News
Robin Pogrebin reported that following wide-ranging protests, the Museum of Modern Art has selected the design firm Diller Scofidio & Renfro to re-examine it’s planned expansion including whether to keep any of the existing American Folk Art Museum. Scott Gustafon was somewhat relieved "I believe that Tod Williams and Ricardo Scofidio are old friends, so this is a step in the right direction" and Lian Chikako Chang deadpanned "Pretty sure that DSR can handle staggered floorplates". Added Darkman "There is room behind the museum... you could install very gradual ramps or something. Additionally, i'd like to see the facade brought out to the sidewalk to open up the building--not sure how to do that though... ha.  Or replace with semi-transparent glazing in the same pattern and shape. Would be cool to see it glow".

Bustler.net showcased Parabola Chair by Los Angeles-based architect and product designer Carlo Aiello, winner of the 2013 ICFF Studio Award. The chair will be exhibited during the upcoming ICFF, May 18-21 in New York, and is currently on display at Bergdorf Goodman windows. Eric Chavkin offered his congratulations and remarked "Your chair reminds me of Eduardo Catalano's work, specifically the roof of his parabolic house in Raleigh, North Carolina".

BLDGBLOG's Geoff Manaugh took a beautiful photo of sky cranes at WTC site. Mr. Manaugh provided a caption "When I walked out to get breakfast this morning, clouds had obscured all but the topmost workings of the 1 World Trade Center site, visible through our living room window—a strange vision of machines, pulleys, cranes, and gears sort of hovering in the sky, like something out of Archigram by way of Hayao Miyazaki"

In the LA Times, Reed Johnson reflected on the passing of "Pedro Ramirez Vazquez, the great Mexican builder who died April 16 at age 94". Johnson also linked to an interview with Elena Poniatowska the respected journalists, published in La Jornada, wherein she  reminiscences of her interviews with Ramirez in 1967 and another in 1973.

ProPublica is investigating internships in the U.S. They are most concerned with internships from 2013, but welcome stories from up to three years back. So if you fall into this category, you can help their reporting by filling out the form below (if you're done with the internship, just pretend all the questions are in the past tense).
Click here to fill out the survey.

Firms/Blogs/Work Updates

Alvin Huang AIA who attended the AIA Committee on Design's 2013 Spring Conference, provided some "first impressions, observations, and connections" as well as live-blogging "in the format of a Instagram slideshow of the events". On Day 1 he visited Frey House II and "Lance O'Donnell  schooled us on the legacy of Palm Springs as a Mecca of modernist legacy". tammuz wanted to know "what camera/lens/settings did you use for pics nos. 2,3 & 5?". Day 2 consisted of A whirlwind tour through modernism in the desert.

Recently Giulio Ghirardi worked on Project for a countryhouse while Massimiliano degli Antoni worked on milan's expansion.

Mitch McEwen visited Peter Zumthor's Kunsthaus Bregenz, so she posted some pictures and thoughts. Donna Sink commented "I love pictures like that one with the recycle bin at the base of the building! So good to remind us that buildings are not just discreet objects.  Thank you!"...

185 Post Street by WZ Architecture and Voyager Maritime Museum in Auckland, New Zealand by Bossley Architects were just two of the projects featured in the latest post Ten Top Images on Archinect's "Glass" Pinterest Board.

Schools/Blogs
Harvard GSD’s Lian Chikako Chang live-blogged Cathleen McGuigan’s, lecture "Women and the Changing World of Architecture".  The editor-in-chief of Architectural Record started off her lecture informing the audience "I'm here to talk about women in the profession of architecture, which could not be more timely. But I'm also someone who can't believe we still have to be talking about this".

NewSchool of Architecture and Design (NSAD) is collaborating with Gensler, to offer a special design studio this Spring term to six undergraduate and graduate architecture students. The “Emergent Futures” 2013 Gensler Professional Studio at NSAD gives students the opportunity to re-imagine San Diego’s urban landscape.

Half the students of design/buildLAB at Virginia Tech presented their bridge design to the community of Clifton Forge, while the other half "was hard at work drilling holes in the steel beams with a mag drill and planing wood for the handrails and guardrails".
 

Discussions

Archkeytech is 2nd year architecture student who has picked up "some of these ‘three legged stands’, also known as pizza savers. It immediately sparked my mind about modular architecture". Archkeytech is looking for feedback. Some immediately joked "Really?  Is this what happens when we mix weed pizza and architecture students".However, curtkram cautioned "i'm not sure you guys really saw how the things were stacked in that second picture.  it's as inspired as corbu's domino frame".

Larchinect started a thread to find out Who's using a Cintiq? Russell Higgins answered "I dig my 20WSX (pre-touch) but the drivers cause issues with Revit (specifically the materials pallete) but it's not a big deal. It's my sole monitor at the office and comes in extremely handy when using photoshop; haven't tried using the stylus with Revit yet though...It'd be nice to combine a Cintiq with Adobe's Napoleon…" Larchinect continued "The napoleon/straight edge tool is exactly the kind of thing I feel has been missing for the tablet/cintiq devices. I can absolutely see a device like a large, maybe even 36" cintiq being standard equipment in design offices inside ten years. I think there will be those that embrace it and evolve and those that will not and risk being left behind".

Finally, akm started a thread to gripe Architects not competent enough to be professional enough, so forced CE ? Miles Jaffe added "Around here contractors need credits to keep their license. This consists of paying a fee to attend various marketing seminars where building component manufacturers pitch their products...Captive audience sponsored direct marketing. Nothing at all to do with good building practice, safety, understanding the code, etc".

Yet, some like stone didn’t see what the big deal was "I'm fine with mandatory continuing education. I find it neither inconvenient nor expensive to accomplish. As an AIA member, I already am only 1-hour shy of my 2013 requirement, achieved at zero cost via free AIA webinars that I typically work in during my lunch hour. The system motivates me to explore topics I probably would not otherwise explore absent the annual CES requirement". Steven Ward totally agreed "Exactly, stone. Being involved in AIA -- not just for CE, but because of the programs in which I'd participate anyway -- and then attending other things that enhance both my knowledge AND serve our marketing goals, gaining these credits is seldom additional cost or lost time. It's pretty easy".