For the latest edition of the In Focus series, dedicated to profiling the photographers who help make the work of architects look that much better, Archinect spoke with Stockholm-based English photographer Robin Hayes.

Plus, Michael Abrahamson currently a doctoral student in Architecture History and Theory at the University of Michigan provided a review of "Air Rights" – an exhibition by the Drone Research Lab (DRL) at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. Therein he explains "The exhibit seems to argue that the site of misbehavior and appropriation is shifting from the tagged surfaces of graffiti to aberrant spatial practices of collection and documentation...The show is a mixed bag, displaying everything from a metaphoric play on US intelligence procedures to a pragmatic consumer drone kit. Notably absent is any attempt at using drones for the fabrication of habitable spaces".

Responding either to the author or to projects found in the exhibition (perhaps both?), Darkman criticized "The BLDGBLOG type inquiry walks a fine line between futurism and self-indulgance. How about futurism combined with ethics--to recapture the best part of the modernism dogma".

News
Paul Petrunia, Amelia Taylor-Hochberg, Justine Testado and Alexander Walter all went on an Archinect field trip and visited Irvine’s Great Park site of the  U.S. Department of Energy’s 2013 Solar Decathlon. They reported back "what stood out were distinctive details, if not any overarching architectural visions".

In reply to some criticism bringFire(Aaron) wrote "DALE (Dynamic Augmented Living Environment) was designed with a young millennial couple in mind.  Additional family members added over the natural course of a lifetime would, as the team anticipated and explained during tours and in their architecture narrative, warrant an additional living module, something that the system was specifically designed to easily accommodate...The total energy used to move both modules across the site is roughly 0.05 kilowatts ( the same amount of energy it takes to power a 50 watt light bulb for an hour).  This simple and surprising fact is at the core of DALE's energy strategy".

Over at Lilith Magazine architect Esther Sperber reflecting on recent statistics concerning women in architectural practice and the Denise Scott Brown Pritzker controversy, called for an overhaul of how we think about creativity and authorship in architecture.

Darkman couldn’t help but ask  "Why does it have to be an either/or? Experience tells us individual creativity does matter, but that so does teamwork and collaboration"?

Christine Outram (currently the Senior Inventionist at Deutsch LA.) penned an essay regarding what architects can learn from Starbucks, when it comes to human centered design. Specifically, in terms of user research, ethnography etc.

Christopher Perrodin felt "This is a weird article.  Personally, I am more inclined to meet and try to get to know architects who share views that are similar to my own, but I feel confident in saying that most architects really do care about people and actively seek out their opinion when designing a building..I don't know for sure, but I feel that it would be a lot harder to get effective user data input about how a space should feel than it would about how a gadget or interface should feel".

cityinnovation (aka Christine Outram) actually jumped into the fray to clarify "Hi all! I really enjoyed reading all of your posts and love that this article has us talking. It is, however, worth restating the central thesis of my piece...I believe that there are traditional ethnographic techniques as well as a new set of digital tools that architects could harness to help them understand the needs and desire of the people they are designing for. But I don't see this happening! All architects listen to their client, but I'm talking about a deeper understanding of a building's users".

Taking in the torrent of commentary the post generated Janosh took a step back and shared "I'm very happy to see this dialogue happening on archinect.  When much architectural criticism and commentary is indistinguishable from so many repackaged press releases and PR talking points, it's really lovely to see people talking about the ugly, real and contentious aspects of architectural and advertising practice...And back to the subject at hand: I've seen Christine speak and a lot of what she is talking about reminds me of what we all heard from the millenial digifab and form evangelists".

Last week SHoP Architects-designed building on W. 57th St. was approved. At the same meeting the proposed called 'daring' by Landmarks Commission. Donna Sink had to know "how this thing is built.  I love SHoP, pretty much love everything they've ever done and their whole approach to development and having a stake in each project.  but based on my understanding of traditional building methods, this tower just looks wrong: too tall, too skinny, too fragile...Also terra cotta - heavy, craftsmanly, of fire and earth - seems a counter-intuitive material choice for a soaring facade".

Apurimac argued "The fact they bought Steinway Hall to do this makes it a complete coup, and is a brilliant example of what can happen when architects and developers deliberately engage in the landmarks process.  Because they got LPC approval, any planning or DOB comments are now irrelevant so they can build as big as they pretty much want"

Firms/Blogs/Work Updates

Shaft House by rzlbd a Toronto, Ontario based firm is a three story wood structure designed so that "Affordability is a value that the building successfully owns by integrating well thought low-cost strategies in the design process; from purchasing a modest lot of about 20 feet wide to choosing sustainable and cost efficient materials".

At the moment A.GUIGNARD who is using their blog to "spell out the difficulties and facilities of applying for... Master of Fine Arts abroad in Italy" is trying to figure out how to "earn the capital to pay for" wherever they may end up.

Lauren Schneider designed Dungeness as a school project in which she tackled an 8,000 Acre National Nature Reserve, the largest shingle beach in Europe, 600 plant species (1/3 of all found in the UK), a Royal Society of Bird Protection (RSPB) Sanctuary as well as, two nuclear power stations.

Schools/Blogs

Harold-Sprague Solie who has already graduated from University of Michigan Taubman College with his MArch but is still catching readers up on his thesis research/project, discussed some of his lessons learned completing the full-scale installation he developed in Detroit entitled Installation 7721.

As he explains "Upon my return, not more than 20 hours after finishing the install, I found that every single component had been ripped out of the facades and stolen. Over 1200 feet of steel rod had disappeared over night, stolen by the city and sold for about $7 in scrap metal...A brutal reality to doing work in a post-industrial city, my only source of comfort was knowing that everything that happened had served as a type of ‘proof of concept’ for my work and its underlining ideas".

The students at University of Virginia’s design/buildLAB "hosted the first design presentation of the fieldhouse this past week for the board members of the Clifton Forge Little League". Also, lunch (the refereed design research journal) edited and designed by students at the University of Virginia School of Architecture invited submissions to be published in lunch9: In Excess. As you may have guessed the volume is looking for "ideas, papers, and projects...addressing excess from all perspectives".

Discussions
gruen (who is starting a (small) office after years of doing large project work) started a thread to get tips re: detailing residential wd frame w/exterior foam.

Miles Jaffe gave the following "There are numerous problems with exterior rigid panel insulation...The best practice is to avoid exterior insulation (and tyvek) altogether...I use a combination of 2" of closed cell polystyrene foam and encapsulated fiberglass batts to fill the cavity". geezertect chimed in "Miles is absolutely right.  The requirement for 1" foam on exterior walls makes no sense.  Everywhere you nail through it for siding, trim boards, etc. is another place for rust, water penetration, etc".

Rusty dropped in to note "Sad to see so many designers scared shitless of simple rainscreen assembly...Thermally broken purlins do exist".

BusinessofArch highlighted an interview with Cornell Professor Jonathan Ochshorn wherein he makes his case for why Cornell University’s new architecture building designed by Rem Koolhaas’ Office of Metropolitan Architecture is a "disaster...The code violations are egregious". In Will Galloway’s opinion the argument was simply "barely serious. The dude is fighting a lost battle (not mention he's being petty) and it's not because OMA is incompetent. It's because they are better at this shit and have more experience than their reputation amongst the anti-intellectuals might expect".

Finally, s=r*(theta) was looking for a little consolation "just failed another A.R.E. (BDCS)!!". gruen offered up a joke to relieve the stress "Do you know what they call someone who failed all the exams then passed them the second time?...Architect".