Slate 1 CAU+Plural, composed entirely of women architects and urban planners, received 11,568 votes in the election for CAU/SP, held on October 15. The election, which recorded the highest turnout of architects and urban planners in the history of the Council of Architecture and Urbanism of São Paulo, marked the first time a single slate garnered nearly 40% of the valid votes.

In an unprecedented achievement, the slate secured the majority of seats in the Council, winning 49 plenary seats. Out of 77 total seats, 52 will be occupied exclusively by women. Thanks to this strategy, the next term will see a 77% female composition—with 54 titular members and 66 alternates, respectively. This effectively reverses the previous composition, where 76% of the state council was represented by men. 

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Through an open data system, the “Buenos Aires Data” program has made public the data from the survey of the entire urban fabric of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Developed as part of the Open Government strategy, the project allows users to download and visualize maps of each of the city's neighborhoods along with their corresponding high-rise buildings.

Inaugurated in 1971, the João Goulart elevated highway, popularly known as the Minhocão, has been a subject of criticism, study, and a landmark in the city of São Paulo. In 2014, its future was determined when the Strategic Master Plan introduced a specific law for its progressive decommissioning for cars, scheduled for completion by 2029. However, its ultimate fate remains uncertain: what will become of it when this happens? Will it be transformed into a park or demolished?

The City of São Paulo has just released 3D cartography for the entire city on the GeoSampa Portal. The new tool allows users to visualize buildings, trees, infrastructure, and other geometries in 3D directly on the map. The data is also available for download.

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Chilean architect Cecilia Puga will take over as director of the Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, one of the most visited in Santiago. The news was announced by her predecessor, anthropologist Carlos Aldunate del Solar, in a recent interview with Chilean magazine Sábado, where he announced his resignation after four decades at the helm of the institution. "Obviously, a younger person with more energy should take over," Aldunate commented in the interview.

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The winning projects of the Emergency Health Prototypes ideas competition have been announced, an open-call initiative aimed at Latin American students of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, design, and related fields. Jointly organized by the Taller de Desarrollo Urbano (Venezuela), the Organización Peruana de Estudiantes de Arquitectura (Peru), and Colectivo Más Ciudad (Peru), and sponsored by Revista Envolvente, Revista Entre Rayas, Instituto Científico del Pacífico, Arquitectura Venezuela, Dilab, and Imagina 3D, the competition was conceived as an opportunity to generate innovative architectural responses to potential collapses in healthcare systems under the threat of COVID-19.

The free, publicly accessible online lecture hosted by Cooper Union featuring Daniel Bonilla—the Colombian architect leading taller de arquitectura de bogotá—titled Remote Lecture | Daniel Bonilla: tab>| Praxis & Research is now available on its website.

The winners of the design competition for the architectural and exhibition intervention of the Basque Museum of Bilbao (in Basque, the “Bilboko Euskal Museoa”) have been announced. This international competition invited participants to develop proposals for the comprehensive renovation of the building, which aims to inaugurate its new spaces in time for its centennial celebration in 2023.

Today, the Brazilian Hospital Services Company (Ebserh) published a call for applications to create a reserve pool of up to 6,000 professionals to work temporarily in the fight against COVID-19 across the Ebserh Network. In addition to healthcare professionals, the call is also open to architects and engineers for 40-hour work weeks and a salary of R$ 10,350.45.

The Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories (TJDFT) has denied an injunction request to suspend the Bible Museum project. The petition, filed by the Brazilian Association of Atheists and Agnostics (ATEA) against the Government of the Federal District (GDF), was dismissed by Judge Paulo Afonso Cavichioli Carmona of the 7th Court of Public Treasury of Brasília.

The renowned International Architecture and Design Festival of Logroño, Concéntrico, will hold its sixth edition—rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic—from September 3 to 6, 2020. The festival invites reflection on 'the urban' and the contemporary city.

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The winners of the first edition of the National Brick Architecture Award have been announced. Jointly organized by the Central Society of Architects (SCA) and the Chamber of the Red Ceramic Industry (CICER), the competition sought to highlight Argentina's architectural production based on the use of ceramic masonry units and to promote the widespread use of this material as a sustainable, long-term element in both urban and rural environments.

