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.

Dear readers, with your invaluable companionship, 2019 has flown by here at ArchDaily. Throughout the year, we have continued our daily mission of sharing and celebrating global architecture; along the way, we have grown, earned the recognition of architects, and enjoyed the unwavering support of our readers. Having received heartwarming holiday wishes from hundreds of design practices around the globe, we are excited to share their creative holiday cards with you here!

“How much does a subway line cost?” is a question frequently asked when discussing high-capacity rapid transit solutions for Brazilian cities. However, the cost of implementing rail projects varies enormously across different global geographies.

For example, a rail line in New York costs about twenty times more per kilometer than one in Seoul, reaching a budget of $6.4 billion for a segment of just 2.6 kilometers in the second phase of the Second Avenue Subway in northern Manhattan. Geographical factors, or even the high built density of the American metropolis, are insufficient to explain such a massive disparity in construction costs.

Choosing high-performance BIM software is key to developing efficient projects by automating tasks that traditionally consumed time in conventional design workflows—such as documentation, calculations, analyses, and other repetitive processes.

At the time of writing this article, Brazil is facing the most severe humanitarian crisis in its history—not merely a “health crisis,” as is commonly described. By April 30, 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic had claimed 411,854 lives in the country, and only in recent days has the moving average of deaths begun to cool down once again—after reaching a peak of 3,125 in April.

Epidemiologists, microbiologists, and infectious disease specialists note that the impact of the pandemic on Brazilian cities is highly idiosyncratic: each has unique conditions to consider before we can attempt any generalizations. Furthermore, underreporting is estimated to be high (with actual cases potentially being ten times higher), a figure that also varies from city to city. Nevertheless, with these caveats in mind, what does the overall picture reveal? 

ArchDaily is working with CityMakers to publish a series of articles, conversations, and interviews with the various actors in urban co-production behind the Barcelona CityMakers Lab 2021, an event taking place from November 8 to 12.

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"Albañilas, construyendo sin patrones" (Women Masons, Building Without Bosses) is a short documentary released on May 5, 2021, produced by the Front of Organizations in Struggle #FOL. Active in more than ten Argentine provinces, the film gathers the deeply personal testimonies of Brenda, Natalia, Claudia, Isabel, Nora, Ana, and Moni, who share how they took up the bricklaying trade to construct the #FOL community hall.

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As part of a collaborative project created by creative women, "Ostras & Burbujas" emerged—an event that took place on August 28 at Cucina, Mexico City. This event was conceived around the idea of creating an immersive space that plays with visual perception, featuring lighting design and control by Paola Jose, founder of SOMBRA, powered by Lutron - Ketra technology. By altering the atmosphere through light, this was paired with a culinary experience led by chef Montserrat Garza, who brought together taste, smell, and touch through a multi-course dinner paired by Cavanegra Natural Wine Club.

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The city of Puebla—located in Mexico's central highlands—is particularly known for its street layout and predominantly Baroque architecture. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, it hosts a broad cultural dynamic centered on preserving its built heritage and appreciating it from a distance, as if it were a museum piece. Consequently, on our daily commutes we notice the monumentality of its facades, while often failing to realize that behind the massive wooden doors lies what we call “the heart of the Poblan home.”

Pablo Salazar shares his research project titled "Commercial Stand Design in the La Floresta Neighborhood, Quito, Ecuador." The study addresses key issues such as the urban-scale environmental footprint of this activity, solar radiation, wind, and heliographic analysis, alongside the design and material specifications of four commercial stand models.

This week, we feature job openings at two Shanghai-based design firms: ARIZON Design and atelier tao+c. Specializing in different scales and themes, both practices are active across various architectural sectors and are looking to recruit like-minded architects to join their teams.

Since ArchDaily launched its recruitment services, we have received job postings from architectural practices of various scales across China, from Beijing to Shenzhen and Hangzhou. Highly active across diverse architectural fields with their distinct styles, these firms are looking for talented architects to join their teams. Below are six curated openings for May, along with a showcase of their representative projects. Interested candidates are warmly invited to apply.

This article by Ana López Ortego (Colectivo Arquitectura Expandida) is a collaboration with Colectivo RE and was originally published on August 2, 2020, in the second edition of Huevo de pato, a publication that aims to share thoughts and experiences as a strategy toward democratizing knowledge and action.

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While the work of Mexican architect Luis Barragán is globally recognized and studied for its invaluable commitment to the architecture of his time and context—and, above all, built upon deeply harmonious and poetic foundations that connect with a deeply personal quest in "cosmic solitude, with Mexico as the temporary home he lovingly accepts," as the Pritzker Prize Jury described it when honoring him in 1980—until recently (and even before the launch of the Barragan Foundation website), understanding the full spectrum of Barragán's place in architectural history was somewhat difficult, as several of his works have remained private (or difficult to access) for years.

