Seeking the real : the special case of Peter Zumthor

Peter Zumthor writes about "developing an architecture which sets out from and returns to real things" referring to both his own design process and the qualities he wishes his architecture to convey. In an architecture culture long accustomed to media saturation and the image, the phrase 'real things' is provocative and potentially archaic. This paper examines what Zumthor means by that term by investigating how he establishes the core ideas or principles that come to inform design development; namely, by his approach to a brief, a site, and a context. The paper draws on his writings as well as our own experience of being in his buildings, particularly through a rare interview that we conducted with him in his new house and atelier in Haldenstein

Administrative Investigations

This Article establishes the subject of federal administrative investigations as a new area of study in administrative law. While the literature has addressed investigations by specific agencies and congressional investigations, there is no general account for the trans-substantive constitutional value of administrative investigations. This Article provides such an account by exploring the positive law, agency behaviors, and constraints pertaining to this unresearched field. It concludes with some urgency that the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946—the statute that stands as a bill of rights for the Administrative State—does not serve to regulate administrative investigations and that the Article III courts have held that such agency behavior is essentially unreviewable since the mid-twentieth century. It identifies the historical guideposts of administrative investigations and analyzes the substantial power agencies wield when they investigate. It surveys and analyzes the limiting principles in law that operate as nominal constraints to unlawful administrative investigative behavior. This Article concludes by considering procedural and substantive constraints that could be implemented to align agency investigations with constitutional and statutory norms without sacrificing their ability to fulfill their critical missions for the American public

Administrative Investigations

This Article establishes the subject of federal administrative investigations as a new area of study in administrative law. While the literature has addressed investigations by specific agencies and congressional investigations, there is no general account for the trans-substantive constitutional value of administrative investigations. This Article provides such an account by exploring the positive law, agency behaviors, and constraints pertaining to this unresearched field. It concludes with some urgency that the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946—the statute that stands as a bill of rights for the Administrative State—does not serve to regulate administrative investigations and that Article III courts have held that such agency behavior is essentially unreviewable since the mid-twentieth century. It identifies the historical guideposts of administrative investigations and analyzes the substantial power agencies wield when they investigate. It surveys and analyzes the limiting principles in law that operate as nominal constraints to unlawful administrative investigative behavior. This Article concludes by considering procedural and substantive constraints that could be implemented to align agency investigations with constitutional and statutory norms without sacrificing their ability to fulfill their critical missions for the American public

Food Habits of Juvenile American Alligators in the Upper Lake Pontchartrain Estuary

Food habits of juvenile (0.49-1.21 m total length) American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) from an area in southeastern Louisiana were investigated. One-hundred and one stomach samples were obtained by stomach-pumping. Crustaceans (crayfish; blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus; grass shrimp, Palaemonetes sp.), insects (hemipterans, coleopterans), and small fish (least killifish, Heterandria formosa; mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis) constituted the majority of prey items taken. Fish consumption was significantly more frequent during April and May than during June through September (P\u3c0.025). This differential use of prey species may be due to seasonally fluctuating water levels in the study area. Comparisons of juvenile alligator food habits revealed dietary differences between Louisiana and Florida (P\u3c0.001), possibly due to the different prey available at the two areas. Prey utilization was not significantly different between larger alligators (0.9-1.2 m total length) and smaller alligators (0.3·0.9 m total length) (P\u3e0.25)

A tunable nanopore sensor for the detection of metal ions using translocation velocity and biphasic pulses

A Tunable Resistive Pulse Sensor utilising a Polyurethane nanopore, has been used to characterise nanoparticles as they traverse the pore opening. Here we demonstrate that the translocation speed, conductive and resistive pulse magnitude, can be used to infer the surface charge of a nanoparticle, and act as a specific transduction signal for the binding of metal ions to ligands on the particles surface. Surfaces of silica nanoparticles were modified with a ligand to demonstrate the concept, and used to extract copper (II) ions (Cu2+) from solution. By tuning the pH and ionic strength of the solution, a biphasic pulse, a conductive followed by a resistive pulse is recorded. Biphasic pulses are becoming a powerful way to characterise materials, and provide an insight into the translocation mechanism, and here we present their first use to detect the presence of metal ions in solution. We demonstrate how combinations of translocation speed and/ or biphasic pulse behaviour are used to detect Cu2+ with quantitative responses across a range of pH and ionic strengths. Using a generic ligand this assay allows a clear signal for Cu2+ as low as 1 ppm with short 5 minute incubation time, and capable of measuring 10 ppm Cu2+ in the presence of 5 other ions. The method has potential for monitoring heavy metals in biological and environmental samples