Nicholas Korody began publishing responses from anonymous questionnaires on the topic of architecture students average student debt and it’s effects. Alternative thinks there are just four solutions; - intervention by the federal government, attrition at architecture schools, limit access to student credit for architecture degrees and open the conversation.

Plus, Archinect continued its coverage of the ACADIA 2014 Conference, with a piece on the special keynote lecture by Zaha Hadid. The talk split her work into two groups, first using "a noticeably organicist language. She talked chiefly of the structures as landmasses...During the second part, Hadid spoke chiefly of her firm’s use of shell-structures, exoskeletons, and tensile fabrics". Thayer-D reacted "But should one be asked a question that makes them uncomfortable, humor is preferable to a middle finger.  Maybe Patrik and Zaha were cognizant of Gehry's recent bad press despite being members of the ‘architectural pantheon’.  How does one get into that club anyway?"
 

News
Bustler covered architect Michael Rotondi receiving the Richard J. Neutra Medal from the College of Environmental Design at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. They offered up a complimentary quote from Orhan Ayyüce, "Education paired with architecture is RoTo's way. Michael is a great recipient of prestigious Neutra award which is given to exceptional architects who take the profession to higher levels of artistry and creative thinking and building" who also snapped a photo of the occasion.

Justine Testado posted images from the annual fundraising event, 10x10 Drawing the City London. Donna Sink seemed pleasantly surprised "Wow, some very beautiful drawings in here! In fact, every one of these is more resonant with me than any one of the Gugg Helsinki images I looked at...."

Alexander McQuilkin looked at The Rise and Fall of Manhattan’s Density. won and done williams found it "Fascinating how transit led to Manhattan's de-densification...To me, it reinforces the need to design walkable communities, first and foremost (even above transit-oriented communities)".

MUJI HOUSE, the architectural entity of Japanese design brand Muji, has released their latest prefab house in Tokyo called the Vertical House. Mr_Wiggin clarified "I don't think this is prefab in the classic sense as an entirely finished system that is just clicked together on site...designing, placing, and constructing all members and connections in the shop, then connecting them onsite". Will Galloway chimed in "This is average cost by japanese standards...FWIW, prefab is the standard model of construction here, so this is coming into a very crowded market (on the cheaper end though, i would say, once all is said and done). Custom homes...would normally be quite a lot more. MUJI is not really competing with architects at this price range, except some special cases".

Firms/Blogs/Work Updates
Dimitri Damiel Kim of (X)Manifold A.D.R.L. shared the firm’s Finalist Entry in the 2014 Dawntown Miami Design Build Competition.

Jeremy Segal provided definitions for two phrases common to the architectural photography industry; "hero shot" and "Back Plate".

The Cove by Scott Johnson and Flexagon: Transformative Kinetics (Thesis Project) by Michael Burton are just two of the project found in the post Ten Top Images on Archinect's "Student Work" Pinterest Board.

Fourteen years after the first ACSA Sourcebook of Community Design Programs at Schools of Architecture in North America, Lian Chikako Chang announced the release of an updated PDF and new website/online tool.
 

School/Blogs
At University of Miami students are learning how to use 3D software (SketchUp and Rhino) to "document the motion of their mechanical objects" in order to develop shapes. The end result being "a design for a seat (think chair, bench, couch, etc..), which will then be assembled from our CNC machine". 

Last week Ashley Schafer, co-curator of the 2014 Venice Biennale, lectured at the Knowlton School of Architecture.

For those looking for a job in academia; The Department of Wood Science & Engineering at University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts is seeking a creative and innovative faculty member for a position as Assistant Professor of Architecture and Wood Design. Or, Ball State University wants to fill a One-year Design Innovation Fellow contract faculty position.

Studio 19 has been busy. They; began curing and weatherproofing the pre cast bathroom pod, worked on the "only ceiling in the house which is located in the bathroom" and "picked up" CNC routed Kitchen cabinetry. As well as started installing windows and Joinery.

Discussions/Threads
Carrera wanted to talk about housing size, "minimum square footage requirements" and Zoning. chigurh agreed "so dumb, how about minimum 3 car garage?  had to deal with that once". gruen really likes "the small house movement but it is totally hampered by stupid zoning restrictions". tint proposed "Maybe archinect can do a podcast on zoning (hint)". For his part Miles Jaffee has long "been tempted to apply for a permit for a below minimum square footage house and then sue the town for exclusionary zoning when it's denied".

woodshop had a question about design service fees, specifically "Are there any general rules of thumb when it comes to setting rates for design?" el jeffe gave some advice "simply calling it a TI doesn't come close to defining what the scope of work is" . Later midlander suggested "See if they'll agree to an hourly rate to do studies for them...It wouldn't make sense to set a fee or scope until the site and scale are settled".

Finally, go do it started a thread for Nectors to post examples of furniture and architecture design that mirrors each other so well? His first submission Berlijnse Stoel and Schroeder House are both by Gerrit Rietveld.
 

Additionally
Ryan Mullenix, a partner at NBBJ Design, penned a piece in which he considers two approaches to help start the uncomfortable conversation on the merits of "architectural euthanasia".