The 270 members and fellow travellers of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland have no doubt recovered from the jet lag of their exhausting trip to Chicago for this year's annual conference. The formal proceedings lasted all of half a day, with the Minister for the Environment, Noel Dempsey, as the star attraction. Otherwise it was dominated by Chicago architects, who inevitably concentrated on showing slides of their own work to the point that there was no room for discussion. Most of the tax deductible five days were spent touring around the Windy City in baking heat and dining and wining into the night. For most of the high earning architects, it was a happy release from the maw of the Celtic Tiger for a few days. Our own star, Frank McDonald, reports on the conference on Page 18.