Comments update: when Apple's Jonathan Ive took to the stage at London's Design Museum, he probably didn't expect his comments on education to become the most hotly debated topic in design this week.

During a public conversation with Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic, Ive revealed that he struggled to recruit young designers for Apple's products team as they were often unable to make physical objects.

"That's just tragic, that you can spend four years of your life studying the design of three dimensional objects and not make one," said Ive.

Leslie C Roberts, design director at the California College of the Arts, was among the Dezeen readers who agreed with Ive. "Too much design pedagogy has muddled digital tool with design talent and making," she wrote. "Each year we see hundreds of shite portfolios from digital tool masters who have no idea how to make anything."

"I am a senior lecturer on a BA Design program and I couldn't agree with Ive more (as far as design education is concerned)," added Angus Colvin. "The problem is we are constantly fighting budget cuts."

"Perhaps Apple could donate a meager portion of some of their gargantuanly enormous income to a few design schools to help foster talent and learning," suggested Yaitch. "Samsung, their competition, do this well in South Korea and in other countries."

"I wish he wouldn't generalise and group every single school/creative field," added Kris. "I find there is a huge disconnect between the established middle-aged and beyond to the current generation in education. It is the companies that are failing the youth, not the other way around."

ポケモントレーナー offered another angle on the interest in Ive's comments by comparing him to one of pop culture's most divisive figures. "Safe to say he's the Kanye West of Apple? He knows what he's doing, but I also like how he's never around for the cameras." Read the comments on this story »

Scary Gehry? Readers were quick to share their opinions on Frank Gehry's wavy red brick building for Sydney's University of Technology – his first to complete since the architect set our comments section alight by describing 98 per cent of contemporary architecture as "shit".

"They say don't judge a book by its cover, but from the outside I'd say this might constitute part of what Frank would call the '98 per cent'," wrote melondesign.

"As with most of his buildings, they are clever in respect to their construction, but it looks as though someone sneezed while designing it," added Disco, while rachellemme thought it looked like "part of it is melting."

But a number of commenters jumped in to defend the building. "The quality of Gehry's work is not trendy. It's extremely rare," responded davvid. Read the comments on this story »

Hot shot: Marc Newson's shotgun design for Italian brand Beretta was finally unveiled last week, reigniting the debate about whether designers should be working on making weapons more beautiful.

"Very disappointed to see a great designer like Marc Newson designing a shotgun. Thinking of taking his books off my shelf," wrote j.c.karich. "If I was going to get shot, I'd want it to be from a beautiful gun," retorted h22.

"Mr Newson seems to be on a quest to design everything that exists in this world. So this is logical," wrote momo. "Choosing to design a hunting rifle makes it politically correct in a way."

"A beautiful gun and unless you are a vegetarian, it is a double standard to think guns (used to kill non-endangered sustainable game like rabbits and ducks for food) are bad. It's less cruel than abattoirs," added Sally Moore. Read the comments on this story »

New York New York: plans unveiled by British designer Thomas Heatherwick for a $130 million park on New York's Hudson River were not unanimously well-received, with comparisons drawn between Heatherwick's Garden Bridge proposal for London and New York's existing High Line park.

"It is quite sad to see how the High Line, which made sense as it was taking advantage of an existing infrastructure with a modest but existing biodiversity on it, is spurring expensive and unsustainable fantasies around the world," commented Kalum. "Apparently Heatherwick is specialising in those things that shine by their lack of connection with their context."

"I can see crossing the Thames and being charmed by a garden to pass through or while in, but a carbuncle on stilts with the gimpy lacklustre programme of a treasure island? It's almost the inverse of The High Line," added l'oncleb.

But the sceptical response from some readers left others baffled. "Hard to not like this," wrote Jeroen van Lith. Read the comments on this story »