LE / Blog

Laurence Elsdon is a creative problem solver, pushing the boundaries of software and technologies across the fields of architecture and computing.

Presenting Visual Diff at the UK Dynamo User Group

At the @UKDynUG this evening, I'll be presenting Visual Diff our Dynamo View Extension to visually compare the difference between two graphs which was developed and awarded 2nd place at the Dynamo and Generative Design Hackathon, Toronto back in July.

CO Dimension Calculator

CO Dimension Calculator

I've just added something new to my portfolio: CO Dimension Calculator is a web app to quickly and easily convert to and between brick coordination dimensions. Learn more at: https:

Getting Started with Dynamo

Getting Started with Dynamo

I've been wanting to put together a simple resource to quickly get new users started with creating interesting geometry in Dynamo for a while. There are plenty of existing tutorials

Awarded 2nd Place at the Dynamo and Generative Design Hackathon, Toronto for Visual Diff

Our Dynamo View Extension to Visually Track Changes between two graphs was awarded 2nd place at the Dynamo and Generative Design Hackathon in Toronto! Check out what Team Arcadis (Michael van Telgen, Robert Wood, and I) built in just two days of hacking: https:

AJBL Download Helper Update

AJBL Helper is an unofficial Google Chrome extension providing an easy method to download individual or all assets from the Architect's Journal Building Library. I've just pushed an update that fixes a bug that had developed unnoticed. It looks like the Architects Journal Building

Presenting Binoculars at the UK Dynamo User Group

It's #DynamoDay! We will be presenting updates on #Binoculars, our #DynamoHackathon winning extension, at the pre #AULondon meeting of @UKDynUG this evening. Join us or watch the live stream!

Awarded 1st Place at the Dynamo and Generative Design Hackathon for Binoculars

Last weekend @waynepdalton @didonenov @CaoimheLoftus and I built #Binoculars at the @UKDynUG Dynamo & Generative Design Hackathon. Binoculars logs, stores and visualises Dynamo use—unlocking business insight, diagnostics and quantifying the value of Dynamo vs traditional methods. #Binoculars is our @UKDynUG Hackathon Winning .dyn

Applying Graph Theoretical Techniques to Extract the Genotypical Signature for the Process of Making Tea

Applying Graph Theoretical Techniques to Extract the Genotypical Signature for the Process of Making Tea

Visualising Geolocated Social Media

Cultural Context

Visualising Geolocated Social Media

Aggregation and analysis of collective social actions has only become possible in recent years but has already been exploited by a number of researchers to identify patterns in human behaviour

SpaceX Lands First Stage Rocket at Sea

Cultural Context

SpaceX Lands First Stage Rocket at Sea

I've spoken before on this blog about SpaceX and the modern space race, well, this week SpaceX finally landed the first stage booster of their Falcon 9 rocket on a

Crossrail Train Design

Cultural Context

Crossrail Train Design

Crossrail has unveiled the design for the trains to run on the Crossrail network when it's completed in 2017. They will be built by Bombardier in Derby to ensuring jobs

Cultural Context

Space Syntax

The aim of space syntax – an avenue of research into the relationship between human societies and spatial layout (Bafna, 2003) which has been explored since the late 70s – is to describe the configuration of inhabited spaces including buildings and settlements. A number of syntactical

Cultural Context

Analysis of Property Development

To complement the residential masterplan I'm currently developing in Norfolk I have been looking into the nature of current developments. One aspect of this has been analysing the breakdown of dwelling types within residential masterplans. The tables below show the dwelling type breakdown for

Cultural Context

Running

Despite never really running before I chose to sign up for the Great North Run this September and so in February I began running three or four times a week to build up my mileage to complete the half marathon in seven months time.

Cultural Context

Junior Doctors Strike

I typically avoid political articles within this blog as they tend to be contentious issues but the Junior Doctors Strike is a cause I strongly believe in and it would be remiss not to mention it. PatientSource (2016) The conservative party plan - using

Cultural Context

The Academic Paywall

There has been a recent discussion in the media recently about the commercialisation of academic work. Typically academic papers cost around $30 each to download, most students are able to avoid this as their institutions subscribe to the large academic publishers are thus the

Graffiti on the West Bank and Gaza Strip

Cultural Context

Graffiti on the West Bank and Gaza Strip

"The intifada continues... -Hamas." On the left, a splash of paint blackens out previous graffiti. (Peteet, 1996) Graffiti became an essential tool of the Palestinian people in their

Cultural Context

Toxic Lawns

After reading Alex Steffen's book Worldchanging recently one of the articles really stood out. The concept of the lawn as a toxic, alien landscape. His words are incredibly poetic and really drive the theory home. Why has such an unnatural crop become so ingrained

Cultural Context

Community Shop

I've talked about the Free Market Economy previously in on the blog but the theory of this blog goes against it somewhat. In recent years, many rural post offices, pubs and other institutions of village life have closed leaving remote communities lifeless. The community

Cultural Context

Forest Schools

The Forest School initiative is a growing movement within primary education to move the classroom outside. The philosophy inspires individuals of all ages through an innovative, long term, educational approach

Cultural Context

House Prices to Crash

It was somewhat inevitable that the UK housing market, particularly in London market would eventually burst. Prices have been rising to incredibly levels and this week The Telegraph (Ficenec, 2016) has predicted just that. With commodities and oil prices at an 11-year low and

Cultural Context

I, Pencil

The essay I, Pencil, written by Leonard E. Read is a story from a pencil's perspective of all the workmanship that has gone into its creation. I am a lead pencil— the ordinary wooden pencil familiar to all boys and girls and adults who

Cultural Context

Glasses - A Dearth of Choice

Despite being in need of a new pair I've been putting off buying glasses for the past 3 months. The reason is simple, despite there being a vast selection each of them are so very similar. Why is the world of glasses - a

Cultural Context

Graph Theory

My investigation into the Space Allocation Problem also led me to learn about Graph Theory. Graphs are a discrete mathematical structure where nodes are connected by edges. Graphs have a great number of applications, within architecture they can be used to diagrammatically describe the

Cultural Context

Block Algebra

My investigation into the Space Allocation Problem has led me to the concept of Block Algebra (BA). BA is a method of explaining relationships between two rectangles, using the 13 atomic relationships (Figure 1) of Interval Algebra (IA) (Allen, 1983). BA is the combination