As a revealing new exhibit at the Canadian Centre for Architecture shows, ambivalence about digital architecture was characteristic of most of the architects who pioneered it, including Peter Eisenman, Chuck Hoberman and Shoei Yoh. “The computer has become an opportunistic gadget for most of the profession,” Gehry tells the architect-cum-curator Greg Lynn in an interview for the exhibition catalogue. — forbes.com

Smart city infrastructure can augment the ability of managers, planners, designers and engineers to define and implement a fundamentally better next generation of buildings, cities, regions — right? Maybe. For that to be a serious proposition, it’s going to have to be normal for planners and designers not only to collaborate productively with engineers, but to do so with the full and competent participation of the only people they mistrust more than each other ... customers. — Places Journal

"Turrell has continued to develop a series of works that address architecture and the space of the viewer. As part of his evolving practice, he has utilized architectural interventions, created immersive environments, designed and erected autonomous outdoor spaces, and continues to build structures within Roden Crater-an extinct volcano in Arizona." — LACMA Pamphlet

Can we start by exploring your process of developing an initial idea for a project? You all have very different backgrounds, specialising in metalwork, industrial design and architecture. How do these backgrounds integrate? Can this culmination of different abilities become challenging?

It is extremely challenging integrating our different perspectives – based on our specialties, you can encounter all phases and scales of project development simultaneously — Modern Matter

Creating a 3D map of a room could someday be as simple as randomly placing four microphones within the space, then snapping your fingers. Researchers from Switzerland’s EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne/Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) have recently done so on a limited scale, and are now excited about the technology’s possible applications. — gizmag.com

Libraries have long been the haven of readers, but now the Chicago Public Library is making their main branch a haven for makers.

As part of the CPL's innovation lab, the Harold Washington branch will open its free "maker space" July 8. Crain's Chicago Business describes it as a "pop-up fabrication lab will offer the public access to 3-D printers, laser cutters, a milling machine and a vinyl cutter as well as a variety of supporting design software." — huffingtonpost.com

After 2,000 years, a long-lost secret behind the creation of one of the world’s most durable man-made creations ever—Roman concrete—has finally been discovered by an international team of scientists, and it may have a significant impact on how we build cities of the future. — businessweek.com

The space-age eleMMent Palazzo comes complete with a colossal master bedroom, 40-inch TV, on-board bar, fireplace and even its own rooftop terrace.

But the most impressive piece of luxury is the 'Sky Lounge' - at the press of a button the 40ft home transforms into a personal retreat with pop up cocktail bar, underfloor heating and extravagant marble lighting. — dailymail.co.uk

Trade organizations and builders of all stripes joined in the call for a tamping down of public expectations — especially those that might get cut out of the new modern style of construction. You see, plastic and glass and steel were the future. And since wood wasn't exactly presented as the building material of tomorrow, organizations like the Arkansas Soft Pine Bureau were happy to contribute by advising the industry to tone it down... — paleofuture.gizmodo.com

Architecture has a habit of adapting its aesthetics to new technologies, whether consciously or unconsciously. Some of the most beautiful buildings of the Industrial Revolution -- the cantilever Forth Bridge, for example -- were designed by engineers, not architects, for example. Architecture quickly absorbed the idea of buildings that reflected their purpose. — wired.co.uk

As protests have rocked Turkey over the past few days, three Turkish professionals in the U.S. decided on Sunday that they had to take some action. Turning to their technology backgrounds, the trio launched a crowd-sourced fundraising campaign on Indiegogo to buy a full-page ad in the front section of the New York Times in support of their fellow Turkish citizens who’ve clashed with the government across dozens of cities. — forbes.com