For the latest edition of the Working out of the Box series, Archinect spoke with Spain-based Brazilian Creative Director/Creative Consultant Gustavo Almeida-Santos of studiogaas.

Therein, we learn Mr. Almeida-Santos is currently attending ETSAM in Madrid, where he is enrolled in a Master in Advanced Architecture Projects. For his studies he is "interested in research on the architecture of fashion catwalks".

News
Over at the NYT Patricia Cohen reported the news Hirshhorn Museum Drops Plan for an Inflatable Garden Roof. Achinector Andrew Davis noted "In the words of Woody Allen, ‘What we have on our hands is a dead shark.’ As has been previously reported, the DS+R project for the Hirshhorn Museum in D.C. will not be moving forward. The reason for this failure is purportedly due to fundraising deficiencies and not aesthetics as the Smithsonian's dense bureaucracy continually reiterates. However, as thisTimes articles suggests, the impermanent nature of this design is not only a disincentive for donor's support but also integral to its aesthetics".

Gehry Partners shared detailed information about their entry to last summer's architectural competition, the National Art Museum of China in Beijing via Bustler.net.

Fred Scharmen thought it was "fantastic. A very interesting direction for the office's work. So many architects start with the intention of using their large scale gestures spatially, which shows up in speculative projects only; then their built work reduces the gesture to a surface treatment. The trajectory of Gehry's office's work, from material studies to large scale *built* spatial gestures, to carefully calibrated surfaces is fascinating. All the while, they're still building the larger stuff, too. Really nice. The interior volumes are cool, as well. As someone pointed out above, Schinkel is clearly a touchstone".

Diane Pham of Inhabitat pointed out that as of a few weeks ago, Tom Kundig is embroiled in legal battle with a residents of Methow Valley, WA. Flagg Mountain Hut (which he also co-owns), is now the focus of a campaign asking the owners to Move the Hut off the ridgeline and out of sight to preserve the beauty and character of the valley. RONEL CONSTANTIN stated "Move that hut!!!"...

goetzylla acknowledged "I can see where the frustrated comments here are coming from. I like the project very much though. It stays off the ground and formulates an impressive overhanging gesture at the ridge line. The problem with zoning in the US is that the citizen living in the meadow shouldn't probably live there either! Construction within pristine wilderness should be entirely restricted to specialty uses- a chalet for hikers and skiers for example. I understand that this goes against the American spirit of ownership. But it makes me sick driving by spectacular red rock formations south of Moab , Utah, and seeing some trashy Mac cheese single family home development in front of it".

Firms/Blogs/Work Updates
Alec Perkins an intern working for Tatiana Bilbao's office in Mexico City, shares a tricky assignment at work, His task "is to adapt  a house design to be appropriate and affordable for a middle class family in either Mexico or the United States. The floorplan of the house is more or less established" but he is learning "There are four critical differences" between domestic architecture in the two countries.

Outside IN House in Puerto Natales, Chile by Fernanda Vuilleumier Studio and Bach 4 Apartments in Barcelona, Spain by Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura were just two of the projects featured recently on the Ten Top Images on Archinect's "Details" Pinterest Board.

Ampdesign announced that their Sonic Sculpture piece is on its way to Topeka Kansas for installation. Updates from the road are forthcoming.

Osom Architects continued chronicling the story of starting a firm in Italy. Only 5 months after settling into a co-working spot they were again on the move. bigness assured "The stereotypical Carlo Scarpa and Corbu posters have been ordered, don't worry".

Schools/Blogs

Patrick Beseda at University of Colorado Denver, provided update #5 re: FOUNDhouse "We’ve cut and assembled one module of the FOUNDhouse (which is 1/3 of the total structure)...So now it’s time for more fabrication. We’ve learned a ton about the intricacies of CNC, so our cut times are getting quicker every day".

The Arid Lands Institute at Woodbury University will be launching a new website in Fall 2013 as well as releasing a high-resolution stormwater infiltration model for the San Fernando Valley, the fruit of eight months of research sponsored by a grant from the World Water Forum. The model will be made available to design teams throughout Southern California to visualize future urban and architectural development.

