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.

When developing an architectural project, regardless of scale or program, architects face a series of decisions regarding the construction method to adopt, considering various aspects—structural, economic, available labor, aesthetics, among others—in pursuit of the best solution.

To address the many questions that arise during design development regarding the choice of structural systems, we have prepared a practical guide to the main types of cast-in-place and precast concrete slabs that designers should know, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Learn more below:

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The news spread quickly that Wednesday afternoon. Chilean architect Eduardo Castillo, a partner of Smiljan Radic, was in critical condition following a car accident earlier that day in Santiago. The local architectural community barely had time to react before his unexpected passing at the age of 45 was confirmed the following morning, Thursday, October 5, 2017.

When Clorindo Testa was asked how he felt upon learning that one of his works, the Casa Di Tella, was going to be demolished, he replied: “I believe that buildings are not made to last. One can say that the Roman Colosseum will endure. They are not going to tear down Notre-Dame Cathedral, nor the Duomo in Milan. But when you design a project, you don't go around thinking it will be memorable and last forever. Works of this nature have owners, and owners change their minds. People and society also change: what was valid twenty years ago is no longer valid today. It is inevitable. Personally, it doesn't bother me in the least if they demolish a work of mine; I don't design things to last forever. You make things to function when they are commissioned, and they last as long as they need to. The Casa Di Tella was built for Di Tella, and Di Tella died. In a sense, it is no longer his house... It became part of an institute that bought it. Therefore, the functions it needs are different.” [1]

Testa's words reveal a remarkable humility that seems rare in the DNA of architects who yearn for the eternity of their work. Indeed, this desire for permanence was imposed on us almost as a mandate, a necessity. Palladio knew this well when referencing Vitruvius: “utility, perpetuity, and beauty.”

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The architects and photographers of studio FLAGRANTE have shared with ArchDaily a series of photographs capturing the recently completed Japan House São Paulo, designed by Kengo Kuma in collaboration with local office FGMF.

Part of a global initiative by the Japanese government to “create a vision of contemporary Japan,” Japan House opened in May 2018, combining art, technology, and business to offer an escape into modern-day Japan.

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Walking is the most common form of transportation in the world and a basic human right. It connects us directly with our surroundings, does not pollute the city, and offers numerous health benefits, such as reducing chronic diseases, obesity, and diabetes. This is the message that the ITDP and Streetfilms convey in the film The Right to Walk, released this year.

If walking is so beneficial, why is it so difficult to do in urban environments? Rapid urban growth and car-centric planning have increasingly restricted space and respect for pedestrians. Every year, 1.3 million people are killed in traffic, half of whom are pedestrians, cyclists, or motorcyclists. Furthermore, traffic accidents result in 20 to 50 million hospitalizations annually, making them the leading cause of physical disability worldwide. More than 90% of traffic fatalities occur in low- and middle-income countries like Brazil, which has the highest number of traffic deaths per capita in South America.

Dear readers,

As the end of the year approaches, we would like to thank you all once again for making 2018 our best year yet. Thanks to your continuous support and our close connection with our readers, we now reach far more architects around the world, inspiring them to create better urban environments.

Every Sunday morning, 120 kilometers of Bogotá are transformed into an extensive cycling circuit. This is La Ciclovía, a cultural and recreational initiative in which some of the Colombian capital's streets are designated as wide bike paths, allowing both residents and tourists to travel across Bogotá by bicycle.

In a radio interview broadcast by RCN, architect Jaime Ortiz recalls the origins of the ciclovía in the 1970s, when it emerged as a proposal developed alongside other architects to open up major avenues as cycling spaces every Sunday.

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“Ensuring, through built works, that those ideas explained with these words stand up will be the best proof that those ideas are valid and these words true.”
(Campo Baeza – “The Built Idea”).

The Mendoza Association of Architects CAMZA has announced a new edition of Architecture Month MDA2018 under the theme "The Built Idea," to be held from August 28 to 31 at the Nave Cultural in the city of Mendoza.

Working hand-in-hand with a wide range of product manufacturers and suppliers allows us to access valuable information to support design and construction processes using different types of materials.

