At the end of last November, we published the winners of the second call for graduation thesis projects in Colombia, which received 70 proposals from 14 cities and 29 universities. Ultimately, nine projects cleared all three evaluation stages, standing out for addressing pressing issues, presenting rigorous research, and proposing challenges for both urban and rural contexts, much like in 2016.

Here, we take an in-depth look at the Paseo Bolívar Cultural Integration Center, a proposal developed by Ángela Puerta Gaviria and Carolina Delgado Quintero, both graduates of the Universidad del Valle in Cali.

Marked by refinement and purity of design, Portuguese architecture historically maintains a sharp relationship between the built object and the territory in which it is situated.

Names like Álvaro Siza Vieira, Eduardo Souto de Moura, and Fernando Távora remain the primary references when considering Portuguese architectural production. However, beyond these great masters, a group of young firms established over the last ten years has demonstrated strength and relevance in shaping this new output. In this landscape, new attributes are emphasized: an aesthetic and constructive sensibility rooted in modern minimalism—yet questioned and renewed in accordance with contemporary social and philosophical parameters; the merging of hybrid fields, from art and product design to architecture and urbanism; and an increasingly collaborative process based on collective ideas.

By definition, architecture is the art and technique of planning, designing, constructing, and modifying the human habitat. However, my own professional career has constantly forced me to confront the same question: if you are an architect and you don't design, are you still an architect?

We have finally reached the last day of 2018, a year marked by a series of architectural trends, novel proposals presented in competitions, biennials, and architecture fairs, and above all, punctuated by a sea of projects reflecting the concerns of architects proposing new directions for the discipline. Now, after 365 days of many surprises for the world of architecture, it is time to celebrate and give thanks for another year—and what better way to welcome 2019 than to the sound of great music? With this in mind, our editorial team has curated a special selection: featuring the moving sounds of Coldplay and John Lennon, festive beats from Bruno Mars and Alok, and Brazilian classics by Elis Regina and João Gilberto.

Check out the full New Year's Eve playlist below.

Through the Urban Development Corporation (EDU) and the Colombian Society of Architects (SCA), last November Medellín launched an international call for proposals to design a space for memory and reflection on the period between 1983 and 1994 at the site of the demolished Monaco Building, the former residence of drug lord Pablo Escobar.

Here, we present the proposal by Taller Síntesis, which outlines a new way of telling history through space, inviting reflection on the past while honoring the lives of the victims of drug trafficking. According to the designers, "over time, this building has become a tourist destination for visitors arriving in Medellín who want to learn about the figure behind television shows that fail to faithfully reflect the reality of this era of drug trafficking."

Indivisível (Indivisible) is the title of the graphic novel created by Marília Marz as her final thesis project at Escola da Cidade – Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism. The project aims to identify and analyze the narrative possibilities intrinsic to the architectural and urban elements of the Liberdade neighborhood in São Paulo across two distinct historical periods.

The Ensamble San Borja proposal was awarded second place in the Pasarelas San Borja competition in Chile. The main objective of the competition was to recognize "the best urban design ideas that help define intervention criteria and generate proposals for the San Borja Neighborhood."

According to the authors, the second-place winning proposal aims to create "a living space that mutates according to needs and adapts to demands."

In September, we launched the third edition of our open call in Colombia, inviting architects to submit their graduation thesis projects (as final degree projects are known there). In this edition, the call received 94 submissions from more than 10 cities and 22 universities across the country, representing a 34% increase in proposals compared to 2017.

Following a thorough evaluation, six graduation theses were selected as winners by our editorial jury (Fabián Dejtiar, Mónica Arellano, José Tomás Franco and Nicolás Valencia). Built works, historical research, and master plans make up our selection: from a rural residential prototype to a comprehensive study of the Edificio de Renta (rental building), a popular residential format in Bogotá between the 1940s and 1970s.

Additionally, for the first time we included a high-level external jury tasked with selecting the Grand Winner 2018. The jury comprised Lina Toro (Madrid), Carlos Cano (OPUS, Medellín), and Jorge Noreña (Ruta 4, Pereira). "While architecture requires rigor, dedication, and communication skills, it also demands strengthening connections with urbanism and landscape, as well as with professions that make transformative ideas viable," Cano commented during the jury's evaluation.