The next edition of The Architectural Association Visiting School will take place in Jordan from September 1st to 10th. For those who join up "the 10-day programme will familiarize participants with the process of developing architectural interventions within the Jordanian desert".

Reflecting on a quote from Nader Tehrani, studiostumpo a blogger affiliated with Wentworth Institute of Technology, discussed the challenges of a globalized, digitized World Wide Architecture.

Discussions
bowling_ball started a thread to discuss Partnering with a... partner? Gegory Walker advised "i don't think 'wanting each other to succeed' is enough. i'd suggest you ask this question instead: would i create a business with this person if i didn't sleep with them each night? can we survive the ups/downs and walk away from the business without blaming each other if it fails?...my wife and i figured out early on that we didn't want to go down this road together...lot's of my colleagues make it work though".

On the other-hand snooker-doodle-dandy shared "I have been in business with my wife for thirteen years. We come from very different back grounds. She is Brazilian and myself and old cowboy...Best of luck to you".

Reacting to the news that Synthesis Design + Architecture (led by architect and USC professor, Alvin Huang) recently won an international competition to design a rapidly deployable pavilion to showcase Volvo’s new plug-in electric hybrid, the V60, peace77 commented "bogus ‘design’..This is why we fail".

wurdan freo responded "I don't know... it allows you to rotate this portable, temporary pavilion in any direction and still create a current.  The PV array may not be able to ever achieve maximum output, but the resulting design is elegant to me. If the electrical requirements are met, I think it beats your typical solar array at a tilt to the sun on one side only".

SynthesisDNA jumped into the forums to follow up on a few points about their "bogus" design...

"The images you see were produced as concept renderings for the competition. We sold the idea, now the idea is becoming a reality through a process of intense R&D.  It is now being further developed - and as you all know, will change as more technical information, cost and fabrication restrictions, and other constraints come into play. This is really where it becomes a process of collaboration between the designers (Synthesis), engineers (Buro Happold) fabricators (Fabric Images) and the client's technical team (Volvo Design Center)...The technical requirements for the charging of the car are a minimum 700w trickle charge, which is our target.  Though the primary intention of the proposal is to charge the car, the marketing intention is that the car can be on display outdoors in a hot Italian square with its air conditioning on permanently so that all visitors can sit in a cool car and even charge their phones.  We are working hard on this with our engineers and Volvo to make this happen...This is absolutely an experimental structure - from the tensioned fabric membrane to the pre-cambered perimeter frame to the flexible photo-voltaic panels - and a terrific challenge"...

curtkram opined "IMHO, the difference between a good architect and a great architect is that ‘more technical information, cost and fabrication restrictions, and other constraints’ are taken into consideration at the beginning of the design process" yet fku2 asked "ok peace - educate me on indirect vs direct pv. I'm a noob with great faith...but it seems like a simple parametric math problem: x amount direct here, x amount indirect here, panel area xy here, area xy here, change the angle of the support, etc. change the shape of the 'saddle' here and there. z amount required to run the AC...I'm owning my noobage. What are the grounds of your dismissal?".

Finally, tagalong needed some help with a wall butting into storefront glass detail....

"Do you have to jog over to a mullion? I"m not even sure that would maintain the 2 hour rating"...

Anob chimed in "I literally have seen this done. You can build the 2hr wall up to the mullion grille. ..This is of course ugly solution" but gruen cautioned "I always try to tee my walls into a mullion. Be careful (whatever your solution) that the exterior wall does not need a rating too".

Additionally
In the wake of the not guilty jury verdict in the George Zimmerman murder trial Mitch McEwen was compelled to respond in the first of a 3 part series exploring the implications for urban design and architecture. Specifically, she wrote;

"We cannot go on referencing the flaneurs of Paris, cannot continue our re-hashing of the ideas of Guy Debord and Walter Benjamin, without recognizing that for many people this meandering of the flaneur is treated as a criminal activity. A white person can be a flaneur in America. Let us state that clearly".