Senior Research Associate Carl Elefante, former president and current senior fellow of American Institute of Architects (AIA), taught a one-week, mini-studio to first-year graduate students in historic preservation this fall semester (left). Students documented an example of a traditional building culture familiar to them, and then designed a building for a contemporary purpose drawing on the lessons of the traditional materials and methods. Projects included adaptations of building traditions from Africa, the Middle East, and Central America, demonstrating the applicability of traditional knowledge to present-day needs and values.