Forrest Jessee has recently unveiled his Sleep Suit inspired by Buckminster Fuller’s practice of Dymaxion Sleeping – 30-minute naps over 24 hours – while simultaneously exploring the materiality requirements to accommodate such a function. Interaction between the human body and the suit is the form generator as well as the threshold medium between the internalized occupant and their immediate surroundings.

Yemen is a country rich with history. Its cities are full of architectural monuments that are constructed with a craft that often goes overlooked. These cities merge seamlessly with the surrounding landscape, contextually complementing each other.

Al Hajjara is one such village that warrants a closer look. Built on the precipice of a mountain, the architecture clings to the sides of the cliffs. Multi-story buildings rise up out of the ground and step their way to the top. It is quite amazing given the fact that these buildings were constructed hundreds of years ago, and are still standing.

Brooklyn based interaction designer Cooper Smith has created an amazing series of videos documenting pedestrian travel within Manhattan. By tracking the paths of 1000 Nike Plus (Nike’s new smart running shoe) runs, he was able to produce and distill a wide variety of data. The results are quite elegant in terms of graphics, and offer insight into the patterns of urban travel. For more videos visit Cooper’s website.

Researchers at the University of California San Diego are investigating how our brains respond to various spatial environments. Dr. Eve Edelstein, a neuroscientist, is researching how architectural designs can be manipulated through data gleaned from measurements taken from users while they experience different spatial environments in ‘The Cave’ – a controlled laboratory.

Local New York architect Gregg Pasquarelli of SHoP Architects recently gave a speech at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture’s Teachers Seminar 2011. He addresses numerous issues that are currently being debated within the profession where the theme of the three-day seminar was “Performative Practices.” The roles of the architect and builder, the architect and engineer, etc. The roles of architects as instruction makers who outsource to specialists in façade or fabrication may not be as clear as in previous generations. His own firm is prime example of the shifting of roles. SHoP has branched off with its own SHoP Construction subsidiary that is managing the fabrication of their design for the new Barclays Center rusted steel skin. More details after the break.

The U.S. Green Building Council has recently announced that Harvard University has achieved a worldwide first – the construction and completion of 50 LEED certified buildings. It is also a great feat for an institution as large as Harvard. They were able to successfully coordinate a decentralized campus with separate buildings that each have their own organizational structures. Read more about the five lessons they learned along the way after the break.

German artist EVOL recently completed an interesting interactive installation just outside of Hamburg, Germany for the MS Dockville music and art festival. The ‘Rural City’ is comprised of thin trenches about 1.5 meters deep in an ‘X’ shape that were dug out over the course of 8 days. Earth is held back with retaining boards made of Eternit and spray painted to resemble the facades of skyscrapers. More photos after the break.

This sketch comedy by Monty Python is sure to produce some laughs. For all the architects and students out there,  you will undoubtedly be able to relate to this situation. Whether it is when you are presenting to crits for studio review or as architects pitching your idea to developers.

Back in 2008, a rash of falsified concrete testing reports on major projects in New York including the Yankee Stadium and the Second Avenue subway station had construction executives scrambling to find replacements. American Standard Testing and Consulting Laboratories were selected as the replacement company. However, the owner and five other employees have currently been arraigned on charges stemming from exactly the same things they were hired to rectify.

Imagine taking your Google Sketchup creation for a house and having it milled out and assembled all within 24 hours. WikiHouse, an Open Community project that puts you in the driver’s seat of design and construction has recently unleashed the opportunity for anyone to realize their own vision of architecture.

A new set of tools have been developed by researchers at MIT in collaboration with China’s Tsinghua University that will evaluate the performance and energy consumption of large-scale projects. Led by Dennis Frenchman and Christopher Zegras from MIT’s School of Architecture + Planning, these new set of guidelines and tools are a proactive response to the rapid urbanization of China and its ever-increasing development and infrastructure projects. The main goal is to introduce sustainable methods of implementation and construction, and responsible energy patterns one neighborhood at a time.

The work of Ai Weiwei was recently showcased at the Kunsthaus by Peter Zumthor in Bregenz, Austria. His collaborative work within the architectural arena was the main focus, filling all 3 floors with various projects. More after the break.

Joel Pirela of Miami based studio Blue Ant Studio has ingeniously reinterpreted the traditional ophthalmology exam to suit the refined tastes of designers. More after the break.

Do you remember playing with Lego as a child? Recently the firms Atmos Studio, Make, Foster + Partners, AOC, Adjaye Associates, FAT and DSDHA took some time out from designing real buildings to create their own interpretation of some of the world’s most notable architectural icons in the form of Lego for an Icon Eye initiative.

The Libyan Museum of History located in Tripoli, Libya proposes a unique twist on the traditional museum typology. Consolidated Consultants/Jafar Tukan Architects has taken an approach that blends the building experience into the existing urban fabric through the integration of two surrounding pathways that define both experience and building geometry and massing. Unfortunately, the project has suffered numerous setbacks since concept approval including delays related to property issues, which was followed by a six month delay. Construction of the project is currently undetermined as the current national conflict within Libya continues. More details after the break.

The American Institute of Architects is spearheading a new initiative aimed at reviving the numerous stalled projects across the country. Since a significant portion of the US economy is construction based – measuring $1 out every $9 of total GDP output – it is imperative to get the industry back on track in order to revive the economy. However, the current obstacle many developers are facing is the lack of lending available by the banking system.