July 19, 2010—The Australian Institute of Architects has relaunched its online offering with Google Earth to make architecture easily accessible and highly visible to design fans worldwide.
Launched initially two years ago, Google Earth and the Institute offered online users the opportunity to view images of more than 600 state and territory award-winning projects from around Australia, with more than 60 of these represented in 3-D.
From July on, those wanting to access the Institute’s layer on Google Earth can do so directly from the Institute’s Web site, providing easier access to information on award-winning projects over the past eight years, including the most recent National Architecture Award winners. In addition to having the service embedded on the Institute’s Web site, other improvements include:
- A new search engine providing extended options of searching by project name, location, year, category, National Award winners and 3-D models;
- Improved “i-bubble” information accessible by clicking Institute location pins, giving access to photographs of the projects and links to the Institute’s online awards gallery. These location pins are now located on a 3-D Earth graphic, allowing users to view winning entries at a glance in a global context;
An increase in the number of projects featured—more than 650 projects winning state and architecture awards are now featured from around Australia and internationally.
To access, log on to the Australian Institute of Architects Web site and follow the instructions to download the Google Earth plug-in to activate the Institute layer on Google Earth. Once activated, users can use the search functions or click on the Institute icons to view photographs and details of the Institute’s award-winning projects.
