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.

How many changes have you done to your interior space during this past year? Whether it was a change of furniture layout, repainting the walls, adding more light fixtures or perhaps even removing them, after spending so much time in one place, the space you were once used to didn’t make sense anymore. We could blame the overall situation for how we’ve been feeling lately, but as a matter of fact, the interior environment plays a huge role in how we feel or behave as well. However, if you were wondering why some neighbors seem much more undisturbed and serene even in the midst of a pandemic, it could be because the interior is greener on the other side.

+ 21

Which kind of light is best for working? The one you have to think about least. With LIGHTPAD, Swiss manufacturer Regent Lighting has created a modular system that optimally lights the workspace – whatever the time of day.

+ 49

Querétaro is a state located in the north-central region of Mexico, bordering the states of Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, the State of Mexico, and Michoacán. Covering an area of 11,684 km², it is the fifth-smallest state in the country. Its capital and largest city is Santiago de Querétaro; other notable localities include Tequisquiapan, Cadereyta, Jalpan de Serra, San Joaquín, and Bernal.

We know that colors can influence our sensations and cause different perceptions of a space, which confirms the benefits of designing a consistent color palette and its importance in architectural projects. The impact of color on a space and on the people who use it becomes even more perceptible when the whole environment is covered with just one color. In these cases, the selected shade can be applied to countless architectural elements. Floors, ceilings, walls, furniture, or even pipes and electrical conduits can have a specific hue to match the monochromatic environment.

+ 6

Videos

A recent collaboration between the team of Mario Cucinella Architects (MC A) and WASP, specialists in 3D Printing in Italy, has resulted in the first 3D-printed construction of a fully natural, recyclable, and carbon-neutral material: raw earth. The circular housing prototype is called TECLA and it was built in Massa Lombarda (Ravenna, Italy) using multiple 3D printers synchronized to work at the same time.

Want your design recognised with a Focus Open award? The Design Center BW is looking for new products or products so new they've not yet been launched. 

The world is constantly changing, and our built environment is continuously evolving and adapting. As we find ourselves immersed with challenges, experts and thinkers are re-examining the approaches humanity has adopted so far, in order to set new ideas for a better tomorrow. 

“Cities are at the heart of the problem, and therefore also at the heart of the solution." Space 10, a research and design lab centered on people and the planet, has just released its latest publication, The Ideal City, in collaboration with gestalten. Gathering insights from around the globe, the book rethinks cities, investigating how to create spaces that support the well-being of the residents and contribute to a better world. Compiling projects and expert opinions, it highlights 5 main pillars that help in shaping the future of the urban realm.

+ 7

Vectorworks Architect is well-known for its BIM capabilities, allowing firms around the world to maintain the integrity of their internal design and documentation strategies with an all-in-one solution. The ability to collaborate between firms and share files with ease lets users shift their focus to their designs and all but forget the stress of document sharing. This was the case for Idle Architecture, a Melbourne-based firm that got into Big BIM completely by accident.

The Corviale housing complex, located in the south-western periphery of Rome, was designed in the 1970s as a solution to the growing number of dormitory districts in the Roman suburbs, caused by the significant population increase between the 1950s and 1970s - when the population grew from approximately 1.6 million to 2.7 million inhabitants - followed by suburban sprawl.

The project, also known as Serpentone because of its huge proportions, was developed by a team of architects under the leadership of Mario Fiorentino between 1972 and 1974. Construction took place between 1973 and 1982, but the original plan to use the fourth floor of the main building for commercial uses, services, and common areas, was dropped because the contractor went bankrupt. The floor was eventually taken over by informal settlements, and this event is considered to be the root of the problems with this emblematic project in the history of housing in Italy.

+ 5

The Advanced Master[1] “Design by Data” in Computation Design & Robotics for Architecture and Construction was launched in 2016 and is one of the latest programs in innovative professional education at l'École des Ponts ParisTech. The program was designed to meet the increasing need of the professional sectors of architecture and engineering for combining architectural awareness and skills in creative engineering. Design by Data trains professionals to master advanced design tools (coding, generative design, machine learning) as well as digital manufacturing and design processes (robotics, 3D printing, and mechatronics) applied to architectural and construction projects.

Videos

The building rises from a rock face jutting up from the ocean at Skutvik in Nordland, Norway. Steni Vision façade panels give the Arctic Salmon Center a unique and notable appearance. “It has been unbelievably exciting to work with such a special building in such a special place. This is a quite extraordinary building, that has been greeted with astonishment by my colleagues,” comments architect Peter W. Söderman at Norconsult AS. “We chose Vision panels from Steni due to the printing possibilities – we could project an exciting and quite subtle print onto a large surface." The client wanted to have an expressive building that reflected their purpose as an experience center for the fishing industry.

+ 20

Around the world, a new generation of architects are challenging “business-as-usual” and bringing change to populations who had formerly no access to their professional services. This article is the first in a series to introduce this new practice that brings transactional client relations into more profound, trust-based collaborations. We call it Do-It-Together architecture.

