Keeping up with the software used in architecture is not only a massive task but a necessary one to showcase the diverse skill set of anyone involved in design and construction. With today's wide range of available programs, which of these could be the "best"?

Fortunately, TechRadar, the tech-focused online publication, gives us a clue with its announcement of the best architecture software of 2019. While this list may rank the software from "best to worst," it is important to remember that each program is designed to serve a different purpose, not necessarily to perform better than the others.

+ 13

The Superior Council of Colleges of Architects of Spain (CSCAE) has announced the State of Oaxaca Historical Archive Building by Mendaro Arquitectos as the winner of the 2019 International Spanish Architecture Award, which is presented to encourage and promote the global expansion of Spanish architects and architecture firms, recognizing their architectural and urban quality while consolidating a shared brand.

+ 15

Architects Ignacio Urquiza and Bernardo Quinzaños present "ESSAYS: The Architectural Process of 2008-2018," a monograph that celebrates and concludes the first stage of their careers, offering a critical and retrospective look at the projects and collaborative processes they have developed over the last 10 years.

During the first half of this year, the XXI Chile Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism invited students, architects, firms, institutions, publishers, and collectives to participate in one of the most important architectural events in Chile and Latin America, which this year will focus on proposals geared toward the "everyday" public.

On Monday, November 18, the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL), through its Department of Architecture and Conservation of Built Artistic Heritage, announced the official selection that will represent Mexico at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale 2020. Chosen from 153 submissions across 14 Mexican states, the final selection of 12 proposals features the following participants:

Argentine architect César Pelli, known for designing some of the world's tallest buildings, such as the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the Torre de Cristal in Madrid, and the Costanera Center building in Santiago, Chile, passed away today at the age of 92, as confirmed on social media by Juan Manzur, governor of the province of Tucumán.

The winners of the National Sustainable Social Housing Competition were recently announced. Organized by the College of Architects of the Province of Córdoba and promoted by the Municipality of Villa María, the competition aimed to foster debate around the role of architecture in social issues, discussing how the discipline can generate housing alternatives that offer positive solutions to Argentina's housing crisis while incorporating economic, social, and environmental sustainability principles.

The Night of the Museums is an annual cultural event held in the City of Buenos Aires. Since 2011, various public and private cultural spaces, foundations, and museums have opened their doors with special nighttime programming, allowing the public to visit them free of charge and enjoy their collections, exhibitions, and activities. The 2019 edition will take place on Saturday, November 2, from 8:00 PM to 3:00 AM, with a total of 280 cultural spaces, libraries, galleries, and museums participating.

+ 10

Recently, a Mexican-pink installation by design studio Rael San Fratello on the US-Mexico border went viral on social media. Its powerful political message resonated as residents from both countries gathered to ride the seesaws, symbolically breaking down the geopolitical barriers of one of the hemisphere's most violent regions.

Have you ever been curious to see inside someone else's home? With this tagline, Open House Buenos Aires has announced the details of its seventh edition, an invitation and a unique opportunity to rediscover both the architecture of Buenos Aires and its stories and residents. Like every year, this festival offers free admission to numerous architecturally significant buildings that are normally closed to the public. Over the weekend of November 9 and 10, more than 140 buildings will open their doors, making the festival one of the year's most important cultural events.

The history of the Triadic Ballet dates back to 1919, when the Bauhaus was founded in Weimar, Germany, including a theater workshop within its curriculum. Directed by Oskar Schlemmer, this theater workshop focused on staging new concepts and reflections on the relationship between humans and space, based on a geometric analysis of bodily forms and movement in space.

The volume of debates, ideas, discourses, and discussions triggered by theater at the Bauhaus—and its subsequent influence on architectural production—is almost incalculable. Schlemmer opened a door to an architectural study centered on the body. One of his most famous works is the Triadic Ballet (Das Triadische Ballett), staged in 1921. It comprised 12 small-format pieces featuring 18 costume and lighting changes spanning several hours.

