Elephant paints elephant

In this video, an elephant is led to an easel, picks up a paintbrush, and paints a picture of an elephant holding a flower.

Greater Noida: The next big real estate hub

Hailed as the next big real estate hub by consultants and end users, Greater Noida will soon offset Gurgaon as the hot-seat of real estate in NCR. The Greater Noida Authority is revamping the civic amenities and other infrastructural facilities. Much awaited projects like the international airport at Jewar and 160-km long Noida-Agra Taj Expressway will help in the fast-track growth of the twin cities.

The twin cities offer an entire range of property-options to choose from. The development of Greater Noida Phase-II , spread over 55,000 hectares (which includes 1890 villages), will further lead to an expansion of these cities. The said phase would have 41% area earmarked for greenery, 12% for recreational facilities, 13% for residential, 2.5% commercial, 3.9% institutional and 18.9% devoted for the airport. Also, after completion , the 1483 km long Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor will mark a watershed in connectivity.

This Indo-Japanese project is expected to be completed by 2012. Apart from this, a mega rail-corridor will start from Boraki near Dadri. Foreseeing a surge in demand for office space, many real estate developers have launched various residential and commercial projects at Noida and Greater Noida.

Will this mark the beginning of a shift of the development-axis of builders from Gurgaon to these twin cities? "Every township has its pros and cons. Every township grows and reaches its peak of development and there is stagnation at the top. Gurgaon is passing through stagnation phase.

It grew and grew and left proper planning far behind . Gurgaon boomed in record time. Offices and commercial space came up overnight without any planning or proper infrastrucure. Everything was done in a haphazard manner.

Therefore, it's paying the price for it now," says M S Aggarwal, managing director, MSX Developers Pvt Ltd. "Moreover , commercial lease rentals in Noida and Greater Noida are at least 40% lower than those in Gurgaon," he adds.

The UP chief minister's push for a second international airport at Greater Noida may come as a shot in the arm for realty players. Real estate analysts expect capital value of existing residential, commercial, retail and hospitality projects in Noida and Greater Noida to appreciate in the short term.

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SPA Utopia 2008 is a hit thanks to Snowcem Paints

With the coming of the year 2008, the School of Planning and Architecture New Delhi completes 50 years of its foundation. In this Golden Jubilee Year the students along with leading proponents of various creative field such as fashion, architecture, music, drama, and photography put together “Utopia”. In the 3 day college affair where students participated in various technical events and showcased the potent creative mind. The program included formal quizzes, workshop in photography, membrane structures and pottery. As Snowcem Paints has been in the forefront to support talents in the budding architectural student’s fraternity, it had sponsored the event at Utopia 2008. The three-day cultural extravaganza signed off with the finals of the rock competition and a headline performance by Catch 22.

About the School:

The School of Planning and Architecture had a modest beginning in 1941 as a Department of Architecture of Delhi Polytechnic. It was later affiliated to the University of Delhi and integrated with the School of Town and Country Planning which was established in 1955 by the Government of India to provide facilities for rural, urban and regional planning. On integration, the School was renamed as School of Planning and Architecture in 1959.

Recognizing the specialized nature of the fields in which the School had attained eminence, in 1979, the Government of India, through the then Ministry of Education and Culture, conferred on the School of Planning and Architecture the status of "Deemed to be a University". With this new status, the School has broadened its horizon by introducing new academic and extension programmes and promoting research and consultancy activities.

The School is a specialized University, only one of its kind, which exclusively provides training at various levels, in different aspects of human habitat and environment. The School has taken lead in introducing academic programmes in specialized fields both at Bachelor's and Master's level, some of which are even today not available elsewhere in India. The School, in striving for excellence, has always been in the lead in extending education and research to new frontiers of knowledge. Human habitat and environment being the basic concern of the School, the spectrum of academic programmes is being continuously extended by providing programmes in new fields and emerging areas for which facilities are not available, as yet, anywhere else in the country.

