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.

A solar energy system has been under construction since September of this year at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia. It is currently billed as the largest photovoltaic project in Latin America, according to local and international media outlets such as El Tiempo and EFE.

Set to begin operations in the first quarter of 2019, the installation will feature over 10,000 solar panels and have a capacity of 2,800 kWp. It will generate 3,815,000 kWh annually, equivalent to the energy consumed by 1,590 homes. Additionally, the project will use 89.4 km of cabling—a length comparable to the distance between Bogotá and Villavicencio.

Last Thursday, Iphan—the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage—announced the third public competition for permanent positions in the institution's history. Authorized by the Ministry of Planning, Budget, and Management, the competition will fill 411 permanent positions nationwide: 104 for Analyst I, 176 for Technician I, and 131 for Institutional Assistant I.

'Trenzando' is now underway. Designed by architect Daniela Gutiérrez and built from shipping containers, this traveling cultural center aims to promote decentralization by activating and traveling across the railway networks of northern, central, and southern Chile. 'Trenzando' will bring cultural and technological development programs—including workshops, exhibitions, seminars, training sessions, laboratories, artistic performances, and film workshops—to non-metropolitan communities.

It is time to welcome @archdailyco to Instagram! Our dedicated account on this social network is a new showcase for Colombian architecture. It offers both a local and global perspective: classics and rising talents; historic works and must-see future projects; brick, guadua, and concrete; the Caribbean and the Pacific; you and us.

To kick things off, we have selected three projects designed by El Equipo de Mazzanti, CONNATURAL, and Estudio Herreros alongside Bermúdez Arquitectos, featured below.

We invite you to follow our Instagram account and tag your photos of Colombian architecture with the hashtag #ArchDailyCo. On Tuesday, July 17, we will share the best photos uploaded by our readers!

Mike Smith, co-founder of the Costa Rican firm Entre Nos Atelier, has become the first Central American to receive the Loeb Fellowship from the Harvard Graduate School of Design (Harvard GSD).

Led by John Peterson, founder of the NGO Public Architecture, the program annually selects a cohort of architecture and urban planning professionals, aiming to "strengthen their ability to advance positive social outcomes and support a more equitable collective future." During their one-year residency, fellows receive financial support and unrestricted access to the digital educational resources of Harvard and MIT.

Held since 1949, the Raffle House Competition is a historic contest that has given new generations of architects at the School of Architecture, Design, and Urbanism (FADU – UdelaR) the opportunity to design and build a real project in Uruguay. The winning design becomes one of the prizes of the Architecture Raffle, an initiative through which each graduating class from the school takes a trip around the world to experience the best of global architecture.

This annual competition is open to all students at the Universidad de la República's School of Architecture, "contributing to collective construction and serving as a fundamental academic tool in the education of all students in general, and the competition participants in particular." For this edition, the brief was based on the concept of a sustainable city, utilizing existing infrastructure and connectivity while enhancing the landscape, urban, historical, and cultural heritage of Montevideo's Rambla Sur area.

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Torre Helea is a residential building designed by Bulnes Arquitectos currently under construction in Puebla, Mexico's second fastest-growing city. This project is an architectural response to the significant challenge of catering to the most demanding segment of the local real estate market. The qualities that define Torre Helea recently led it to be nominated for the 2018 World Architecture Festival in the residential category.

Featuring a geometry that stands out in its context, this 33-story tower with a stepped rise will include 93 residences and over 41,000 square meters of built area. Each floor features three rectangular apartments arranged radially like a propeller, which in turn rotates 15 degrees counterclockwise at each level as it ascends to a total height of 142.5 meters.

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We are pleased to announce a strategic partnership between the ARKRIT Collective and ArchDaily en Español to regularly publish critical essays that foster debate, rigorous argumentation, and discussion around architecture.

ARKRIT is a research group within the Department of Architectural Design at ETSAM in Madrid. Over more than a decade, it has established itself as a hub for reflection and knowledge production by and for architectural criticism. Founded by Professor of Architectural Design Dr. Antonio Miranda Regojo-Borges, its members include PhDs and university academics working across various European and Latin American research centers.

Heidegger wrote that humanity should dwell poetically.

