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.

MAD’s Beijing office is currently seeking talented professionals to fill several open positions.

Senior Architect | Design Direction

This article by María José Pizarro and Óscar Rueda was originally published in the 3rd issue of rita journal under the title "Ernesto N. Rogers y la 'Preesistenza Ambientale' en las Escuelas Nacionales de Arte de La Habana" and is part of a joint collaborative dissemination effort. The present text seeks to delve into the influence of Rogers' theoretical corpus on three of his outstanding students: Ricardo Porro, Vittorio Garatti, and Roberto Gottardi, and how this thinking informed the design of their first and most significant work: the National Art Schools of Havana.

Scattered throughout cities and standing as landmarks in the landscape, what do these statues represent, having driven humanity around the world to pay such singular attention to their size? 

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One of the most critical factors in architectural design is the site's specific climate. While this can present challenges in extreme conditions—requiring insulating materials to adapt to shifting environments—Mexico's privileged climate works in the architects' favor. It allows them to create microclimates and spaces that blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors.

In the introduction to the book La casa es una idea, architects Llosa and Cortegana present their professional credo, drawing on several quotes from notable architectural and cultural writers. The tone of this introductory essay persists throughout the brief texts that complement the graphic presentation of 40 houses designed by the firm between 2002 and 2017. All of these were drawn specifically for this publication by José Luis Villanueva, the book's third author, who first explains his analytical work through graphic and three-dimensional representation.

As in most cities, modern architecture left behind landmarks that endure today as exemplary icons shaping the urban landscape and defining each city's identity. One such case is the Torres de Marco Fidel Suárez, designed by architect Eduardo Arango and located in the city of Medellín. Architects and researchers Diego Andrés Agámez Berrio and Daniel Muñetón Muñetón have published a study through the Universidad de San Buenaventura and Editorial Bonaventuriana, investigating the architectural and design compositions of this landmark *paisa* project. 

The world is changing; it always does, only faster and faster. With it, our profession as architects is also changing, and new market horizons are opening up before us. A new definition of what it means to “be an architect”—one that is both necessary and long-awaited by many—is beginning to take shape, and in this article, I want to help open your eyes so you can join this exciting movement of independent architects.

The year 2019 was one of the most prolific for public design competitions in Bogotá, particularly within the education sector. Recently, the results of the public architectural preliminary design competition for the Hipotecho School were announced, with the winning proposal submitted by the joint team of AR-AR (Martínez Arquitectura) + Fiallo Atelier + MEC arquitectura.

Academic architectural practice must push students and faculty toward constant adaptation and exploration. First-semester students at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana built an intervention of ephemeral architecture using wood as a structural material in the arts building (prior to the state of emergency). This gave future architects the academic experience of hands-on construction during their very first semester in the department.

La Parleta is a project by the Ecuadorian architecture and construction collective EseColectivo, which gathers "highly valuable reflections, anecdotes, and experiences surrounding the profession." Below, we share some of their thoughts alongside their fourth episode, "Post-Apocalyptic Architecture."

Observing the reality of our built environment allows us to recognize that certain identities are not represented by existing models and scales. Unsurprisingly, these voices have been conspicuously absent from the planning and construction processes of cities and their architecture. Their desires, ways of being, and modes of inhabiting the world have been excluded and rendered invisible. This prompts us to rethink: Which voices are legitimized in urban debates, and for whom is the city designed?

Within residential spaces, architects choose to give more or less prominence to certain areas of the program, depending on client preferences. While some prefer to prioritize more intimate spaces, others lean toward social areas—with the kitchen being a primary example.

Although the pragmatic function of a kitchen is to serve as a space for preparing food, there are few homes where it does not also double as a gathering place. Even in traditional dwellings like the Mapuche *ruka*, a central hearth is used both for cooking and for heating, conceptually evoking the same welcoming atmosphere as integrated urban kitchens. Today, fire is managed through stoves—with a strong modern shift toward induction cooktops for their safety and precise temperature control. Nevertheless, the core domestic principle remains the same, and contemporary architecture has allowed the kitchen to once again integrate seamlessly with daily activities and social zones.

We have all heard the term BIM in the field of architecture and construction. But have you ever wondered why its adoption has grown so rapidly in recent years? Building Information Modeling (BIM) has streamlined the work of various professionals in the architecture and construction industries. It not only facilitates the design process but also simplifies the overall analysis of the building, thereby minimizing errors.

Through BIM methodology, teams can work collaboratively, maximizing the efficiency of project management and administration for both small and large-scale projects. This allows architects and engineers to work with parametric models and drawings, known as 3D smart objects.