To make this knowledge readily available, we have compiled a series of guides, manuals, and tips covering everything from working with laminated wood and installing cladding, to applying protective finishes and varnishes. Read 12 useful articles below.

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Chile's history can be read through its towns. Blending the architectural and building traditions of its indigenous peoples with the influence of European immigrants, these small localities reveal how their inhabitants have occupied and appropriated the territory according to their needs, customs, and specific contexts.

With a landscape that changes drastically from north to south, certain patterns emerge, shaped by climate and geography. From the use of adobe and stone in desert regions to meticulous craftsmanship with native woods in the south, along with the rich colonial architecture of the central valleys, these 24 examples offer significant lessons that every architect should study closely. Read on to discover them below.

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La Minerva is an iconic monumental sculpture in Jalisco's capital, created by Joaquín Arias in 1957 and commissioned by then-governor Agustín Yáñez. Years passed, and it was during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico that, following a victory by the Brazilian team, their coach gave the players the afternoon off, and the celebration ended up taking place there—at the intersection of López Mateos, Vallarta, Golfo de Cortés, and Circunvalación Agustín Yáñez avenues. Since then, La Minerva has become the preferred venue for both celebrations and demonstrations. However, weathering and traffic-induced vibrations took a heavy toll on its structure.

Around one in the morning in Cairo, despite the darkness of the night, everything feels yellow. Arriving in a city of 9 million people, with an airport that handles 3 million daily, is overwhelming, staggering—or, as Lovecraft might describe those lurking in the dark, indescribable and unnameable. In the gloom of a hotel room that saw its glory days long ago, I can see the Great Pyramid of Giza in the distance, shrouded behind the ever-present haze.

The relentless city devours almost everything in its path; the desert resists, tourism does its part, and, for now, the Sphinx simply watches. Restoration and archaeological work are always underway around the historic sites; you brush the dust off your feet only to uncover ancient remains. Saqqara—the Step Pyramid—is perpetually draped in massive scaffolding of dry wood, weathered from years of waiting for the next discovery that might finally let each prop rest. The heat in Cairo is stifling, and while collective memory associates the city with the pyramids and the Sphinx, its daily life breathes desert, diversity, tourism, commerce, and religion.

The waters of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, New York, still do not smell good, although the problem was once much worse. They carry the remnants of years of industrial pollution and untreated sewage.

The area, which in the 19th and 20th centuries was primarily industrial, has undergone revitalization in recent years through federal investment (see here). New green spaces were created, and service-oriented businesses moved into the neighborhood. Residential property prices also rose, ultimately displacing long-time residents.

It is time to say goodbye to 2018. Following our showcase of the best architecture of the year, we have gathered the Chilean projects that generated the most engagement on our social media platforms. Indeed, in the architectural field, understanding where design is heading requires looking at its key works and observing how the public has responded to them.

Goodbye 2018, hello 2019.

Most people today live in cities, which are growing rapidly. We are living in the age of urbanization, an era that began in the early 19th century when vast masses of people decided to be closer to one another rather than close to the land. There is no doubt that sooner or later the vast majority of us, humans, will be living in cities.

“A thesis is like a pig; everything in it can be put to use,” concluded Umberto Eco in his book How to Write a Thesis. Indeed, these research projects, developed through four or five years of intense effort and sacrifice, become extraordinary tools and inexhaustible sources of information for both students and professionals looking to delve into a specific topic within their field of knowledge.

In Spain, the 2008 economic crisis triggered a notable increase in the number of architects who chose to pursue a doctoral thesis as a way to continue their academic training and expand their career options. Coupled with the rigorous training that Spanish architects typically receive, this has led to a vast body of exceptionally high-quality research, serving as an invaluable reference resource for both students and practitioners.

This article compiles 10 doctoral theses focused on major Spanish architects whose careers spanned the 20th century and who, for various reasons, left an indelible mark on the history of Spanish architecture during this period.

Architects Rafael Pina and Fabián B. Di Giammarino, writing for the ARKRIT Collective, offer an objective critique of a classic of Chilean architecture, the Copelec Building. As the authors of this article assert, beyond the many descriptive accounts surrounding the building, it has earned an unquestionable status precisely because it remains unquestioned.

