On The Ground

Last Lasts
Tony Salem Musleh
M.Arch I ’26

The last quarter leans heavy,
models, drawings, presentations.
Ambition translating into hours,
into the quiet subtraction of lectures.

The last last quarter leans heavier,
resumes, leases, interviews.
The transition of becoming is loss:
the loss of time that once felt endless.

Time, once expansive, closes in,
nostalgia arriving as we depart.
Lectures, theatre, philharmonic,
let us enjoy while it still lasts.

Special Snowflakes
Susan Sontag
M.Arch I ’27

Cobbling together a measly amount of sleep, all systems integration teams do a mad dash towards midterms after being lambasted all semester. Only to be told we are equally beautiful, smart and charismatic.

Ethan’s Update
Maggie Holm
M.Arch I ’28

“The second half of the second half of the academic year is well underway. First years are learning about dimensional lumber and Hull’s is running to the bank. Collective housing is getting designed on an unusual Fair Haven site in the year 2040; Luddism is in the air tectonically, programmatically, and representationally. A sizable subset of the first-years are taking L-theanine in an attempt to abate stress dreams about their summer plans. Future first-years arrive in two days to become indoctrinated in our concrete energy vortex: this time we will not get banned from Partners. The denizens of the sixth floor look forward to warm East Rock braais.” – Ethan Lamping

Exhale
Marusya Bakhrameeva
M.Arch II ’26

For a couple of seconds, the body is relaxed, and the shoulders are down; however, in 3, 2, 1, they start to rise again. Exhale.

We’ve presented the thesis, and each one of us created a special atmosphere in the room where we gather our working documents, at least for a day. Every one of us was bathing in the worlds we’ve created until we had to pin down the exhibition. Exhale.

Now that all the life we postponed can’t wait to gain our attention - other classes, jobs, friends, family calls. However, for a little while, we can relax and

exhale.

Signs of Spring
Shreshtha Goyal
M.Arch II ’27

With M.Arch II second-year presentations this week, it was so inspiring to see projects evolve from early ideas into fully realized, cohesive bodies of work, growing from seed to something so expansive. Amid the rush of deadlines, spotting the first skunk cabbage of the season was the highlight of my week, a green rebel pushing through the earth, an important reminder that growth often happens quietly, in its own time.

Soup, More lectures, and What’s Ahead
Layna Chen
M.E.D

It’s been a full week for the M.E.D classes of ’26 and ’27. The group recently welcomed Mahdi Sabbagh for their annual M.E.D Working Group lecture. Iskander Guetta made posters, sent emails, and treated classmates to a homemade soup, served with olive oil and bread. Others contributed introduction speeches, bowls, forks, and spoons to make it happen.

Looking ahead, second-years have a deadline approaching in two weeks. And, on April 2, prospective students will visit for Open House.

Sharing research
Alberto Martínez García
Ph.D

In March, Ph.D candidate Lisa Beyeler-Yvarra and Gabrielle Printz presented their current research at the “Unearthing the Earth: Architectural Histories of extractivism” symposium hosted by Cornell AAP. Furthermore, we already have a date for the annual Kurt W. Forster Public Defense and Reception for Graduating Ph.D Students in Architecture on May 6.

Tapped Out
Tian Hsu
Undergraduate

With the last kiss of winter giving way to spring, the senior community is very much tapped out of the studio. With professors praising voyeuristic bathrooms—four walls of glass through which one can clearly see in—seniors are left confused as to why the final models of our four years at Yale center on shitting and showering. Nevertheless, we remain hopeful for an adjustment to the assignment.

The juniors have finally been given a project with a site—the Mill River—a location that ticks the box of a classic YSoA site. We are excited to see how the fundamental lessons gleaned from abstract aggregation assignments translate into a more concrete project.

3/23
ISKANDER GUETTA cooks up a fire (and delicious) bissara ahead of MAHDI SABBAGH’s talk, presented by the MED Working Group.

3/24–25
The M.Arch II cohort goes hard on their final thesis presentations—possibly breaking records for the sheer number of models produced. Truly post-pros.