As structural systems pneumatic structures have many advantages. They can be lightweight, inexpensive and efficient. They may have ecological advantages. They can be deployable, transportable, and kinetic. As such they are of interest in the education of architects. In this context, however they have even greater value in that they require a rethinking from first principles - tension dominates rather than compression, the curve rather than the straight line, dynamics rather than statics. They scale at a very different rate. In addition they provide an opportunity for display that is difficult to match with conventional materials and techniques. The studio explored the opportunities available in pneumatic structures, materials details, strategies and their integration into conventional building technologies. The semester began with a series of experiments in which the students designed and constructed a number of full scale prototypes of pneumatic and hybrid structures, documented and evaluated case studies of pneumatic and lightweight methods. This phase culminated in the design and construction of a space in which to hold the midterm review that functioned as a gallery of models and prototypes of the first phase. Working in collaboration with Bruce Danziger of Arup – the new Bedford Professor. The end of the semester involved the design of a Multi-use Event Space in the Parc des Iles (site of the Expo67) under the Pont Jacques Cartier - itself an exceptional structure. This venue will host a range of public events, concerts conferences and sports events. The most technically specific of these is a velodrome, a highly banked maple racing surface for bicycles. This replaces an Olympic facility (that has since been converted into a nature museum while also adding training and ancillary sports facilities that are required for a provincial bicycle racing center). The long-span roof required for this facility will be directly related to the earlier experiments of the semester.