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A photo or Renzo Piano's office in Genoa, Italy. I have relatives in Genoa, by the way. Of all practicing architects, I probably admire him the most. I am humbled by the diversity and excellence of his work and I hope that he practices for a few more decades. Climbing the stairs in this office would surely be healthy.

I have not renewed my membership in the AIA. This may have been a bad decision, but I have trouble squaring the increase in dues with the level of benefits. We'll see what happens.

I am nearly finished reading Sam Bass Warner's book on the development of Boston's streetcar suburbs. I'll write more about this later because it's a deeply important subject, and not just for Boston, but for urban development anywhere on the planet. If I could sum up the book in one phrase it would be this: "Transportation equals the city, and the type of transportation technology defines the shape of the city."