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.

People have fundamental needs that must be met in order to survive, which include: oxygen, water, food, sleep, and shelter. They also have secondary requirements, one of which is daylight. When thinking about how buildings can keep people healthy, it is important to remember that daylighting is essential to wellness, in fact, human circadian rhythms are dependent on it.

This week’s curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights educational architecture submitted by the ArchDaily community. From preschools to higher education institutes, this article explores how architects shifted towards fostering individual creativity, critical thinking, and exploration, and presents projects submitted to us from all over the world.

Featuring a secluded kindergarten in the Icelandic mountains, a vibrantly-colored playschool in the industrial city of Shenzhen, and a Florentine high school with a flow of natural sunlight, this round-up explores how architects prioritize student well being and comfort in spaces that promote productivity, learning, and creativity. The selection also includes preschools, high schools, and academies in France, United States, Egypt, Kazakhstan, and Israel.

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In May, aec+tech hosted an event on Clubhouse discussing how architects are using generative design in architecture firms today and towards the future. Five guest speakers from reputable architecture and tech start-ups —Zaha Hadid Architects, BIG, Outer Labs, 7fold, and RK Architects— joined the session to share their experiences and insights.

This article is a collaboration with Colectivo RE and was originally published on August 2, 2020, in the second edition of Huevo de pato, a publication that aims to share thoughts and experiences as a strategy for the democratization of knowledge and practice.

Four emerging architecture studio profiles from Switzerland, Germany, and Spain have been chosen by New Generations, a European platform that analyses the most innovative emerging practices at the European level, providing a new space for the exchange of knowledge and confrontation, theory, and production. Since 2013, New Generations has involved more than 500 practices in a diverse program of cultural activities, such as festivals, exhibitions, open calls, video interviews, workshops, and experimental formats.

In a privileged location in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, with unparalleled accessibility for both national and international events, the project by Frazzi Arquitectos is built upon the history of Club Vélez Sarsfield, seeking to embody the legacy left by its illustrious figure, Don José “Pepe” Amalfitani.

Following decades of informal, well-intentioned interventions aimed at addressing emerging needs, the new project proposes a comprehensive overhaul. Moving beyond a mere functional solution and drawing on the club's history and sensitivity, it seeks to bring character and local relevance to the community.

On July 29, 2021, we once again reached Earth Overshoot Day. This date marks the point when our annual consumption of natural resources and ecological services exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that same year. In other words, we enter the planet's "overdraft," according to the Global Footprint Network, the organization that has calculated Earth's ecological footprint since 1970.

The Akatu Institute, an organization promoting conscious consumption, issued a statement noting that Earth Overshoot Day in 2021 fell on the exact same date as in 2019. This means we have returned to pre-2020 levels, after the pandemic temporarily pushed the date back to August 22 last year.

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Rumor had it that behind the walls of historic subway station Cal y Canto in Santiago de Chile, a hidden ghost station would eventually link to Line 3—a planned route that was part of the original Metro master plan designed in the 60s. Its construction would have been shelved after the magnitude-7.8 1985 earthquake that forced public resources to be redirected for the reconstruction of the Chilean central valley.

34 years later, the Cal y Canto Metro station finally opened its connection with Line 3, the most recent addition to the rapid transit system, thus becoming the seventh line of Santiago after lines 1, 2, 4, 4A, 5, and 6.

Recent extreme weather events and the acceleration of climate change, paired with decarbonization efforts that are not on track, make climate-related disruption unavoidable for urban environments, raising the issue of climate-risk adaptation. Moving past what can be done to prevent climate change, there is a strong imperative to develop strategies to prepare urban environments to cope with inevitable challenges such as sea-level rise, floods, water scarcity or extreme heat. The following discusses how cities can build resilience and adapt to undergoing and expected future climate threats.

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The Hilda L. Solis Care First Village (HSCFV), a large-scale interim housing project providing a wide range of amenities for both the unhoused and those in transition, recently opened in Downtown Los Angeles.

Videos

Architectures of the Global South is the title of the course taught by architects Marco Artigas and Pedro Vada through the Associação Escola da Cidade. The course aimed to expand the repertoire of contemporary architectural production, taking into account the urgent need for new, fundamentally counter-hegemonic perspectives. Grounded in the concept of the Global South and aligned with a vision of solidarity among countries that have undergone colonization, the course, held between September and December 2020, established ongoing dialogues with architects practicing or residing in the countries of this so-called South.

The goal of these sessions was to discuss what and how they are building in these countries, through a direct conversation about the challenges posed by diverse territories, societies, and cultures. It explored the process and decision-making of each project in greater detail, using richer documentation than typically found in publications, while addressing structural reflections and urgent issues.

When we think of migration, we think of movement. We think of the movement of people simply looking for greener pastures – a better life for themselves. But we also think of war, of conflict, of an unstable situation in a specific place forcing the hand of a location’s residents to seek safety elsewhere. Historically and into present day, war has been the reason for the increased presence of refugees. Instability in places such as Syria, Iraq, or the Central African Republic have caused millions to flee their homes. Lurking amongst this migration due to conflict, however, is the migration of people at mercy of the changing environmental conditions of the Earth – climate migration.

