New Gehry Technologies
will enable many to boldly go where only Frank has gone before
By Deborah Snoonian, P.E.
Frank O. Gehry, FAIA, is taking his expertise to the masses. This fall marks the launch of the sidekick to his architectural practice, Gehry Technologies (GT)—a business venture he hopes will raise the level of technological fluency within architectural practice, as well as cement his legacy as one of the field's foremost innovators. Read On.

Hertzberger's Watervilla prototype
pushes Dutch houseboat design to new levels
By Raul Barreneche
For centuries, the Dutch have shown great ingenuity in keeping the water that surrounds their low-lying country at bay. That's allowed them to preserve land on which to build housing for the dense population of the Randstad, the crescent that runs from Amsterdam to Rotterdam. Dutch architect Herman Hertzberger has turned the idea on its head by putting houses in the water. Of course, there have always been houseboats in Holland. Read On.

Once efficiency and cost issues resolved,
LEDs will be the next big thing in lighting
By John Calhoun
Some say it's just a matter of time before light-emitting diodes (LEDs) eclipse traditional light sources, although the sun isn't going to set on them tomorrow. Right now, cost is the most obvious barrier to the acceptance of LEDs, except in maintenance-intensive applications like traffic lights. Read On.

Asbestos:
It seemed like a good idea at the time
By Jill Melamed
The story of asbestos is a cautionary tale for tomorrow's materials scientists and innovators. Asbestos has been used in thousands of products in innovative ways for a long time, because of its strength, durability, and resistance to heat and fire. In the construction industry, it has been used extensively in ceiling and floor tile, pipe insulation, firebrick, window caulking, duct connections, and spray-on fireproof insulation. Read On.

GenerativeComponents software
gives "bending the rules" a whole new meaning
By Deborah Snoonian, P.E.
Some architects can program computers, some programmers are architects—but having the one skill shouldn't mean having to have the other, says CAD pioneer Robert Aish, Bentley Systems' director of research. New parametric design software he has developed, GenerativeComponents (formerly CustomObjects) is poised to allow even technophobes to harness computing power for customized designs. Read On.