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.

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In his book Breve Historia del Urbanismo (Brief History of Urbanism), Fernando Chueca Goitia states that the medieval city appeared at the beginning of the 11th century and flourished only between the 12th and 13th centuries. According to the author, this growth was closely linked to the development of commerce that allowed permanent occupations, resulting in a city no longer composed mainly of travelers. In other words, the bourgeoisie was formed thanks to the most diverse activities - craftsmen, tradesmen, blacksmiths, longshoremen - which stimulated the development of the medieval city.

According to the 2018 National Sanitation Information System, 25.8% of the population in Northeast Brazil lacks access to water and 72% has no connection to the sewage network. “Now tell me, how am I supposed to have a bathroom at home under these conditions?” This was the question that robbed Vera of her sleep and peace of mind.

Vera lives in the small community of Riacho das Almas (PE), and her story is similar to those of thousands of families living in the rural areas of the semi-arid Northeast. Where access to water is scarce and basic sanitation is practically nonexistent, the use of traditional bathrooms—equipped with faucets, showers, and flushing toilets—is uncommon in the region. Consequently, families like Vera's and many others rely on improvised outdoor spaces for their needs: the "aveloz bathroom."

In recent years, with the accelerated urban development of public spaces in China, public washrooms have been assigned numerous new roles. Designers have come up with a variety of proposals which suggest turning public washrooms into a place where social gathering can be redefined, and temporary stay can be more engaging. Although the scale of public washrooms is significantly smaller than that of any other type of architecture, Chinese architects have been working innovatively on fitting the public washrooms into the changing social contexts. Below are a few examples that demonstrate some current architectural experiments with public washroom design in China.

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During the 20th century, Miami Beach reinvented itself several times, from Gilded Age mecca to Art Deco capital, to glamorous 1950s destination, only to become a faded has-been resort by the 1970s. The preservation movement that began in the 1970s and 1980s became its saving grace. By the 1990s Miami Beach, especially its South Beach neighborhood, was one of the hippest communities in the United States, drawing notable European residents like Gianni Versace.

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Cross-ventilation, solar radiation control, rainwater harvesting, indirect natural lighting, graywater treatment and reuse, and solar energy harnessing through panels are some of the passive strategies that allow for greater thermal and environmental comfort at low energy costs. When based on a proper understanding of a site's geographical and climatic conditions, these bioclimatic principles can significantly optimize building performance and foster the development of better interior spaces.

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The history of collective housing has been the focus of the research group PC3 - Pensamento Crítico e Cidade Contemporânea (Critical Thinking and the Contemporary City), at FAUUSP, coordinated by professors Leandro Medrano and Luiz Recamán. Through the Cadernos de Habitação Coletiva (Collective Housing Notebooks) — developed under a cooperation agreement between researchers from FAUUSP and ETSAM-UPM in Madrid — the group explores the most significant examples of this housing typology in Brazil.

According to the group's platform, "the main objective of the Cadernos de Habitação Coletiva has been to build a comprehensive database, organized by decade, that includes the most relevant Brazilian collective housing buildings, both designed and built." Below, we highlight eight collective housing experiments built in São Paulo between the 1930s and 1960s, studied in detail by CHC and featured in individual articles here on ArchDaily.

The urban structure of São Paulo was shaped by its topography. With its predominantly rugged terrain, railways were laid along the flat floodplains and river terraces, where they could be developed along routes better suited to their physical limitations. 

The train—a machine slicing through cities and overcoming natural landscape obstacles at speeds of sixty kilometers per hour—was the invention that collapsed geographic distances. This connection-making tool, born of the Industrial Revolution, enabled a productive chain across its various stops by transporting manufactured goods and tons of moving machinery.

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The Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (RMSP) has nearly 22 million inhabitants, representing about 10% of Brazil's total population. To feed this massive population, tons of food supplies arrive in the metropolis daily from different parts of the country. However, a new study by Instituto Escolhas shows that, with certain measures, it is possible to supply this entire population with locally grown vegetables.

Videos

Delicately excavated from the natural grounds of Jordan’s Wadi Rum, Jordanian architect Rasem Kamal transformed the phrase of “form follows function” into “subtraction follows function”, emphasizing the relationship between external form and internal space with a resort that promises a sanctuary both above and underground.

In the newly-released video of the proposal, the architect uncovers the hidden resort and takes viewers on an enchanting walkthrough of the proposed Wadi Rum Sanctuary Resort. Kamal complements the desert’s jagged landscape with the resort’s subtle architecture, letting the structure blend seamlessly with its surroundings.

In the 1960s, Cristiano Toraldo di Francia and Adolfo Natalini, two Florence-based architecture students in their twenties, decided to undertake the substantial task of designing a new way for the citizens of the globe to inhabit the earth. Driven by the possibilities laid out in science fiction novels and the desire to prescribe design to solve the problems of their era, the duo, who dubbed themselves as Superstudio, sought to continuously reinvent their role in what it means to be an architect. Their solution was the creation of an “anti-design” culture as a means to provide commentary on politics, capitalism, and urbanism, by creating ideas in which everyone is given a functional space that frees itself of time, place, and the need for excessive objects.

Sigmund Freud, the author of “The Interpretation of Dreams” and the founder of Psychoanalysis, once argued that, “A strong experience in the present awakens in the creative writer a memory of an earlier experience (usually belonging to his childhood) from which there now proceeds a wish which finds its fulfillment in the creative work.”