Yet in a society driven by materialism, uniform residential buildings dominate the landscape. Is there a way of living that is better suited to human nature? This remains a question we cannot help but explore.

From October 12 to 15, World Architecture magazine, in partnership with Aranya, hosted the second Aranya Architecture Forum. Prominent Chinese and international architects, alongside cross-disciplinary leaders, gathered by the sea to discuss the relationship between architecture, art, life, and humanity.

Under the theme “My Perceptual Space,” the main forum was complemented by sub-forums featuring dialogues between architects and cross-disciplinary figures. The event also marked the launch of the Aranya Architect Debut Award, China’s first-ever award dedicated to architects’ debut projects. Additionally, a diverse program of cultural activities offered fresh perspectives on understanding architecture and space.

With a seminar on sustainable construction, La Ruta Solar kicked off Construye Solar 2019, the third edition of the competition that invites universities from Chile and around the world to design and build housing prototypes with high thermal and environmental standards, as well as low construction costs.

The event, which took place at the Chilean Chamber of Construction Auditorium in Santiago, Chile, and was sponsored by the Technological Center for Innovation in Construction (CTeC), was attended by the Undersecretary of Social Evaluation, Alejandra Candia, and the Chief of Staff of the Undersecretary of National Assets, Mario González, along with key speakers from industry and academia who shared their experience in developing innovations focused on sustainable housing.

Assumpció Puig is set to become the first female dean of the College of Architects of Catalonia (COAC) after leading the Ara, Arquitectes (“Now, Architects”) slate. The winning list received 1,238 votes, defeating the candidacies of Ramon Torra (600 votes) and Enric Mir (385) votes, according to an announcement by the COAC.

The professional association reported that 2,452 members voted, representing 24% of eligible voters—an improvement over the 2015 elections, which saw a 17.3% turnout. Puig will lead the governing board for the 2018–2021 term, alongside Pere Castelltort (secretary), Ione Ruete (treasurer), and board members Josep Ferrando, Guillem Costa, and Duna Bellmunt.

The Docomomo SP recently published a free e-book featuring the contributions received during the fifth edition of its annual seminar, which took place in 2017. Spanning over a thousand pages, the publication compiles articles addressing modern heritage in São Paulo across three thematic areas: recognition, intervention, and management.

The City of São Paulo has opened a public selection process for professionals in the fields of architecture, engineering, agronomy, and geology, offering a total of 118 positions in these areas, in addition to 50 openings for organizational development and planning analysts. The positions are for roles within municipal secretariats and other government agencies. 

A field is a mapping from one vector to another; some experts believe that momentum should exist within the field. The architectural field, however, represents the holistic concept of architecture. Architecture exists within the field, which serves as the map, result, and answer for the exchange, dialogue, and intertextuality between interior and exterior spaces. Burdened by material things and troubled by emotions, yet integrated with the physical world, it ultimately achieves its own depth.

On the afternoon of December 14, 2018, a forum titled ‘Creating the Field: Villa District · Art · Design’ was held with great enthusiasm at the Beijing Youan Mansion Sales Center. Co-hosted by Youan Mansion and Designwire, the event invited the project's lead designers to explore the “field” created by Youan Mansion. Starting from the villa-centric nature of the project and extending to the dimensions of art and lifestyle, the panel discussed the relationships between theory and design, philosophy and aesthetics.

As a team, we are proud to introduce a new editorial partner for ArchDaily en Español: Trama magazine, which over its forty-year history has documented the evolution of Ecuadorian architecture better than anyone.

This new editorial partnership aligns with our goal to bring both established and emerging voices into the discussion of our discipline "in Spanish." As part of this collaboration, ArchDaily’s network of Spanish-language sites will regularly publish articles and interviews from Trama magazine, bringing the dialogue surrounding Ecuadorian architecture to an international scale. This will allow our Spanish-speaking readers to learn firsthand about the main trends and debates shaping architecture in Ecuador.

On June 15, construction began on the new 'Fábrica de Cultura' in Barranquilla, Colombia. The project will provide spaces and opportunities for various artistic activities, aiming to expand cultural knowledge through community interaction. The facility will offer courses and a diverse cultural program organized across different units.