After reviewing 94 undergraduate student projects from 20 architecture schools across 8 regions of Chile, the jury of the Concurso Arquitectura Caliente 2018 has announced the winning projects of its latest edition.

The submissions span the entire country and cover diverse typologies, ranging from urban planning and student housing to landscape designs and structural emergency initiatives.

Below, we present the award-winning second-year projects:

Days after the tragic fire and collapse of the Wilton Paes de Almeida building in downtown São Paulo, which left fatalities and hundreds homeless, it is impossible not to question the future of social housing in Brazil.

Historically, most social housing programs have focused on constructing new housing units. However, according to urban planning and housing specialist Elisabete França, this approach is often detrimental to the social development of low- and middle-income citizens.

The threat of climate change adds to the multiple challenges of an increasingly urbanized world. Beyond the need for cities to establish themselves as prosperous and sustainable organisms, climate disruptions also jeopardize public health and local economies, threatening to bring about consequences that are difficult to even imagine. Climate action is rooted in cities—the very spaces that will determine the planet's future.

The concept of low-carbon development refers to planning urban growth with lower emission rates of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary greenhouse gas (GHG). After reviewing 700 studies, a team of researchers from the University of Leeds, in partnership with the Coalition for Urban Transitions, concluded that low-carbon measures can help achieve several urban development priorities, such as job creation, public health, social inclusion, and improved accessibility.

This year marks the bicentennial of the Battle of Maipú, the decisive clash that secured Chile's independence. 1818 also marks the vow made by Chilean liberator Bernardo O'Higgins to erect a votive temple in honor of the Virgin of Carmen, Chile's patron saint, to whom local troops prayed for the victory that ultimately freed them from the Spanish Empire.

Projections for the urban world have been updated. In May, the United Nations released a new edition of the World Urbanization Prospects, a report that takes an in-depth look at the planet's urban centers, concluding that 68% of the world's population will live in cities by 2050. This estimate is 2% higher than the previous study published in 2014, which is part of the series produced by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

Architect Rafael Pina, from the ARKRIT Collective, presents an article comparing two prestigious German automotive brands and their effort to project, also through architecture, an image of modernity and power. These museums belong to a lineage of spectacular architecture, seeking to inspire admiration and surprise through showmanship across various dimensions: formal, technological, and financial.

The American Planning Association (APA) recently announced that Sasaki’s 2006 Vision Plan for Beijing's 798 Art District has been honored with the organization's highest accolade, the Pierre L’Enfant International Planning Excellence Award. Today, the 798 Art District in Beijing is a thriving, mixed-use district that welcomes over three million visitors annually, earning a reputation as the city's third most popular destination after the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. The district's success has set a benchmark for the adaptive reuse of historic buildings and is internationally recognized as a model for industrial regeneration.

As ride-hailing services like Uber continue to gain popularity and draw attention for their impact on traffic congestion and other urban ills, cities around the world, from Washington, D.C., to São Paulo, are moving toward the inevitable next step: targeted fees.

This comes as no surprise. Recent research shows that these services are contributing to declining public transit ridership and an increase in private vehicles on the streets. However, new taxes and fees should do more than just raise revenue. They have the potential to make cities more livable and transport more sustainable. If ride-hailing services are taxed, this revenue must be allocated carefully, in ways that improve urban mobility as a whole.

Adolf Loos, Joaquín Vaquero Palacios, Fernando Moreno Barberá, Norman Foster, and the bicentennial of the Museo del Prado are just some of the key names and milestones set to take over Spanish museums in 2018.

Here are 10 highly recommended architecture exhibitions for the new year that offer a rich and compelling cultural lineup. They span Spanish and international architects, iconic buildings from Spain's architectural history, and the profound impact of emerging technologies—such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality—on the field of architecture. 

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Joaquim Manoel Guedes Sobrinho was a Brazilian architect and urbanist who graduated in 1954 from the School of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of São Paulo (FAU-USP)—as part of the institution's third graduating class—and was a leading figure of the so-called “Paulista School.” A prominent aspect of his professional practice was his partnership with his wife, Liliana Marsicano, with whom he established a lasting collaboration on a series of projects until 1974.

