For the latest Student Works feature Elif Erdine a PhD in Architectural Design Candidate at the AA, researching on ‘Generative Processes in Tower Design: Algorithms for the Integration of Tower Subsystems’, profiled Fallen Star an installation set between biomimetics, interaction, and perception.The project led drewjmcnamara to think "I am always amazed at the resources available to students at some schools. And then to see those resources actually being put to good use".

News
Last weekend Michael Graves penned an opinion piece for the NYT on Architecture and the Lost Art of Drawing. Graves categorizes three types of architectural drawing and argues that while at least 1 of them (the 'definitive' drawing) have moved with good reason to digital, the other other two ('referential sketch' and the 'preparatory study') are perhaps better suited to paper/hand...

Chris Moody basically agreed commenting "Regarding speed ,accuracy,and the ability to edit quickly, yes computer-aided drafting is the way to go. However, with hand drawn work, there is a honesty and character to which CAD cannot duplicate which is why some firms still use hand drawings in combination with computer-aided drafting." Yet Matthew Messner clarified "Schools are not completely throwing out analog design technique as some of the NYT letter writers have everyone think.  I would like to here from someone at a school were analog is completely out."

Artinfo wrote about how thanks to augmented reality technology being implemented by media design firm Local Projects LLC, visitors can look at the steel tapestries, for Gehry’s proposed Eisenhower Memorial, through their smartphone cameras to see what otherwise isn’t there: video and audio recordings that tell more of Ike’s story, even in Ike’s own voice. David Curtis curmudgeonly gripped "Will the visitors be required to have a smart phone in order to use the toilets too?" to which Editorial remarked "It's a good idea, get with it."

Last Thursday at Yale School of Architecture WORKac founders Amale Andraos and Dan Wood gave a lecture titled 'Nature-City'. The Yale Daily News reported that speaking of the relationship between environmentalism and design in WORKac’s creations. Andraos said "We don’t believe architecture can solve anything...Rather, we feel this is a question of impacting culture" Archinector Lee Robert countered "Can't say that I agree with the idea that architects are incapable of solving real world problems, and that designers are relegated to the role of visionaries with no tangible impact on the built environment...It's not all about execution in architecture, there is most certainly a place for big ideas, but I find fault with elevating those who have these grand ideas to a higher plane than those who work to solve the small, seemingly insignificant problems that effect every day life."

9to5Mac published/leaked "Confidential" architectural drawings of new Apple HQ by Foster and Parters. mantaray opined "the quality level of the rendering, and effort put in, doesn't seem justified by the little content conveyed.  Some quick sketches would have gotten the point of a lot of these interior renderings across equally well." though Jonathan Rincon simply saw "Another master piece from Foster".

In a recent letter titled ‘Kicking against the Prix’, the RIBA gold medallist Chipperfield countered Wolf Prix's recent Venice Biennale criticism. He asked "How can our profession be regarded as anything more than a soap opera if the personalities of architects dominate all reporting and serious critique is abandoned not only by the media but also by architects themselves?" However, Colin Montoute  believed "I  think David is wrong to shoot the messenger.  What reporters do is report. It is up to Chipperfield to either tell us why Prix is wrong or ignore it.   ' ..who buys ink by the barrel’  etc"

Firms/Blogs/Work Updates
Chelsea Marta Miller recently worked on A Fluid Relic: Chattahoochee National Recreation Area's historic presence while Heather Ring recently worked on the Helsinki Plant Tram.

The authors of the New Norris House blog reflected on the fact that their year of living in the New Norris House is over and some of the lessons they learned in scaling down to 768 square feet. Orhan Ayyüce shared "I like the New Norris House. My ideal dream home is now 800 sq. ft. Next time if I build anything for myself it will be that size."

Ekaterina Dovjenko reposted on her blog (with permission), a post from a friend, Nick Thornton of Unboring Learning which he wrote up for the UBC Terry Blog. The post if a Swiftian Modest Proposal (for Housing in Vancouver). Examining the issue of affordable housing in the GVA, Mr. Thornton proposed "To these wretched souls who cannot (or choose not) to afford a modest 200sq/ft deluxe studio in Yaletown, I say: if you want affordable housing, make more money."

Schools/Blogs
Lian Chikako Chang Archinects esteemed Harvard GSD live-blogger covered a recent Jürgen Mayer H.'s lecture. Jürgen summarized that the "lecture is a lot about the last 10 years and a lot about the 2D to 3D translation, from small to urban, from installation to nation."

As hsolie enters the last year of graduate school at  University of Michigan Taubman School of Architecture, he restarted the blog with a new focus on "The exciting yet difficult transition from student to professional" but not before  ending the school blog ‘career’ with a "walk-off"  rant on higher education.

Michael Bergin went up with "the first in a series of posts summarizing the research and design work performed during the Master of Architecture program at UC Berkeley from 2010 to 2012."

Discussions
salv is currently studying for their exams and trying to understand "If something is stated in the code...why illustrate this information in the drawings?" Steven Ward replied "if you don't show your intention behind how you expect a detail to work out, how will the contractor know what you want?...if it were all just a matching of code to application, why would builders need us at all?" and curtkram noted "'build per building code’ doesn't sound like a good note. kind of like drawings from the 80's that say something to the effect of ‘put roof here.’  a bit more vague than what I think is commonly expected of me."

Along the same lines there is no there offered "Provide exits per building code requirements. I've seen it on a set of drawings! No kidding! Maybe it does work and the rest of us are suckers".

dishonest mailman was wondering what people think are the best schools in terms of equipment in the fab lab, student access to that equipment, and opportunities to integrate that kind of work into studio/the curriculum. LITS4FormZ answered "I might be biased but the University of Houston has quite possibly the nicest, most under-utilized shop in the country...UH is also a designated Rhino-Fab lab so you get extra resources, cheap software and they put on all kinds of demos twice a year" However, Aaron Willette suggested "Another thing to look at when examining schools is who they have for faculty that are involved with design computation and if they are integrating that with the fabrication facilities... Its not enough just to have access to the latest and greatest tooling regardless how nice it is."

Finally, inspired by a  conversation they had recently about the CCTV HQ TheCollector wants to know do architects have a duty to design what the public wish?...Or do we know best and they should stop moaning and let us get on with it? 

Rand H. "They can listen all the want, but the client has the final sya...The idea that we just do what we want or there is an option to do what the public wants and not the client is somehow a still prevalent misconception. Architecture is a service profession, not government employees." In this vein quizzical contended "The Architect should listen primarily to his/her client and the users of the facility being designed. However, the Architect - both individually and collectively as a profession - should LEAD the public to a better place, through education and by example." To sum up Thecavalier posted "Architects should listen to the people. Listen and understand what the people say, but read into what they do, act, and say, combine it with the architects years of knowledge and experience, and, if done correctly, you will give the people what they need, even if it is not what they thought they wanted."

Additionally
jvantspijker penned an Op-ed: titled Questions without Answers: the Venice Biennale 2012. Therein jvantspijker wrote "The impression arose that the architectural discourse is scared of looking for answers as these can have a biting political edge and produce risky design concepts. It is shifting towards a facilitating role, in which putting questions on the table is the main task. Such a self-important yet safe attitude can weaken the professional debate in the long run.”