Nearly sixty years ago, Flora Manteola, Javier Sánchez Gómez, Justo Solsona, Carlos Libedinsky, and Antonio Diaz envisioned a building with a capacity of 3,000,000 books and 500,000 magazines and newspapers for the National Library of Argentina preliminary design competition. Their proposal for a "large metal tent" would ultimately take second place to the concrete glyptodont by Clorindo Testa, Bullrich, and Cazzaniga that stands today.

From its inception, the proposal "prompted sensitivity toward new formal and structural directions," as noted in the jury's critique. In 2015, this design was featured in the exhibition Latin America in Construction, and today its original model and blueprints are in the official collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.

Below, we revisit the project through the words of Justo Solsona: 

There are many ways to define BIM methodology. One of them describes it as a set of processes that help us combine a project's geometry with the data required to complete its entire lifecycle. We could say that modeling in BIM is like virtually executing the construction process.

Another key aspect is that it allows us to work in a collaborative environment, helping to simplify the flow of information among different stakeholders and providing greater control over our projects. 

As part of an initiative by the Faculty of Architecture at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the Carlos Obregón Santacilia Bookstore is making a selection of its publications available to the public digitally and free of charge. These texts cover a wide range of topics, including research methods, analyses of administrative processes in the architectural field, theoretical writings by Alberto T. Arai, architectural history across various periods and contexts, structural systems, energy efficiency, urbanism, landscape, heritage, reconstruction, biennials, and guides to support the conception of new architectural projects.

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In 2018, a flexible and ephemeral space was erected in Mexico City's Alameda Central, demonstrating the luminosity and plastic versatility of joining 2,500 water jugs to form a conical blue oasis. Today, this pavilion is located within the Huerto Urbano Roma Verde, where it has hosted various events and activities, shedding the transience and impermanence that originally defined its essence.

Have you ever had to convince your friends or family that an exposed brick wall can be more interesting than a plastered surface painted white? Or that exposed building systems can offer major advantages when it comes to maintenance? These are recurring scenarios in the professional lives of architects and design firms.

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At a time when we only have room for immediate priorities, many designers in our discipline work detached from the actual context where their projects will be built. Yet, some still dedicate the time and passion to experience these realities firsthand and build hand-in-hand with the users. 

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The Post_Arq student collective of the Leopoldo Rother Architecture Museum at the National University of Colombia shared with us the interview series titled "Siete Imaginarios, Siete Arquitectos" (Seven Imaginaries, Seven Architects). The interviewees include prominent figures such as Sebastián Serna, Santiago Pradilla, Leonardo Álvarez Yepes, and Lorenzo Castro, among others.

Below, you can explore the interviews conducted with these renowned figures of the Colombian architectural scene, several of whom were winners or received honorable mentions at the XXVII BICAU.

For over 80 days of protest, our streets and buildings have been covered daily in slogans, posters, illustrations, and an endless array of visual material referencing the social demands of a country that claims to have awakened from a 30-year slumber. Meanwhile, public monuments throughout Chile are being tagged, altered, destroyed, or removed from their original sites, becoming a primary target for protesters—or, as the newspaper El Mercurio¹ puts it, for “vandals.”

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Vacío is a temporary intervention that seeks to redefine the boundaries and experience of the space in which it is located. It is crucial to understand the environmental impact of ephemeral projects. 
To construct this void, we used four floating curtains made of repurposed sheets of paper collected from other architecture firms, bathed in indigo to erase the drawings, texts, and prints of their previous life. 
The installation's lightness allows the airflow to constantly reshape the defined geometry of the prism. Inside, the space mutates and interacts with visitors, almost compelling them to move as the floating sheets seem to breathe.  

This article by Julián García Muñoz and María de los Ángeles Beltrán Fernández was originally published in the second issue of rita magazine under the title "La prefabricación de bóvedas de ladrillo: Una utopía latinoamericana" and is part of a joint publishing collaboration. The following is an overview of the history of these prefabricated vaults, aiming to reclaim their value.

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“Architects, not Architecture” has decided to open its archive to help us navigate the global lockdown, serving as a source of inspiration and entertainment for the architectural community. It features a selection of the best talks from their 35 past events, previously unreleased to the public—including Tatiana Bilbao, Peter Cook, Richard Rogers, Massimiliano Fuksas, Kim Herforth Nielsen, Ben van Berkel, Anupama Kundoo, Sadie Morgan, Dan Stubbergaard, Manuelle Gautrand, and Kjetil Thorsen.

Each week, ArchDaily will share one of the full talks that “Architects, not Architecture” is publishing daily on its website as part of its "new event": Home Edition 2020 (www.architectsnotarchitecture.com).

As an exclusive, Plataforma Arquitectura is presenting one of the talks in Spanish. Below is the presentation by architect Benedetta Tagliabue.