In recent decades, architecture and the built environment professions have maintained an insular attitude, separating them from relevant conversations and preventing them from identifying opportunities and new territories to conquer. The future will require leaders with a broad and refreshing vision of our field: leaders, both men and women, with the sharpness and skills to identify real problems across a wider spectrum of fields than ever before, capable of transforming them into innovative, high-impact business opportunities that connect better with society and generate greater value.

The omnipresence of technology, demographic pressure, exponential urban growth, and various environmental threats are transforming how we plan, understand, and interact with space—in short, our way of life. To face this landscape, we must evolve faster than our context. As architecture and design professionals, we possess exceptional talent as a group. We have the capacity to think in systems, naturally combining creative and proactive approaches with strong analytical skills, and we are capable of integrating highly disparate factors into a long-term vision, making us excellent strategists. Leveraging this talent from a much broader professional perspective does not mean discarding our traditional roles, but it does require questioning the status quo: like a tree, the higher we aim to reach, the deeper our roots must grow.

Keeping the following ideas in mind can serve as a valuable guide in this compelling process of redefinition:

How many children do we see daily playing in the streets, interacting with elements of urban spaces, running in parks or plazas, or riding their bikes? These scenes can say a lot about a city—not only about how it is caring for its younger generations, but also about the quality of life it offers families; which is to say, for everyone.

The team led by Oscar Luengo and Álvaro Parraguez won first place in the Pasarelas San Borja competition in Chile. The main objective of the competition was to recognize "the best urban design ideas that contribute to defining intervention criteria and generating proposals for the San Borja Neighborhood."

Titled Corredores San Borja, the winning proposal "proposes the walkways as connecting spatial corridors between towers, plazas, and peripheral activities, allowing for fluidity and articulation between the complex's disconnected interior and exterior spaces."

During the design process of a building, design professionals from various disciplines are called upon to propose solutions that ensure client requirements and expectations are met.

Design decisions, which until the 1980s were often not grounded in objective criteria, have gradually become more evidence-based. This shift aims to reduce design and execution errors, material waste, and operational inefficiencies, while also systemically recognizing best practices.

Created by the Ecuadorian firm ENSUSITIO, the Con Lo Que Hay Workshop is a course taught separately to architecture students at the Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica (UTI) and the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE), offering them the opportunity to work on their first real commission. As a result, students must navigate not only the design itself, but also engage with communities, clients, budgets, and, of course, their own peers.

"We do not see architecture as a product," write Enrique Villacís alongside Cynthia Ayarza and Lorena Rodríguez, co-founders of ENSUSITIO, who serve as the workshop's tutor and professional advisors, respectively. "It is an organic process built day by day alongside its inhabitants, from diagnosis to use and maintenance, including the *minga*—collective construction. Everything is built under the principles of 'what is available'—materials, local wisdom, and our own contributions that value ancestral knowledge within a contemporary context," they add.

On this occasion, we present three projects developed on the periphery of Quito: a collection center, a dining hall for an evangelical congregation, and an outdoor therapy space.

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Over the last twenty years, the world has never been so connected. At the turn of the century, the digital realm seems to have invaded analogue layers, redefining standards, lifestyles, interactions, and the way we connect and use spaces. This social redefinition is strongly attributed to Generation Z—the cohort born during the transition from the 20th to the 21st century, between the 1990s and 2010s. But do you know the defining characteristics of this group?

On Friday, December 22, 2017, the inaugural MUGAK Basque Country International Architecture Biennial opened the exhibition "The City We Lost: Urban Heritage Management in San Sebastián, 1950-2017" at the Santa Teresa Convent in San Sebastián, Spain. The exhibition showcases recognizable local buildings that have disappeared over the last few decades. 

Curated by the Áncora association, the exhibition traverses San Sebastián's neighborhoods to examine a city that now exists only in collective memory—specifically, buildings lost over the past seven decades. Stretching from Martutene to Igeldo, and including Alza, Amara, El Antiguo, and Ibaeta, the survey goes beyond the city's iconic heritage, looking past San Sebastián's most prominent areas to highlight other architectural works.

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