According to the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, the project was selected as a winner at the International Architecture Awards and will integrate with the city's heritage restoration efforts. Barranquilla Mayor Alejandro Char, along with Atlántico Governor Eduardo Verano and the Secretary of Culture, announced the start of construction. The 24-billion-Colombian-peso (USD 8.16 million) project will accommodate more than 1,000 students per shift.

Spanish architect Ángela García de Paredes, of the firm Paredes Pedrosa Arquitectos, has been shortlisted for the Women in Architecture 2018 award. Also nominated are Sandra Barclay of Barclay & Crousse (Peru), Biba Dow of Dow Jones (UK), and Stephanie Macdonald of 6a Architects (UK).

Created in partnership with The Architectural Review and The Architects’ Journal, the award aims to recognize and reward the work and designs of women architects worldwide, promoting role models who inspire other professionals.

Below are the projects for which these four architects are nominated for this prestigious award:

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On May 18, the Superior Council of the Colleges of Architects of Spain presented the Spanish Architecture Awards (PAE) and Spanish Urbanism Awards (PUE), which were decided in October 2017. Along with the Gold Medal, both awards are among the most prestigious honors in the Spanish architecture sector. Through these accolades, the CSCAE recognizes architectural and urban excellence, as well as the determination and perseverance of institutions in promoting high-quality work despite the severe economic crisis of recent years.

The awards ceremony, attended by more than 400 people, was held at the recently opened Wanda Metropolitano stadium. Designed by Seville-based Cruz y Ortiz Architects, the venue served as the home of architecture and Spanish architects for the evening.

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Three architecture projects are among the 104 winners of the 2019 competition of the Directorate of Cultural Affairs (Dirac) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Chile.

Now in its ninth year, the call aims to promote the internationalization of Chilean artists and creators across a wide range of artistic disciplines. "Our mission is to strengthen and support Chile's foreign policy and our embassies and missions through high-quality artistic projects that foster the participation of our creators and artists," said Maritza Parada, Director of Cultural Affairs.

The Arquitetas Invisíveis (Invisible Women Architects) Collective is an initiative that seeks to promote gender equality within the field of architecture and urban planning by recognizing and promoting the life and work of women architects who have been historically overlooked. Founded by students at the School of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of Brasília, the group's initial effort aimed to expand the repertoire of architecture and urban planning students and professionals while sparking discussions on gender in both academic and professional spheres. Arquitetas Invisíveis was officially launched on March 8, 2014, in honor of International Women's Day, using Facebook to reach architecture students and professionals across Brazil.

Today, March 8, 2018, the Arquitetas Invisíveis Collective is launching the second edition of the Arquitetas Invisíveis Magazine, under the theme "In the Shadows."

In Bogotá, CEMEX Colombia hosted the 12th edition of the 2018 CEMEX Building Award (Premio Obras CEMEX), celebrating the best of Colombian architecture and construction—projects "capable of creating solutions that promote the social and economic development of countries and, of course, contribute to protecting the environment," explained Ricardo Naya, president of CEMEX Colombia, during the ceremony held at the C. Vilar Auditorium.

Composed of Carlos Campuzano, Rafael Esguerra, Eduardo Rocha, Francisco de Valdenebro, Argelino Durán, and Lorenzo Castro, the jury presented awards in four categories—with the Infrastructure category declared vacant—along with three special prizes for outstanding achievements in Sustainable Building, Construction Innovation, and Social Value. The universal accessibility category was also declared vacant.

The winning architects in each category will travel to Mexico in November to represent Colombia at the international CEMEX Building Award ceremony.

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The renowned architecture firm Zaha Hadid Architects has announced its first exhibition in Latin America, which will take place at the Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC) on the campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). The exhibition, titled Design as Second Nature, will showcase several projects by architect Zaha Hadid through models, audiovisual materials, paintings, and photographs, exploring the creative process of her practice and highlighting the importance and complexity of design as the central axis connecting form and construction in her work.

From the desk of Rogelio Salmona, with a wonderful view of Torres del Parque in Bogotá, we present our selection of the best Colombian architecture photography, captured by the followers of ArchDaily Colombia on Instagram.

Remember to tag your Colombian architecture photos on Instagram with the hashtag #ArchDailyCo for a chance to be featured in our upcoming roundups.