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Nearly a year after an earthquake struck Mexico City and several Mexican states on September 19, 2017, we are beginning to see the fruits of the many efforts that arose in response to the slow—and at times nonexistent—government reaction, with citizens taking it upon themselves to organize and help. Various associations, foundations, and collectives joined the cause, and the architectural community was no exception.

This gave rise to ReConstruir México, driven by the determination to put architectural expertise at the service of those most in need, assisting in the reconstruction and conservation of affected heritage by providing technical support and advice, as well as designing and proposing solutions. However, goodwill alone was not enough; a multidisciplinary, integrating entity was needed to channel these efforts into physical housing for the victims. PienZa Sostenible stepped into this role, coordinating the process as a non-profit organization. As a platform for study, analysis, critique, engagement, and implementation addressing Mexico's current situation, PienZa Sostenible promotes outreach and drives projects aimed at improving quality of life, social development, economic growth, and environmental sustainability in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

We invited fifteen architectural photographers to share their playlists with us, now available on ArchDaily Brasil's Spotify.

If you want fast rendering, optimize the size of staging assets, textures, and light sources. Learn your rendering software inside out and construct your scenes based on actual resource needs. There is no point in using the largest, most detailed, or highest-resolution assets for every single case; doing so will only leave you frustrated with your computer and software, struggling to navigate the viewport while constantly wishing for the latest processor, graphics card, more RAM, and more money to upgrade your rig—entirely unnecessarily.

Whenever possible, choose a GPU-based renderer, such as Thea Render for SketchUp, which is used in the examples in this article.

Here are several tips to make your rendering workflow faster and more efficient:

Gentrification is not only a timely topic, but a widespread concern. Today, it might make more sense to speak of touristification, or perhaps the phenomenon itself has evolved. Nevertheless, the term gentrification can broadly encompass all these concepts related to the displacement of a neighborhood's "original" inhabitants, who are replaced by residents with higher purchasing power or by vacation rentals.

This is an issue that interests people from all walks of life, not just professionals in urban planning or architecture. It draws the attention of citizens who, like myself, set out to find explanations or try to gather clues about what the future may hold under this trend.

From my perspective as an engineer—but above all as a Madrid resident—I decided to research the data published by the City Council on the city's commercial premises to see if it was possible to draw any conclusions on the matter. The purpose of this study was purely exploratory, conducted without any external commission. I had no preconceived hypothesis or goal beyond identifying certain neighborhoods as gentrified; the analysis simply grew from there, keeping all possibilities open.

Not long ago, we read in one of the winning texts of the National Criticism Competition: “In Chimbote, a city that grew turning its back on its bay, shaped by the pursuit of an economically productive life, there is not much to do, not much to enjoy. And this is not only due to the lack of venues for cultural or recreational activities, but because in the street itself, in the public space, there is not much to encounter. It seems difficult for this situation to change when it comes to building the city (…) in a city that became boring, useful only for a precarious economic production, where the street is merely a transit space, of coming and going without much emotion (…). Hopefully, boredom will not rob us of the ability to imagine new ways of growth for our city.” A harsh and challenging critique of the city's future trajectory.

Today, this project emerges as a response, showcasing alternative ways of seeing, living, and growing for this warm city on Peru's northern coast. It is a way to rediscover a vibrant, colorful Chimbote, and we are thrilled to present and highlight it here: the flip side, the actions taken in response to criticism, or precisely what critical thinking can achieve. Beyond being a breath of fresh air, it serves as a replicable model of small yet significant initiatives that can be carried out in cities across the country, beyond Lima.

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The chapter The Limits of Objects addresses the theme of Walls of Air at the scale of architectural and urban interventions, in an attempt to measure the capacity of recent Brazilian production to mediate conflicting relationships between the public and private realms.

In contrast to the cartographic approach, which maps the multiple types of barriers that shape the Brazilian territory, this section presents architectural objects that encourage transcending the walls present in our cities. The selected proposals share the motivation of investigating new ways to deal with the limits, divisions, and ruptures of urban fabrics. At the same time, they bring to light the pressing need to use design as a means to transform conditions of exclusion into opportunities to bring people together.