Some expect a follow-up note and some find it a bother, how are we to know which firm is which?  that is not for us to ask.

That doesn't really sound right...

It's etiquette to send a thank you note (hard copy preferably) if they took the time to interview you.  It may be less common, but I found that all of my peers who took the time to hand write notes had a better employment rate (and found their next jobs a lot easier too).

This may have also just been an easy way for the interviewer to let you know you didn't get the job that avoided the awkward questions you would have asked if they just said you didn't get it.   

Samuel, speaking from the perspective of an employer (retired) I agree with BenC & Robbmc, something doesn’t smell right and I also agree that it was most likely a way to cut the rejection short. I also think the remark was a bit in-face blaming you in some way.

I do feel that our new ways of communicating have cauterized the formality of discourse. People still send out paper wedding invitations with paper RSVP’s and send back paper thank you notes at the conclusion of the affair. These formalities have not changed in 100 years and they apply to all formal discourse today which includes the interviewing process. Emailing back and forth with questions and ideas is best but the milestones should be marked on paper.

“Get back to you in two weeks” is a suspect clue that he wanted to keep trolling and if you let them they will and most likely will find a bigger fish to fry. If you ever hear that again, and you will, that means you have more work to do to get HIM off the market. Anyone who says “We’ll get back to you” is just lying to cover the truth. Your job at that point is to evaluate everything you gave them and play-back both sides of the conversations for clues, then riddle them with new things, clarifications and ideas. This thing never stops and in my project interviews all these things applied. I always mailed a letter with the “thank you” at the top then filled the page with new thoughts & clarifications as a way of continuing the interview….and it worked.

Beware of “Well thank you for your time” that is the Death Knell that signals that you’ve got no chance and for those still send a “Thank You” and move on to the next.

Thanks everyone - needless to say I will from now on follow up with a (at the least emailed) follow up note in the future. 

There actually was one more development after my post: I email back saying "Thank you" for the reply, and asking if (trying to be positive and cherry despite) were there any internship opportunists I could take advantage of - the interviewer's reply was that he would look into it and let me know in one week and gave a date in which I would hear by. So, that made me happy, but more confused. It doe seem like this was a way of saying "NO, you didn't get the position" but parts seem like it was just as the interviewer said "To be honest, when we did not receive a note from you after we met we figured you were not interested."

Thanks again.

You should usually send a follow-up, but it should be expected and a natural part of the conversation.

I just went through the interview process, and in every instance there was something we discussed (an old project, a piece of my work or another student or architect's work that wasn't online/ in my portfolio, a new project, a detail, a lecture, etc...) that I was going to send a link to/ images of. It is just a conversation like any other... you should have something more to say, or strive to develop a rapport and an ongoing dialogue about architecture.

That said, it sounds like they are a bit unprofessional and either didn't hire anyone or didn't want to hire you. It is best to be honest in all business dealings no matter how harsh it may sound.

Carreras advice is gold, thank you for that. As an entrepreneur, Ive adopted a similar protocol so it is nice to know what I have been doing is appropriate and effective.

In an employment market where there still are many more candidates than job openings, it's natural for an employer to favor candidates who are overtly enthusiastic about the job - all else being equal. 

Let's be pragmatic about this. It doesn't take much effort to send a note after the interview expressing gratitude for their time and reiterating your strong interest in the job. Why take the chance that not making that small effort may send the wrong signal?

They were just looking for a excuse to shoo you away. Truth is, they probably found someone much more "enthusiastic" (which probably means someone with 5 times more experience, who would still charge lesser). That should tell you how fucked up this business is.

SOD - I disagree. No firm needs to make up a story like this - esp. the part about gushing about the OP and his/her work. All they need to say is "we found a candidate better suited to our needs."

Do not email a thank you note. Send a hand-written thank you note no later than the day after you had the interview. Always. Make a polite telephone call ten days to two weeks after the interview to let them know you are still interested. (emails are all to easy to get automatically routed to the junk file and are unprofessional in this context anyway)

Well I guess you can’t dress everybody up and take them out to dinner. I suppose too that you could draw images of architectonic pliancy on their storefront windows in the morning dew and wait on the sidewalk for an answer….its about manners…decorum, having respect for the formality of the process.

File, you'd be surprised, there are many assholes out there, who want to make an example out of you.

That said, I always email thank-you notes the very evening of the interview/meeting, mostly because I know there are many jerk-offs out there.

Yes, do send thank-you notes! Email one first, of course, but also cover your bases and mail one the traditional way: they don't expect most candidates to do so.