+ 6

The following article is a contribution from Juan Pablo Aschner, PhD, architect, founding dean, and tenured professor at the new Facultad de Creación at Universidad del Rosario in Colombia, which offers undergraduate degrees in architecture, arts, creation, design, and musical theater. Below, the text explores the contribution of transdisciplinary creativity, accompanied by illustrations created for the school by Antoine Cosse, under the art direction of Tangrama.

The period between the 16th century and the early 19th century in Brazil, known as Colonial Brazil, began when the Portuguese invaded Brazilian territory and imposed the colonization process. In architecture and urbanism, this process established a series of standards that, over the centuries, shaped the country's architecture and cities.

With the arrival of the Portuguese, the first settler installations emerged in Brazilian territory, characterized primarily by their precariousness and inability to defend against other invaders. Following the Portuguese Crown's decision to divide the land into hereditary captaincies administered by donatary captains, villages and urban settlements began to emerge. 

Home automation has long been associated with high costs, a burdening assembly time, and a cumbersome process that impelled us to discard the idea of automating projects. However, these days are long gone. 

With lower costs and easier assembly, today, developing a new project without home automation seems somewhat absurd. Below, with the help of AVE Chile, we've compiled a series of tips to help you incorporate domotics into your next project.

“There seems to be a public image of any given city which is the overlap of many individual images," American urban planner Kevin Lynch once said. "Or perhaps there is a series of public images, each held by some significant number of citizens,” he added.

Following this remark, in his book "The Image of the City" (1960), Lynch begins an analysis around the elements that constitute what he considers to be the image of the city. While introducing, describing, and illustrating these elements as physical, perceptible objects, Lynch considers that other non-physical factors such as history, function, or even the name of the city also play a significant role in the construction of this imageability.

+ 7

“Change drives innovation. We must continually evolve into what a successful workplace looks like,” said Nicole Senior, director of workplace experience, Tinder. Change, innovation and human connection were topics of prominence in a December 17 Think Tank, hosted by Rapt Studio, and titled “Looking Back, Looking Forward: Workforce Lessons for 2021.”

+ 7

In recent years, public agencies, architects, and urban planners worldwide have increasingly debated the future of cities, reflecting on the directions contemporary urban planning must take to address a complex web of urban and social challenges. However, one question continues to dominate professional discourse: how can we create spaces capable of improving quality of life and health in the public realm without relying on large-scale infrastructure projects?

In response, several movements have emerged, attempting to implement simple actions that foster the development of “new” public spaces to meet the immediate demand for high-quality urban environments. These initiatives suggest that future cities will become increasingly inviting, championing a closer relationship between pedestrians and the street. Examples of these interventions include the implementation of parklets; the temporary closure of avenues to vehicular traffic, opening them to pedestrians and turning them into open areas like temporary urban parks; the installation and expansion of bike lanes; urban vertical gardens; and pocket parks.

As an overwhelmingly hegemonic field in which cisgender white men have historically held, and continue to hold, the majority of prestigious positions—from the leadership of major firms to international accolades like the Pritzker Prize—architectural practice has traditionally rendered invisible the careers and professional experiences of many women architects.

+ 26

Do you feel vulnerable as you walk through public spaces? If you are a woman, the odds of answering yes to this question are certainly greater since men are less likely to choose a longer route only to avoid a dark section of the street, or to ponder on what clothes to wear so that they do not feel exposed in public. In this sense, it seems almost obvious that cities designed by men should be perceived as threatening environments, rather than a place where women feel welcome. So, to imagine egalitarian cities, should we persist in a reflection of a gender-oriented approach?

Cities are constantly changing. When guided by biased or outdated premises, changes to urban spaces tend to imprint these mistakes onto the territory. However, when guided by a shared vision that prioritizes safety and active mobility, these interventions can guide the transformation of the city into a more democratic, welcoming, walkable, and safe place. The new São Paulo Urban Design and Road Works Manual points toward exactly this kind of city.

Gardens have always been present in architectural compositions as testaments to the cultural moment, status, and religiosity of different peoples. In recent decades, however, this relationship between architecture and green spaces has grown stronger. This shift culminated in 2020 with a significant surge in the prominence of green environments, closely tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and the social isolation it brought about. In this light, the connection between home and garden has solidified—ranging from small potted plants in downtown apartments to lush landscaping projects in and around residences, representing, at various scales, the pursuit of reconnecting with nature.

+ 8

+ 16

When we speak of passive climate control, we refer to techniques that, with little to no energy consumption, create the appropriate temperature, humidity, and air quality conditions for comfort and habitability, partially or fully replacing active mechanical systems. Typically, these strategies are based on natural environmental parameters—such as air currents, the earth's thermal stability, and solar paths, among others—to regulate heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter, achieving optimal thermal comfort.

Videos

Geometry is a language and a portal that allows objects to pass between the physical world and the world of drawing, abstraction, and language. How does stepping through this portal leave an imprint on the buildings we design and build? Architects and theorists like Vitruvius, Alberti, and Le Corbusier all believed that geometry was an important key to architecture’s understanding and design. Is that as true today as it was then? The tools of the architect have changed, has their relationship to geometry changed as well? In this video, we explore why and how geometry is so important to architecture as well as some different approaches to the use and expression of its most indelible principles.