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The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.

A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.

This week David and Marina discuss the different reasons for hiring an architect and establishing a good client-architect relationship: The pros and cons of hiring an interior designer or contractor instead of an architect, design-build services, the difference between drafting and designing, whether or not a licensed architect is needed for certain projects, common fee structures, finding the right architect and what to look for in an architect, why the client and architect relationship is important to the project, and common problems that occur when the right architect is not hired and tips for avoiding them.

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The Resor House was a hugely pivotal project for Mies van der Rohe, in both his life, and his career. It was his first commission in the United States and prior to landing in Chicago, he lived for two months on the site of the house near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Its design was unique for Mies in its rural landscape setting and material choices, mainly its wood-clad exterior and interior. While it was never constructed due to cost overruns, the design documents and working models were collected by MoMA in NY, where the client, Helen Resor was on the Board of Directors. This video traces a digital reconstruction of the house — using those archival documents — to serve as the subject of an in-depth tour and analysis. What sorts of discoveries are to be found inside this unbuilt masterpiece? 

Architecture is perhaps the most expressive forms of culture, representing the zeitgeist of a particular location, and telling the story of how it evolved over time. It allows visitors to transport themselves back in history to understand the influences that shaped the world we once lived in. Baroque architecture, in particular, was one of the most ornamental and decorative architectural styles. Translating to “curious or strange” in French, it was once used as a derogatory word, meaning noisy, eccentric, and excessive- and Baroque architecture was truly just that.

"Here in the tropics, it's the shade not the stove that refreshes and brings people together," says Bruno Stagno about tropical architecture.

Guatemala ha estado construyendo su sombra a lo largo de los años. Nos encontramos con 3 ejemplos que proponen interesantes respuestas a este clima. Proyectos que materializan tanto grandes cubiertas con pendientes para dar sombra y evacuar el agua de lluvia con rapidez, como fachadas perforadas que permiten el ingreso de la brisa y la ventilación interior.

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

Jeffry Burchard explores in his essay the "opportunity found by extending the life and purpose of viable existing buildings", that have shaped our cities. Arguing that "we have an abundant supply of buildings", the author proposes four essential steps to transform existing buildings.

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Archivo de Ideas Recibidas is an interdisciplinary research and dissemination project that seeks to document and connect the ideas of individuals who contribute to the contemporary creative ecosystem through art, design, and architecture. It is built on conversations between the team and various creators, delving into themes related to memory, academia, cultural context, their primary influences, and working methodologies.

In this installment, they introduce Sandra Barclay of Barclay & Crousse. Founded in Paris in 1994, the firm has been based in Lima since 2006. Their work is conceived, according to the architects themselves, as a design laboratory that explores the bonds between landscape, climate, and architecture, challenging notions of technology, use, and quality of life that, arising from the specific conditions of developing countries, can inform and remain relevant in a global context.

How materials move shapes both architecture and how we design. While architects often consider both material sourcing and manufacturing, the physical products and assemblies themselves also move and adapt as they cross geographic and national lines. How materials migrate, and in turn design ideas themselves, tells a story of architecture that transcends construction and climate, as well as borders both real and imagined. 

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This article by Fulvo Rossetti was originally published in the 14th issue of rita_ magazine under the title "Hosts and Prophets of Antarctica: Architecture, territory, and conflicting imaginaries in 'Argentine,' 'British,' and 'Chilean' Antarctica, 1961 onward" and is part of a joint collaboration for the dissemination of academic texts.

In the following text, three landmark works from the United Kingdom, Argentina, and Chile express different interests projected onto the same Antarctic territory. One is the Halley VI Research Station, located on the eastern limit of the British claim. Another is the utopian “first city in Antarctica,” envisioned near the Argentine Marambio airfield, on the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The third is the International Antarctic Center, a multifunctional building designed to strengthen the role of Punta Arenas as a gateway city to the white continent. 

By defining sexuality as one of several sexual technologies, Michel Foucault has expanded our understanding of sex. This way, the relationship between architecture and the body is shaped not only by the built object, with its various spatial mechanisms for the production of bodies, but also by thinking, in the form of academic discourse. And vice versa, since gender and sexuality also impact architectural theory. One way or another, these relationships are very rich and capable of expanding our knowledge about architecture and the creation of generic sexed bodies.

This week's reprint from Metropolis explores the ongoing renovation and transformation of an iconic site in Buffalo, Silo City, in order to create ambitious residential and public projects.

With its highly innovative HybriQ technology, the family-run Spanish surface specialist Cosentino makes a radical contribution to the circular economy – and offers harmonious colour designs for kitchens and bathrooms.

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As part of an investigation prompted by the September 19, 2017 earthquake in Mexico City, Mexican photographer Onnis Luque presents the book “Undercover,” published by the imprint The Velvet Cell (TVC) América Latina. The book features a series of photographs depicting damaged buildings shrouded in a kind of black veil, which was installed to prevent structural debris from collapsing. These images, in turn, are accompanied by texts that guide the reader, revealing diverse issues that extend beyond architecture to address social and political aspects from this unique vantage point.