August held a special place for tall architecture, broke architecture students, and some interesting developments with Kanye West. Let's dive into the big hits of this year's August roundup.

↑ Seattle's second-tallest skyscraper is almost complete

The 1.7-million-square-foot NBBJ-designed tower reached 722 feet in height back in August, marking its surpassing of Seattle's former second tallest building, 1202 Third Avenue. Due to be completed in 2020, the tower will sit at 850 feet tall, with Columbia Center, at 937 feet, as the only tower taller in Seattle.

↑ Central Park Tower breaks Willis Tower's record 45-year claim to highest roof in the Western Hemisphere

Surpassing the 1,450-foot-tall Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), the Central Park Tower rose to a gravity-defying 1,550 feet, giving it the highest roof title in the Western Hemisphere. The project is due to be completed in 2020.

↑ Pelli Clarke Pelli unveils designs for tallest skyscrapers in Japan

Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects (PCP) unveiled designs for a new "modern urban village" in collaboration with Japan-based Mori Building. PCP designed the development's three towers, including the main 1,080-foot spire due to be the tallest building in Japan when completed in 2023.

↑ Tallest skyscraper in New Jersey nears completion

The 900-foot tall residential tower, 99 Hudson Street, was designed by Perkins Eastman in Jersey City, New Jersey. Standing at 79 stories, the tower is the tallest in New Jersey, holds 781 apartments, 16,000 square feet of commercial space, and 15,000 square feet of outdoor area.

↑ Kanye West's domes lack permits, face demolition

News of Kanye's domes surfaced at the end of July with his intent on breaking class barriers with a new kind of housing typology. In August, we learned that the music artist had missed crucial steps in the permitting process, rendering his domes demolition-worthy. Ultimately, the structures were dismantled in September, with news on any future endeavors concerning the experimentation unknown.

↑ Meet Gerhardt Fjuck, the architect behind the world's ugliest buildings

Comedian Arturo Castro expertly portrayed a satirical "visionary architect" in a new sketch series called Alternatino. In a hilarious four-minute video sketch, the comedian pricelessly pokes fun at the sometimes dysfunctional designs of our own "visionary" architects: "When you enter a Gerhardt environment, I want you to feel something. I want you to feel challenged. Interrogated. Tired. I want you to feel like I hate you personally, because I do."

↑ What the Broke Architecture Student Can Learn From the Work of Glenn Murcutt

Architecture school can be a rewarding and overwhelming experience. With the never-ending surmounting pile of materials, software, technologies, and printing, the student on a budget faces a commendable challenge. In this reflective piece, we look at some foundational design principals, pulling specifically from the work and ideology of world-renowned Australian architect Glenn Murcutt and consider how the "broke" architecture student might learn from his lessons and tackle their inescapable predicament.

↑ Fred Scharmen joins us on the podcast to discuss his new book "Space Settlements"

In episode 143 of Archinect Sessions, we speak with Fred Scharmen, Principal and Co-Founder of The Working Group on Adaptive Systems and Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at Morgan State University, about his book, Space Settlements. The 400-pager is a closely curated collection of designs for space colonies from the mid-70's. Check out the episode for a discussion on Scharmen's research for the book, the process of writing the book, and some surprising discoveries.