Benches with dividers and uncomfortable shapes, sharp stones under overpasses, fences surrounding plazas and gardens, walls with metal spikes, buildings without awnings or with timed water drippers, electric fences, and barbed wire. The elements and materials used to deter people from public spaces are numerous, ultimately shaping how individuals experience cities and interact with one another. Hostile architecture—a term encompassing all barriers and urban designs that seem to say “don’t make yourself at home,” as reporter Winnie Hu of The New York Times defines it—is part of the reality in most cities worldwide, sparking growing debate over the impact of these measures, particularly on social media.

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In 1792, sitting United States President George Washington organized a competition to design the presidential residence. The winning proposal, submitted by architect James Hoban, shaped the neoclassical mansion we know today as the White House, cementing its place in the American collective imagination.

In April 2021, the A8 Design Center at Luxe Lakes in Chengdu presented the exhibition "2 Kilometers of Lakeshore: Southwest Independent Architects 2021 Luxe Lakes Cross-Disciplinary Joint Exhibition." **Thirty-one independent architects** were invited to create installations along the Luxe Lakes waterfront. Working within a **budget of 30,000 RMB**, and drawing on self-reflection and their understanding of public space, they built **experimental, interactive, and experiential micro-spaces, presenting 31 unique perspectives on the world.** Through dialogue among the architects and with the public, the exhibition sought to further stimulate public engagement in design.

Following the exhibition visit, the A8 Design Center organized a hotpot gathering under a bridge with Chengdu's independent architects, sparking this dialogue. **We wanted to delve deeper into what this new generation of independent firms in non-first-tier cities is doing, how they are growing, and what they are thinking.**

Interviewer: Shuangyu Han
Part 1 Interviewees: Yun Lu (MUDA Architects), Youcai Pan (Wray Architecture), Hongduo Jin (Xd-Architects)
Part 2 Interviewees: Kefei Cai (Menkou Architects), Xiang Wang (TeKtonn Architecture), Yuejiu Li (a9a rchitects), Tang Zhang (YI JIE Atelier)

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The climate crisis, resource scarcity, and socio-spatial inequality are among the challenges currently facing the architectural discipline and the construction industry. In the Chilean Altiplano—a territory marked by a wealth of natural and cultural treasures contrasting with the scarce natural resources of the desert—the Fundación Altiplano invites us to rethink heritage restoration through the lens of sustainability, community-based conservation, and participatory processes. Developed and implemented alongside the communities themselves, this model leverages ancestral knowledge and local materials, offering not only answers but also critical questions for navigating our turbulent contemporary context.

Inadequate living conditions in a building trigger discomfort and even physical pathologies in humans. Scientific experiments have shown that a lack of concentration and even everyday accidents are influenced by both high and low indoor temperatures. And while thermal sensitivity varies from person to person—depending on their clothing, gender, habits, and age—the basic principles behind thermal comfort are universal. Thermal comfort is primarily determined by air temperature and humidity. In this regard, the human body seeks to maintain a near-constant core temperature of 37°C, continuously exchanging heat with the environment.

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Archivo de Ideas Recibidas is an interdisciplinary research and dissemination project that seeks to document and connect the ideas of contributors to the contemporary creative ecosystem through art, design, and architecture. It is built on conversations between the team and various creators, delving into themes related to memory, academia, cultural context, key influences, and working methodologies.

Citymakers is working with ArchDaily to publish a series of articles, conversations, and interviews with the different actors involved in co-producing the city behind the Citymakers Barcelona Lab 2021—a program whose next edition will run from November 8 to 12. For this installment, Víctor Torres, director and co-founder of CityMakers, presents his article "Re-naturalizing the City."

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The history of painting in Mexico has a deep legacy that extends far beyond oil on canvas, as some of its most prominent figures found diverse intersections with other disciplines to develop their capacity to observe—and, above all, to construct scenes that told a specific story of their time and context. Numerous figures have elevated Mexico's reputation, positioning it as one of the countries with the greatest cultural and artistic wealth, including Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, Dr. Atl, Emilia Ortíz, and Mathias Goeritz, among others.

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This article by Camila Pinzón and Juanita Fonseca was originally published under the title "Arrival Infrastructures: An Approach to Migrant Space in Destination Cities Like Bogotá" in issue 30 of the Dearq journal on May 1, 2021 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.18389/dearq30.2021.07).

Within the framework of recent studies on migratory flows, dynamics and concepts have been identified that help understand their relationship with urban space and the city—highly useful for architects, urban planners, and designers. Through a review of these concepts, this article questions their relationship with the Latin American context and reflects on the utility of defining the terms arrival city, arrival infrastructures, and porosity for a potential study in Bogotá.

Below, we present it as part of a joint collaboration to contribute to the dissemination of research, analysis, and opinions developed by the national and international academic community on architecture, urban issues, and related fields.

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Located at 852 Leandro N. Alem Avenue in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, the Mercado de los Carruajes originally housed the “Presidential Carriage Garage,” serving as a storage and maintenance facility for horse-drawn carriages. Over time, the building was repurposed to accommodate the vehicular fleet of the Presidency of the Nation. Following a series of interventions and expansions, the historic heritage building began its conversion process in 2017, which is now complete with only the final details being finalized. A gourmet market concept featuring food stalls, fresh food vendors, retail spaces, and an event terrace eagerly awaits its grand opening, which was delayed due to the pandemic.