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Children's furniture is all furniture –fixed or mobile– that is designed according to the ergonomic guidelines and anatomical dimensions of children specifically. Following this definition, we can identify two types of furniture: (1) those that facilitate a relationship between the caregiver and the child, and (2) those that allow the child to use them independently.

The big difference between these two types is that the first has dimensions that mainly adapt to the ergonomics of the adult, while the second is designed to meet the ergonomic needs of the child at each stage of their development. Since the growth of children occurs relatively quickly, it is common for the furniture of this second group to be multifunctional or even extendable.

When designing in times of quick and constant transformations, one must keep a close eye on the surge of new demands, and one must design spaces that embrace such mutability.

Flexible furniture is a reflection of this contemporary behavior because they can be moved around easily, they have great adaptability, and because they can perform different functions in a single piece. These pieces enable several different layouts, being able to adjust their shape according to specific requirements and changes, which helps optimizing interiors.

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We have selected eight Brazilian projects that combine versatility and flexibility in furniture design.

Revit is a parametric and multidisciplinary design software that can virtually create and insert any building within a BIM process. Revit is not a true modeler, but an aggregator of construction components governed by a series of specific rules. In order to avoid issues within the Revit project, it must be set up carefully. Since each project has different characteristics and requirements, there is no standard procedure when starting a new one. However, becoming familiar with various situations and their necessary steps will greatly help.

In the introduction of Cities for People, Jan Gehl stated clearly that most cities have neglected the human aspect when planning the built space. While technologies have allowed us to build large, our focus shifted from creating architecture for humans to erecting structures that look like they are meant for a different kind of species. Top-down urban planning decisions have ignored scales adapted to the senses and organic growth, and new ideologies prioritized speed, functionality, and profitability.

Dictating our city experience, scale, this major spatial component related to the human dimension, stimulates our senses, and influences our well-being. In this article, we lay down historical changes and underline scientific facts to highlight how scale can impact our daily city life, guided by Eden of the Orient, a series of photos by Belgian photographer Kris Provoost, portraying a battle of scale in Hong Kong.

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Urban planning is a vital tool for reducing inequality and promoting equity in cities. In Brazil, prioritizing these goals is even more urgent given not only the country's deep social disparities as a whole, but also the stark divide in access to opportunities, infrastructure, and urban services—which ultimately defines true access to the city itself.

Yet, while many believe that urban inequality stems from a lack of planning—as if it were merely a product of chance—the reality is that, historically and to this day, urban planning has often exacerbated inequalities rather than mitigating them.

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Vernacular architecture can be defined as a type of local or regional construction, using traditional materials and resources from the area where the building is located. Consequently, this architecture is closely related to its context and is aware of the specific geographic features and cultural aspects of its surroundings, being strongly influenced by them. For this reason, they are unique to different places in the world, becoming even a means of reaffirming an identity.

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Videos

On November 3rd, 2020, after successfully holding the Award Ceremony and the Shanshui City Theme Forum in Lishui, the site of the competition, the Future ShanShui City • Dwellings in Lishui Mountains International Urban Design Competition finally came to a successful conclusion after more than seven months.

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Now that traveling is restricted and mobility is limited, having the ability to get a sense of the space in person is somewhat impossible. Naturally, if we were to choose between being present in the project or skimming through images online, the choice would be the former. But luckily, we still have books and architecture websites to keep us well-informed.  

In a new Youtube video, Archimarathon’s Kevin Hui and Andrew Maynard explain how we can understand architecture without being physically present in the project, but by letting our visualization skills and imagination do the investigations instead.

Videos

Where have your hands been today? This was the question asked by the head of the German Ministry of Health Education on the occasion of Global Handwashing Day on 15 October. While it sounds like a simple question, it isn’t that easy to answer. How many doorknobs do we touch every day? How often do we push buttons on elevators that are used by countless people on any given day? And what about touchscreens in the office or at ATMs?

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The winners of the Detailed Urban Project for the Partial Urbanization of the Sandú Chico Stream Basin competition have been announced. This public, national call for architectural and urban ideas invited architects to develop morphological guidelines for the planning and development of an unconsolidated sector of the city of Durazno, Uruguay.

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A radial concentric city plan is formed by streets that extend outward from a defined center and reach the outer edge of the city, together with concentrically arranged roads that connect the radial streets to the lots. This pattern traces back to ancient times and continues even to this day.

Depending on the historical context, location, or purpose of the city planning, the element found in the center may vary. Plazas, churches, or government buildings are among the most common elements and this is no accident, nor is the urban design pattern. Basically, the radial arrangement of streets is intended to highlight a particular element or location that has great political, religious, financial, or symbolic value to the city as a whole.

Architecture is defined by its context. This holds especially true when buildings are located in harsh climates and must respond to natural conditions. This week’s curated selection of the Best Unbuilt Architecture focuses on designs located at the intersection of nature and the built environment. Drawn from all over the world, they represent proposals submitted by our readers.

The article features a range of building types and locations, including many coastal proposals, from a regeneration plan on the South Coast of England and a proposal to link the famous Turku archipelago, to a dockside timber tower in Dublin. Also included are more extreme ideas, from an overlook on the Algarve coast to a vertical city with greenhouses located along a cliff on Mars.

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Not necessarily small-scale, but rather targeted and strategic, urban acupuncture interventions are quick to execute, reversible, and often low-cost. The practice has established itself as a viable alternative to urban transformations that require lengthy, bureaucratic processes—both in decision-making and execution—which often exclude residents from the various stages of project development.

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