Zero Energy Design
When Zero Energy Design (ZED) first hung its shingle, the partners planned to translate their second-place Solar Decathlon entry into a saleable product. But over time, ZED transitioned into custom green-home construction and renovation.

Photo courtesy ZED

Graypants
Sitting in a softly lit café in New York or San Francisco, you would probably never guess that the exotic, handmade light fixture you’ve been admiring used to be a cardboard box. Repurposing discarded items into something both useful and elegant is what truly inspires the resourceful young designers of Graypants.

Photo © Sean Watson

Archiculture, 2010
Many have mused that architecture studio would make the perfect setting for reality television: the combination of caffeine-fueled all-nighters, high stress, and unsympathetic critics is sure to produce dramatic footage. Ian Harris and David Krantz are taking this idea a step further by making a feature-length documentary about studio culture.

Photo © Meghan Roberts

Future Cities Lab
Just off the heels of their Van Alen Institute New York Prize fellowship exhibit, The Aurora Project, Nataly Gattegno and Jason Johnson, principals of Future Cities Lab, are putting their lives back together after nearly three years on the road.

Photo © Future Cities Lab

MEx: A Design Cooperative Grows in Brooklyn
Welcome to Metropolitan Exchange (MEx) in New York City, “an architecture, urban planning, and research cooperative” where members “collaborate on architecture and planning projects, pursue development opportunities, and sponsor lectures, film screenings, and exhibitions.”

Photo courtesy Al Atarra

M1/dtw: Mixing architecture and graphics
Detroit-based architectural designer Christian Unverzagt was doing interdisciplinary work before he knew the phrase. As a skateboarding teenager in the ’80s, he says, “We had to create our own landscape, so I would design and build all these backyard ramps. And I would design all the flyers to raise money for them. I was producing a brand.”

Photo courtesy M1/dtw

Lukas Petrash’s MCD House: Trash becomes a family’s treasure
To describe the house Lukas Petrash designed and built in Huntsville, Texas, requires a certain breathless tone. MCD House cost only $24,500 to build. It measures only 484 square feet. And Petrash was only 23 years old when he finished it.

Photo courtesy Lukas Petrash

Changes at NCARB: The Six-Month Rule and other news
Are you ready for the changes at NCARB? Harry M. Falconer, AIA, director of the agency's Intern Development Program, discusses the Six-Month Rule and other new developments.

Photo courtesy NCARB

studiomake: Careful craft, from objects to architecture
Recent Cranbrook graduates David and Im Schafer are bound for Bangkok this summer, where they will launch their firm studiomake full-time. Both say their crafts education will influence architectural output.

Photo courtesy studiomake

UW landscape architecture students take on public works
The University of Washington’s landscape architecture students are putting their studies into practice with a number of non-profit projects as a part of its design build program.

Photo courtesy University of Washington

Laid off? How emerging design professionals are coping
Although this situation can’t be sugar-coated, these six emerging professionals prove that a temporary setback can become an opportunity to reevaluate life, and career path, and to accomplish goals not possible while working full time.

Images courtesy Scott Gustafson, Brian Jones and Karl-Erik Larson

Grand House Cooperative: University of Waterloo, Ontario, students built and live in it
The brainchild of Chantal Cornu, who holds an M.Arch. degree from the University of Waterloo, the $1.1 million (Canadian) Grand House Cooperative in Cambridge, Ontario was the perfect opportunity to connect people in the building trades, and give students an inspired place to live.

Photo courtesy University of Waterloo

Wesleyan University’s SplitFrame: Architecture Research Design Build
Learn about a wildlife sanctuary created by Wesleyan University's year-old design/build studio.

Photo courtesy Wesleyan University