This guide covers a workflow that moves from project parameters to generated floor plans, 3D perspective views, exterior design exploration, and site context visualization, using AI tools in place of preliminary CAD and rendering work.

While the first edition's theme was SHARE, and the second was CIRCULATE, the 3rd Tomie Ohtake Institute Leroy Merlin Design Award proposes REVIEW as its core concept—an opportunity to look at our social and environmental context, critically analyze it, and ask: how can a project contribute based on what is already in place? 

In 2017, the city of Salvador, Bahia, established its Urban Afforestation Master Plan and, as part of this initiative, released a comprehensive guide for anyone wishing to plant in urban spaces.

Which species are most suitable and how to plant trees on sidewalks are some of the questions answered in the document. Although titled the “Salvador Technical Urban Afforestation Manual”, the guide can be used by residents of any city, especially those living in the Atlantic Forest biome.

Developed by the Semeia Institute and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Parques para Todas e Todos is a tool to inspire the creation of more diverse spaces by incorporating a gender perspective into the planning and management of urban parks. It offers guidelines, suggestions, and ideas to begin designing parks that address everyone's needs.

Pé na Estrada is an outreach project of the School of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Brasília, active since 2011 as an extracurricular activity. Its primary goal is to organize and promote study trips across Brazilian cities. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project had to adapt to social distancing, launching new heritage education initiatives and encouraging alternative ways of experiencing spaces studied in the classroom to expand the knowledge and creative vocabulary of both students and the community. 

On June 18, the fifth anniversary of the publication of Laudato Si’ – Pope Francis’s encyclical calling for global unity in combating climate change – the Vatican published new guidelines containing more than 200 recommendations for environmental protection.

The document, titled “Journeying Towards Care for Our Common Home: Five Years After Laudato Si’,” suggests practical measures to curb global warming and issues stark warnings about the dangers of environmental degradation. It calls on the world to decarbonize the energy and economic sectors, making renewable energy accessible to all, and advocates for fossil fuel subsidy reform and CO2 emission taxation. 

Architecture is a discipline deeply connected to the perception and construction of space, and could be introduced in early childhood education. With this in mind, the architects at Studio dLux proposed the Bird House project, a workshop for elementary school children designed to introduce the design and construction processes of a birdhouse.

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Prete-Indígena is a directory designed to map and promote Black and Indigenous people working in the fields of design, architecture, and web development, created by Fabiano Procópio and Gabriel Biselli. It arises from the question of where Black professionals are active, not only in research but also in the practice of these fields.

The appearance and long-term maintenance of a work of architecture or interior design are heavily dictated by its materiality and the products used. If the selection of materials and products is not precise, the project can be compromised both aesthetically and functionally. 

This is why specification is essential to achieving the desired result, and the professionals responsible for this stage must have a broad knowledge of the materials and products available in their region. But is material specification done similarly across all architecture firms? Do the initial and final stages of the project receive the same attention? How close is the relationship between architects and materials, really?

Videos

The 4th {CURA} Award continues the practice of hosting ideas competitions on themes aligned with current discussions on architecture, the city, and society, focusing on contemporary Brazil. The institutionalization of authoritarian and denialist discourse has become a real threat. For this reason, the competition's theme—a Museum of Democracy—brings forward a necessary discussion on how we treat memory and our history.

Sesc São Paulo has made a series of catalogs, educational materials, and booklets produced for the institution's exhibitions available for free on its website. Fittingly, several of these themes intersect with thinking on architecture and the city.

Dia a dia is a three-part mid-length film miniseries developed by the Urban Policy Commission (CPU) of CAU/RJ. Each episode is dedicated to one of the three pillars proposed within the theme of the right to the city—sanitation, mobility, and housing—through the perspectives and daily lives of three women living in completely different areas of Rio de Janeiro: Realengo, Barra da Tijuca, and the Santo Amaro community (Catete). The first episode, which premiered on August 21 and addresses housing, is available online.

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Downtown São Paulo will receive a statue honoring Joaquim Pinto de Oliveira, an enslaved Black 18th-century architect known as Tebas. The announcement was made yesterday, September 10, by Mayor Bruno Covas at the São Paulo City Council. 

The winners of the 2nd Tomie Ohtake Institute Leroy Merlin Design Award have been announced. Originally scheduled to take place in person at the Tomie Ohtake Institute alongside an exhibition of the projects, the awards were instead announced via video due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

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Launched last month, the Fortaleza Mais Verde program aims to create a network of micro-parks in the capital of Ceará and implement tree-lined bicycle corridors. Execution of the plan began in August.

