet) at its widest point, and is approximately 38' (thirty-eight-feet) in length.

In future renderings I will incorporate a few pieces of furniture to give a better idea of the scale. You can get a reasonable idea from the large, red cabana bench in front of the large mirror in the ball room. Additionally, the central fountain measures approximately 6' (six-feet) wide and 6' (six-feet) tall.

Stay tuned...more to come.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

The Mansion's Grand Ball Room


Presenting: The Grand Ball Room

Situated in the East Wing of the House, this massive entertaining space of some 45' (fourty-five-feet) by 28' (twenty-eight-feet) boasts two fireplaces (one at each end of the room).  A piano alcove is flanked by columns.  The doors to the left lead to the rear gallery (rear) and the guest lounge (front).  Between these doors sits a large mirror measuring some 10' (ten-feet) high.  The room is detailed with gilded trim.  The floor is polished limestone.  To the right of the ballroom lies the adjacent conservatory, inspired by Biltmore's Winter Garden.  Triple arched entries lead to this area. 

The ceiling detail is to be completed.  Ideally I would love to see a barrel vaulted ceiling for this room, and am working diligently to make this possible. 

As always, comments are welcome.  This is a preliminary rendering, to keep you guys entertained!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Coming soon! Grand Ball Room, Conference Center

Hey guys:  It's been a while since I last posted.  Thanks for your patience and continued support.  I HAVE been working on a few projects.  

The conference room is in its final stages (which is adjacent to the oval office).  I have also been working on exterior views of the private oval office terrace (which is "south facade" white house inspired).  One difference is that there are four columns (as opposed to six at the white house), allowing unobstructed views from the large windows in the mega-mansion's oval office.  This house is so huge that the east elevation resembles that of the entire south facade of the white house!

For your information, the "width" of the east wing of the mega-mansion is a mere (sarcasm) 208' (two-hundred-and-eight-feet) wide!

Here's a taste (technical illustration):



Technical Illustration:  Centrally sits the oval office.  To the (facing) left of the oval office is the passageway to the conference centre, complete with wet bar.  To the (facing) right is a "presidential-worthy" bathroom.  The private terrace is wrapped with large newels and wrought iron balusters, accentuated by enormous 2+ story columns.

Currently in the works is a "fit-for-royalty" ball room situated in the east wing of the house (main floor).  This ballroom features two fireplaces and access to a brilliant glass conservatory.  The conservatory pays homage to the Winter Garden of Biltmore Estate.  The ballroom itself is inspired by the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles, and measures approximately 45' (fourty-five-feet) by 28' (twenty-eight-feet).
(left) Versaille's Hall of Mirrors.  (above) Biltmore Estate's "Winter Garden"


I promise to have some more images of the mega-mansion up in the next few days.