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On March 16, in an effort to protect public health and reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in Peru, the country declared a mandatory quarantine. Under this exceptional measure, all residents must remain in their homes until—for the time being—April 26, refraining from going to work and limiting their movement in public spaces. The restructuring of urban life is already striking: streets and public gathering spaces like plazas, parks, and beaches that were once overflowing with people are now completely empty.

The picturesque municipality of Vélez, located in the southern region of the department of Santander, is set to receive a renovated main square. Known for its famous bocadillos (guava paste) and its unique "transverse" church (iglesia atravesada), the town will also see the revitalization of the facades of the traditional buildings surrounding the square.

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The Ministry of Culture of the City of Buenos Aires, in collaboration with the Tourism Board, invites the public to explore local architecture and culture through “Turismo Cultural BA”. This virtual series, stemming from the Cultura en Casa initiative, offers weekly online tours of some of the most iconic buildings in Buenos Aires, showcasing art exhibitions and spaces associated with the city's history and culture. This virtual format allows people worldwide to access Buenos Aires' architectural and cultural heritage from home, in compliance with the isolation measures implemented by the country to combat COVID-19.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) recently published a practical guide for sustainable buildings, public spaces, and construction sites in Brazil. Authored by Esperanza González-Mahecha, Livia Minoja, Lucas Rosse Caldas, and Clémentine Tribouillard, the publication aims to simplify access for public and private managers to practical information on how to incorporate sustainability elements into projects, whether buildings (such as housing or public facilities) or public spaces.

No longer a space of purely functional hygiene, the bathroom has taken on a prominent role in architectural design, becoming an essential element in both public and private programs.

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The call for entries for the Third Edition of the Oscar Niemeyer Award for Latin American Architecture, presented by the Network of Architecture Biennials of Latin America, has successfully concluded. A total of 101 works from 12 Latin American countries are participating, with Mexico represented by 30 high-quality and diverse projects—all clear examples of outstanding contemporary architectural production.

Universidad de los Andes has announced the results of the private competition for the Sociedad Bolivariana - Uniandes Building, with Juan Pablo Ortiz Arquitectos emerging as the winners. Discover the seven competition proposals below.

If we could travel back in time one hundred years and organize an ideas competition to visualize what Bogota would look like in 2020, the proposals would be far from the reality of the urban landscape experienced today in the Colombian capital. Back then, little was known about the events that would later shape history, such as the Bogotazo, which led to the rebuilding or remodeling of most of the buildings that served as architectural landmarks of previous centuries.

The uncertainty of a distant future is perpetual. Yet, this does not stop the imagination from creating utopian or dystopian scenarios of that urban dimension for 2120. This was the main goal of the rendering competition organized by the Student Collective of the Colombian Society of Architects (CESCA) of the Bogota and Cundinamarca chapter.

For the first time, the Colombian Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism, organized by the Colombian Society of Architects (SCA), will be held virtually. In its 27th edition, over ten days, more than 60 lectures, 9 panels, and 4 forums will be available. Explore the full schedule of the main room below. Meanwhile, the parallel room will showcase the Biennial's finalist projects.

Currently, the volume of projects produced within universities in Mexico is immense, and we believe it is the perfect time to showcase some of their best work. Many undergraduate theses, also known as final graduation projects, address highly interesting and valuable topics for the country; unfortunately, the vast majority end up stored on library shelves or in a computer folder, missing the opportunity to drive real change in our cities and how we inhabit them.

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As part of an event held for the thirteenth consecutive year, a showroom opened in October featuring spaces designed by various architects and designers to showcase the new ColorLife TRENDS 2021 palettes by the Comex brand. Participants included Adrián Marfil, Alexia Ulibarri, Andrés Gutiérrez, Arlette Salas, Cristina Grappin, Jorge Ballina, Luis H. Muñoz, Mauricio De la Garza, Moisés Hernández, Penélope De la Madrid, and Rodrigo Noriega.

Art Week kicks off today in Mexico City, with more than 210 galleries opening their doors to host diverse programs showcasing the work of artists from 26 countries. Our featured lineup ranges from the recently opened exhibition "Habitat" by Lina Bo Bardi at Museo Jumex to the internationally renowned ZⓈONAMACO art fair, as well as the well-known exhibitions organized by guadalajara90210 that blend art and architecture.