"The purpose of the proposal is to preserve, secure, and progressively expand the green cover of the City of Fortaleza, making these areas usable for the population to enjoy," said the city's mayor, Roberto Cláudio. "We have several landscaping and urban planning initiatives underway. We expect to receive suggestions regarding this new pilot project. We want to ensure it is implemented and made irreversible," he added.

Architect and urban planner Maria Elisa Baptista is the new President of the National Board of the IAB. She succeeds Nivaldo Andrade, whose term ended on September 26 of this year. In nearly a century of existence, this is the first time a woman has held the position.

The leadership team also includes Rafael Pavan dos Passos (National Vice President, IAB-RS), Cláudio Listher Marques Bahia (Secretary General, IAB-MG), Rosilene Guedes Souza (Administrative-Financial Director, IAB-MG), Luiz Eduardo Sarmento Araújo (Cultural Director, IAB-DF), Fernando Túlio Salva Rocha Franco (Extraordinary Vice President of Institutional Relations, IAB-SP), and Luiza Rego Dias Coelho (Extraordinary Vice President of Affirmative Action, IAB-DF).

The IAB-SP, organizer of the São Paulo International Architecture Biennial, following a public consultation on the open call guidelines from October 10 to 25, is launching a competition on November 4 to select the co-curatorial team for the 13th Biennial, which will take place in 2022. Proposals can be submitted through the Biennial's website until January 24, 2021. This edition features a 12-member committee, which includes IAB representatives from other Brazilian states to ensure a diverse perspective in overseeing the event, which has both national and international reach.

A watercolor-illustrated tourist map, a mobile application available for Android and iOS, and two books gathering stories from the neighborhoods of Rio da Luz, in Jaraguá do Sul, and Testo Alto, in Pomerode—both in Santa Catarina—comprise the Projeto Lumiar. The initiative will launch these products online at 7:00 PM this Thursday, the 8th. The result of two years of research with local communities, the launch event is supported by the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (Iphan).

Sesc São Carlos, in upstate São Paulo, has launched a short video series on how permaculture works in practice. Produced by Associação Veracidade, the entire series will be available online for free.

Over six episodes, various social technologies will be presented, such as composting toilets, composting, solar ovens, and rainwater harvesting, among others. Viewers can explore the various ecological possibilities that can be integrated into a sustainable home—even in urban spaces. 

On October 29, the 2020 Inequality Map was launched virtually. Produced by Rede Nossa São Paulo and the Cidades Sustentáveis program, the study maps indicators such as mobility, human rights, education, and health across the city's 96 districts.

Although the mapping was conducted using pre-pandemic data, the goal is for the information to guide the development of public policies to mitigate inequality indicators, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Solar energy is officially the cheapest way to generate electricity today, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its newly released annual World Energy Outlook 2020 report. “With sharp cost reductions over the past decade, solar PV is consistently cheaper than new coal- or gas-fired power plants in most countries, and solar projects now offer some of the lowest electricity costs ever seen,” the document states.

Geared toward Latin American architecture students, the Acero Prize aims to promote and encourage initiatives that complement pedagogical models, fostering innovative architectural ideas that use steel as a raw material. This year's edition, themed "Sustainable Cities and Communities," awarded first place to a team of two Brazilian students from FAUUSP.

“Architecture that does not touch the ground” is the name of the proposal developed by Augusto Longarine and Luiz Sakata, advised by Professor Luciano Margotto. With the same project, they won the 13th CBCA Competition (Brazilian Center for Steel Construction), the national stage preceding the Alacero competition. See the project below, accompanied by the project description written by the students.

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Videos

Álvaro Siza, Portugal's first Pritzker Laureate, is undeniably a figure of major importance in the history of contemporary architecture, with projects that have reshaped the urban landscapes of numerous cities around the world. While his name and work are widely known, Siza is a highly private and introspective person who prefers to keep his personal life out of the spotlight.

Directed by producer and director Augusto Custódio, the documentary SIZA offers a more intimate and personal look at the renowned Portuguese architect. The film covers his childhood, his relationship with his wife, his passion for sculpture, and his admiration for classical music, exploring his influences and professional journey.

The month of November is marked by various awareness-raising initiatives surrounding the struggle of Black people in a deeply racist society, and is, above all, an essential moment for white people to play an increasingly active role in anti-racist practices.

Videos

Between October 31 and November 6, 2023, Portugal produced more than enough renewable energy to meet the entire country's demand. While fossil fuel plants were still operational, the clean energy generated was more than sufficient to supply the grid. Consequently, consumer electricity rates dropped drastically.