Kung fu painting

The basic typesof bridges

There are three major types of bridges:

• The beam bridge
• The arch bridge
• The suspension bridge

The biggest difference between the three is the distances they can cross in a single span. A span is the distance between two bridge supports, whether they are columns, towers or the wall of a canyon. A modern beam bridge, for instance, is likely to span a distance of up to 200 feet (60 meters), while a modern arch can safely span up to 800 or 1,000 feet (240 to 300 m). A suspension bridge, the pinnacle of bridge technology, is capable of spanning up to 7,000 feet (2,100 m).

What allows an arch bridge to span greater distances than a beam bridge, or a suspension bridge to span a distance seven times that of an arch bridge? The answer lies in how each bridge type deals with two important forces called compression and tension:

• Compression is a force that acts to compress or shorten the thing it is acting on.
• Tension is a force that acts to expand or lengthen the thing it is acting on.

A simple, everyday example of compression and tension is a spring. When we press down, or push the two ends of the spring together, we compress it. The force of compression shortens the spring. When we pull up, or pull apart the two ends, we create tension in the spring. The force of tension lengthens the spring.

Compression and tension are present in all bridges, and it's the job of the bridge design to handle these forces without buckling or snapping. Buckling is what happens when the force of compression overcomes an object's ability to handle compression, and snapping is what happens when the force of tension overcomes an object's ability to handle tension. The best way to deal with these forces is to either dissipate them or transfer them. To dissipate force is to spread it out over a greater area, so that no one spot has to bear the brunt of the concentrated force. To transfer force is to move it from an area of weakness to an area of strength, an area designed to handle the force. An arch bridge is a good example of dissipation, while a suspension bridge is a good example of transference.

(via howtsuffworks).

Emerging metros of tomorrow

The real estate industry is showing a rapid shift in the focus from the metros and Tier I cities to the Tier II and Tier III cities. The industry is moving over from Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai, to pave the path for the new contestants in the race. The real estate industry has realized that there is life and potential for growth of the industry beyond the mega and metropolitan cities in India.

Tier II cities like Ghaziabad, Rohtak, Faridabad, Bhiwani, Chandigarh, Indore, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Secunderabad, Rajkot, and Pune,, Nagpur, Surat, Vadodara, Visakhapatnam and Jaipur are experiencing the initial phase of rapid economic growth. The major industrial sectors are making huge investments in these cities, making them hotbeds for growth and development. These towns have a sea of opportunities in store, both from the demand and supply sides.

One of the basic reasons for investments flocking in to the smaller cities is available properties and affordable prices. Moreover, the special initiatives taken by the respective governments in providing the smaller cities with infrastructure facilities and creation of SEZs, have played a vital role in promoting these small towns into cities of the future. They are what experts term the “emerging metros of tomorrow”.

These cities have been chosen as the hub of development based on various parameters such as, physical and social infrastructure, business environment, real estate, decadal growth, purchasing power and literacy. Most of the Tier II cities have an active economy, conducive business environment and proactive governments, but a lower rank on social infrastructure due to a lack of quality hotels and entertainment avenues.

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Earthtones: Drawing ecofriendly inspiration from nature

Today’s versatile palettes encompass colors inspired by the earth, sea and sky along with metallics and brights to add “pop” and excitement. And while these colors have steadily gained popularity in recent years, homeowners are taking this trend a step further by extending it to the type of paint they choose. Environmentally friendly low-VOC paints are increasingly becoming popular for a variety of reasons, most notably because they lack odor.

These paints are formulated to meet modern indoor air quality standards. Because of this, the room can be put back into use almost immediately after being painted. In addition, since they are not considered hazardous waste, consumers can take pride that they are not harming the environment when disposing of any leftover paints.

This nature-inspired trend lends itself particularly well to designing multiple color schemes, with a nod toward how colors naturally fit together. For example, by combining pale beige with a brighter, true blue recreates the look of earth and sky. On the other hand, create the appearance of a sun-dappled forest by complementing a muted green wall color with burnished gold metallic trim.

Nature has already provided the most inspirational color schemes. With a little help from modern technology, it’s now easier than ever to create a home that does more than look good, it’s good for the environment.

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