When talking about Argentine architecture, does a native style exist? The question is complex, as Argentina's DNA contains a mixture of contributions from various origins, ranging from Indigenous peoples to immigrants from diverse global regions. The country is as rich as it is diverse.

Luis Rojo de Castro and Begoña Fernández-Shaw Zuleta received the 2019 First COAM Award and Luis M. Mansilla Award for the renovation of Aulario B Founder's Hall, located on the Runnymede College Campus in Alcobendas, Madrid. 

Videos

Many were surprised that this edition of BBConstrumat in Barcelona lacked carpeting across its 34,000-square-meter exhibition space, or that the schedule of events was only available via the event's app. As climate change—or rather, the climate emergency—becomes irreversible and adaptation demands more drastic measures, the construction sector is also feeling the pressure to reinvent itself.

+ 1

The University Museum of Contemporary Art (MUAC) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico presents the work of renowned international artist and activist Ai Weiwei (Beijing, 1957). In the exhibition Ai Weiwei. Resetting Memories, Ai Weiwei explores the traumas of experiences in both China and Mexico, in a narrative that calls for the construction of social memory.

For 25 years, the MAC Valdivia Museum of Contemporary Art has hosted exhibitions by more than 2,000 artists. Now, construction is set to begin on its latest restoration and expansion project, designed by Cristián Undurraga, under an agreement signed by the Los Ríos Regional Government, the Directorate of Architecture of the Ministry of Public Works, and the Universidad Austral de Chile.

During the Ordinary General Assembly of Members on Thursday, April 25, the Association of Architecture Offices of Chile (AOA) held the award ceremony for the AOA Medals, alongside the formal presentation of the current AOA board of directors and the 40th edition of Revista AOA.

As part of an initiative to restore and revitalize cultural spaces in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico, the Ministry of Cultures and Arts (SECULTA) has announced the winners of the competition for the Conceptual Design of the Álvaro Carrillo Cultural Center: architects Mauricio Rocha + Gabriela Carrillo, Alberto Kalach, and Tatiana Bilbao. The project will feature green areas and integrate with the city's urban context, meeting all legal requirements.

On September 12 and 13, the 36th Colombian Congress of Architecture and Urbanism will take place in the city of Barranquilla. ArchDaily will be on-site to keep you updated on the most pressing discussions in architecture and urbanism across the country.

+ 19

The National Ideas Competition “Buenos Aires and the River,” organized by the School of Architecture, Design, and Urbanism of the University of Buenos Aires, was announced in late 2018, receiving ten preliminary proposals for the Costanera Norte Park and the Youth District. The competition aimed to find a comprehensive plan to revitalize and enhance the 59 hectares and 7.6 kilometers of the city's northern waterfront.

+ 48

The tenth edition of the "Single-Family Home" Architectural Design Workshop, organized by the architecture firm Cota Paredes Arquitectos, has concluded. The workshop invited graduate architects and senior architecture students to develop a single-family home over four weeks, in either in-person or online formats.

The Maestranza de San Bernardo, an abandoned railway complex declared a historical monument that was once one of the largest railway hubs in South America, located south of Santiago, Chile, is making progress on its restoration and conversion into a boulevard. Designed by the firm Uno Proyectos, led by architect Gonzalo Martínez de Urquidi, the project aims to revitalize the area by introducing a program of economic and civic exchange spaces.

On September 25, the winners of the International Ideas Competition for the design of the new Public Space, Main Boulevard, and Connection Bridge to be built in Tecnópolis for Expo 2023 were announced. Organized by the Central Society of Architects (SCA) and the Association of Architects of the Province of Buenos Aires (CAPBA), and sponsored by the Argentine Federation of Architect Entities (FADEA), this is the last of the six international competitions launched this year within the framework of Expo 2023. Across all competitions, a total of 199 proposals were submitted, with the participation of at least 2,000 architects and engineers from around the world.

Ink and paper were enough to immortalize the charm and spell of balconies, courtyards, and houses—both iconic and everyday structures. The giants of Argentine literature draw their pens to confront the concrete, reminding us once more of what moves and concerns us about architecture.