A five-year report on CIA torture released by the Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday revealed that two psychologists signed a contract worth $180 million with the Bush administration to come up with torture tactics.

However, the psychologists were only paid $81 million after their contract was canceled by the Obama administration in 2009.

RT.com notes that the 525-page CIA torture report says the psychologists were supposed "to develop, operate, and assess its interrogation operations" even though "neither psychologist had any experience as an interrogator, nor did either have specialized knowledge of al-Qaida, a background in counterterrorism, or any relevant cultural or linguistic expertise."

The psychologists, James Elmer Mitchell and Dr. John "Bruce" Jessen, used to run a company called Mitchell, Jessen & Associates in Spokane, Washington, noted NBC News.

However, Mitchell refuted the CIA report.

"I completely understand why the human rights organizations in the United States are upset by the Senate report," Mitchell told the Associated Press. "I would be upset by it too, if it were true."

"What they are asking you to believe is that multiple directors of the CIA and analysts who made their living for years doing this lied to the federal government, or were too stupid to know that the intelligence they were getting wasn't useful," claimed Mitchell.

However, Naomi Klein wrote in The Nation in 2002 that the main purpose of torture was to induce terror in individuals and groups.

The National Journal noted that Sen. Mark Udall (R-Colo.) said today on the Senate floor, "The refusal to provide the full Panetta Review and the refusal to acknowledge facts detailed in both the committee study and the Panetta Review lead to one disturbing finding: Director Brennan and the CIA today are continuing to willfully provide inaccurate information and misrepresent the efficacy of torture. In other words: The CIA is lying."

Mitchell signed a non-disclosure agreement with the CIA and wouldn't talk about his specific role, but appeared to offer some excuses to VICE reporter Kaj Larsen for foreign and domestic torture (video below).

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Architects of CIA Torture Paid $81 Million by U.S. (Video)

Lithuania's Do Architects have developed a cool modular housing concept, for glass-sided cylindrical dwellings they call "Rolling Homes." To be clear, these things aren't meant to actually roll. They are pretty neat though!

The wood-clad outsized pipe sections are planned for a seaside development in Svencel, Lithuania, to add to a kiteboarding and windsurfing center designed by the firm. Per a project description, the transparent facades were designed to "allow for uninterrupted views of the surrounding canals and ensure a strong connection, both visual and physical, between the occupant and nature," while the canals allow for surf-in, surf-out capabilities.

The inset front entryways give each home a covered porch. The second floors combine living room, dining room, and kitchen functions, while the top floors are partitioned "sleeping lofts." Here's what they look like in miniature:

Image via Do Architects

Also on the docket is a marina and yacht club, and a number of apartments, plus rows of homes with different design schemes. According to the firm, construction is expected to begin next year.

Image via Do Architects

Image via Do Architects

Do Architects develop a new rolling home concept [Design Boom]

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Radical Housing Concepts: Lithuania's Surf-In, Surf-Out 'Rolling Homes' Look Pretty Fun

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Get your exclusive Architects merchandise here: http://smarturl.it/ARCHITECTS_merch.

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The show was siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick. My favorite part starts at 3:25 12/7/14 Concord Music Hall Architects on tour with: The ghost inside Every time I die Hunderoath Backtrack.

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Washington, DC (PRWEB) December 09, 2014

Demonstrating the creativity and forward-thinking of OTJ Architects, the architecture and interior design firm received the Award of Excellence for a confidential technology company office at the Best of NAIOP Northern Virginia Awards banquet held at the Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner, VA. According to NAIOP, the ceremony was an opportunity to celebrate significant new and renovated contributions to Northern Virginia by the commercial, industrial and mixed-use real estate community.

Brett Hartle, OTJs Senior Project Manager/Architect on the technology companys project, accepted the award on OTJ Architects behalf. Additional team members included Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. and DPR Construction.

The tech firm, comprised of 22,173 SF, had a design concept aimed at creating an invigorating, open-plan space to inspire collaboration, fostering an enriching employee experience and embodying the clients ethos of creativity and innovation. Special attention was paid to meshing the companys culture into the design to allow for recruitment and retention of the best and brightest employees.

The most enjoyable part about this project was working with our client to explore new ways to think about collaborative work space that fosters bold, creative and innovative thinking in the digital arena, Hartle said. Our client entrusted us with a clear vision, and we worked hard to articulate that into a design that captured the essence of who they aspire to be.

Through various types and sizes of scrum gathering areas, meeting spaces and huddle rooms, employees have the flexibility to choose where and how to work. A hot house was created where three teams could expand and contract to support different meeting sizes and the desired collaborative environment. Mobile benching stations and expanded floor outlets allow for maximum growth and occupancy.

Since the company conducts product research and development, incorporating technology was a key design driver. Appropriate security and anonymity were required for visitors invited to the space to test products.

The open plan also required deliberate visual and acoustical privacy solutions by integrating quiet pods and hard walled phone rooms. Each pod features video teleconferencing, custom barn doors and writeable surfaces integrated into the wood slats. They are also fully enclosed above for acoustical privacy. Additionally, ceiling clouds absorb noise pollution while ambient music plays as opposed to white noise. Directly adjacent to each pod is a scrum area with integrated technology in the table and monitors mounted outside the pod.

Bringing the outdoors inside, a dual-side green wall is featured in reception and adjacent to the designers studio. The designers studio doubles as a workspace and display area with movable millwork, collapsible glass partitions and integrated technology, once again reinforcing the flexibility of the office.

We specifically blurred the lines between work space and social gathering space that provide a workplace comfortable to a new generation of digital workers, Hartle said. The success of this departments renovation has now become the design paradigm of innovative and collaborative workspace within the organizations digital group as it is constantly evolving to stay ahead of the curve.

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OTJ Architects Tech Company Project Presented NAIOP Northern Virginia Award of Excellence