1. you can always count on geoff for good stuff. his paean to l.a. was beautiful.

2. we knew it was coming: the first time i saw a 3d printer, i knew that building-sized printers were on the way. nam henderson found coverage of this idea in treehugger, where they raise the frightening question: “if architects can “print” any building they want, can’t accountants and softball coaches with HAUS DEZINER PRO do it too?”

3. i’ve been enjoying david byrne’s commentaries since someone here linked his blog/journal a month or so ago. the new entry this week gives his run-down on ds+r’s ica in boston. my favorite comment, about the mac-room-with-view: “i can’t imagine too many people hanging out there, except to experience the room. maybe another use can be found for it?”

byrne’s comments about architecture in 1986’s true stories have stuck with me since before i started arch school. byrne’s always so clear-eyed and honest, maybe he should be enlisted to help pick the new paint at the guggenheim? (discussion here.)

4. now that steve colbert has announced his run for presidency, it’s probably good to examine his recent writings so we can know what the man is all about. we really need to know this, too, because i hear we get to choose whether he’ll run as a republican or democrat. i wonder why he doesn’t show up here?

5. while i love the sentiment in this piece by germaine greer, “a concrete version of dizzy rapture”, she trots out some tired architecture metaphors that a second semester first-year student might find embarrassing. ah well. more importantly – and alarmingly – though: they gated ronchamp?!

6. sevensixfive took some heat for this critique of the solar decathlon in the forum, but that’s what commentary is for, right? to start people talking about things that are important?

by the way, what happens to these solar projects after the competition?

in the images
this week i liked these ones:
1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1

in the links
1. cool new thing in which i can’t participate because i’m out here in the middle: http://ridearc.org/

2. loomstudio’s project that was featured in ‘architect’ mag last month. very high coolness factor, but i’m not sure it’s r&d like the mag says. i mean, frank did cmu, right? anyway, it’s worth a look: http://www.loomstudio.com/12blocks/

3. the research institute for experimental architecture, aka leb woods: http://www.riea.ch/-RIE-/plain.home.en.home.default/default.aspx
leb woods on the web! ‘nuff said.

or not. recent leb-buzz: 1, 2, 3, 4.

in the forums
1. kids today....
this thread, initiated by karchitect with a video - "eisenman debates wold d prix at a crit - google video" - kicked up quite a fuss. more than i might have guessed, really. i can't decide if it's that so many people have a knee-jerk reaction to eisenman (whether pro or con) or that people were truly offended by what he was saying. the young guns out there probably thought he was harsh. the old ones among us were wondering 'why didn't he throw the model?', 'why did he even look at the project and not just move on?', 'isn't is great that greg lynn is NOT TALKING?'.

i noticed during my last teaching stint that reviews have become a lot less - um - aggressive over the years, much more nurturing. maybe we've gone soft. anyway, this incident didn't seem so bad. anybody remember the worst critique discussion or harvard’s blowfish? maybe those should be a primer for new students.

eisenman picked on the project(s) for not addressing basic architectural issues. his examples were coming from historical examples, but this discussion of inside/outside might have been a good place to start. basic binary distinctions, right? up/down, inside/outside, dark/light. rfuller seems eager to catch up with the things he might have missed: faking the funk. rf, don't stop believin'!

2. in a strange sleight-of-hand - and probably without realizing it at all - annie choi gets us all talking about ourselves, making fun of ourselves, and talking about her again!! - and with the same piece as last time! no additional work on her part necessary! another dear architects letter: read it and weep. there must be something in this thing that has us all hypnotized, because otherwise i can't see why we're so intent on making her temporarily famous.

wait, is johnprolly annie choi's agent?

4. do you get out on the job site as much as you should? apparently it’s a good place to expand your vocabulary…

5. this thread on big boxes is too fresh to have turned into much yet – but i’m curious to hear people’s responses.

6. i love you archinect! the reason i originally started visiting here was discussion in which advice was solicited and proffered. we're still doing it! this week we learned about mistakes everyone should try to avoid, what to do when the afternoon doldrums set in, where/how to find decadence in ny not kidding, siding decisions, the etiquette of cover letter greetings, and how to make painted glass backsplashes. all very useful things to know.

6 1/2. i really want to go to this. shall we take up a collection for my plane ticket?