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.

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“Interiores: Conversaciones en línea” is the title of the series of virtual encounters organized by the Faculty of Architecture, Art, and Design at Universidad Diego Portales (UDP). In this first season, Professor Alberto Sato hosts meetings between renowned architects, including Álvaro Farrú and Enrique Walker, Alejandra Celedón with Cecilia Puga; Mardones with Pezo von Ellrichshausen; Solano Benítez with Mathias Klotz; Smiljan Radic with Alberto Sato; and Fernando Perez with Francisco Liernur.

You can watch these conversations below.

Children are often overlooked or entirely deprioritized in urban planning. Globally, it is estimated that up to 500 children die every day in traffic accidents. Thousands of others are injured in collisions or develop psychological trauma that can last for years. Whether on the streets or in public spaces, feelings of insecurity or discomfort discourage children from physical activity outdoors—at a time when 80% of children between the ages of 11 and 17 are not physically active, and another 38 million under the age of five are overweight or obese.

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On World Environment Day, we ask you: Do you know where your household "trash" goes? How do cities deal with the tons of materials discarded daily? Should everything you throw "away" be wasted by being sent to landfills? 

The coronavirus crisis has shown us that certain attitudes, policies, and practices must be abandoned if we want a different future—both socially and environmentally. However, this responsibility is not solely individual. To discuss the future of waste in cities, we must shed light on the thread of recent history: the formulation of the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS), approved in 2010, and the challenges of its implementation.

This article is part of a collaboration with the website coolhuntermx, and was originally published under the title "La Bauhaus Tapatía."

"A sort of Bauhaus" is how Mathias Goeritz, in short, tried to convince Italian architect and theorist Alberto Sartoris to come to Mexico. In 1950, through letters, he invited him to teach at the very project that had drawn Goeritz in and excited him so much: the first School of Architecture of Guadalajara, founded in 1948 by Ignacio Díaz Morales.

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In light of recent statements by the Federal Government and the new programs announced by institutions involved in housing production in Mexico, we believe it is essential to open a dialogue and exchange ideas to better understand the concepts of self-construction, self-production, and the “Social Production and Management of Habitat” [SPMH], as well as the role of architecture in these social processes.

To showcase Uruguay's valuable academic output, we launched an open call inviting readers in the country to submit their final thesis projects.

Out of a total of 65 submissions, the editorial team—comprising Fabian Dejtiar (Managing Editor of ArchDaily en Español); Mónica Arellano (Editor, ArchDaily México); Santiago Baraya (Editor, ArchDaily Colombia); and Belén Maiztegui (Editor, ArchDaily Argentina)—selected six. The highlighted projects are those that addressed specific challenges, their chosen form, and their representation through critical, austere, and efficient thinking. We valued proposals that not only delivered the best possible architecture through a simple design suited to its context, program, and users, but also paid close attention to human scale, mediation, and new ways of approaching architecture in cities.

Explore the selected projects below.

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In early October, a new space opened in Mexico City under the name Design House at Público Coworking, showcasing a series of interventions that integrate disciplines such as design, architecture, and interior design. Over the past ten years, Design House has presented cutting-edge concepts from more than one hundred participating firms across various venues, collaborating with showrooms on the Design Route (Ruta del Diseño) that provide the pieces and accessories featured in the diverse installations.

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As part of an initiative by Makers México, a group of nearly 300 creative professionals from various fields continues to come together to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Architects such as Juan Carlos Baumgartner and Michel Rojkind, along with designer Ariel Rojo, have joined this effort to contribute in various ways, creating 3D-printed parts to be donated to hospitals across the country. Currently, they are working on a splitter—which allows two patients to be connected to a single ventilator in the event of a shortage—protective masks for doctors and patients, as well as other components to complement their operation.

The government-mandated lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic—and, in some cases, the fear of going outside—have recently underscored the value of domestic space, transforming it into the stage for the most evident and characteristic human actions and reactions within a capitalist and patriarchal system.

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Chuchín is that endearing figure whom you always remember despite the passage of time, whether you are a student, architect, professor, staff member, or fellow worker. Felipe de Jesús Cortés Guevara—or Chuchín, as he is commonly known—seems to go nowhere else; he is always watching over what he considers his second home, the UNAM School of Architecture.

Charlas de Terraza is an initiative hosted at the office of OPUS in Medellín. It features conversations that extend beyond architecture and, adapting to the COVID-19 lockdowns, is currently being held virtually. Alongside these talks, there is another initiative dedicated to sketching called Club de Dibujo (Drawing Club). In this session, both formats merged as the Medellín-based practice, along with Alejandro Enriquez from Bogotá, discussed the sketch and its process.

This article by Alberto Bravo de Laguna Socorro was originally published in the 12th issue of revista rita_ under the title "Transgression, experimentation and communicability of the graphic in collective architectures: Indices of an engaged graphic expression."

Brutalisim is an architectural movement that emerged in Europe in the 1960s and became one of the most controversial yet popular styles worldwide. This was due to various factors, including its use of raw concrete and, more broadly, its ideals focused on public service through monumental works. Furthermore, it became a new medium for expressing contemporary political stances through functional public spaces.

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Driven by a personal quest to explore heritage and preserve Mexican traditions, architect Ana Ibañez has created a collection titled “Barraganescas,” featuring jewelry pieces inspired by the houses designed by architect Luis Barragán in the city of Guadalajara.

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This article is part of a collaboration with the website coolhuntermx and was originally published under the title "Housing Production in Rural Mexico."

Between virtual panel discussions and tweets sparking debate on housing and its role during the pandemic, addressing this issue in Mexico is as complex as the country's history and as vast as its territory. The article What About the Right to Adequate Housing in Mexico? offered an overview of the laws governing Mexico City and urban conditions. But what about housing in rural areas?

On Tuesday, December 1, 2020, during the inaugural session of the new National Board elected by members in the 2020 CA Elections, the new Executive Committee and officers of the College of Architects of Chile were selected for the 2020–2022 term.

On July 31, during the 103rd Ordinary Plenary Session, the CAU/BR Temporary Commission on Gender Equity released the 1st "Gender in Architecture and Urbanism" Diagnosis. Conducted online from July 2019 to February 2020, the survey was answered by 987 professionals (767 women and 208 men), with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.11%.

The following article is the result of a thesis research project by Colombian architect Sebastián Rojas (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana), which explores the materialities and vernacular construction techniques across 23 prototypes from regions such as the Coffee Axis, the Colombian Amazon, the Cundiboyacense Highlands, and the North Coast.

Bookshelves are one of the elements present in almost every interior space, whether in homes, retail, offices, or even pavilions. Yemail Arquitectura, a Bogotá-based firm, shares its exploration of this element, which plays a key role in the spatial configurations of its multi-use projects.

Why stay in the city?

For many urban dwellers, the answer is obvious: “It’s hard to find a job in a smaller town. Plus, there’s not even a movie theater, restaurant options are limited, and the schools aren’t that great.”

Still largely overlooked by the international media, Angola's contemporary architectural production faces, much like many of its African neighbors, social and economic realities that do not favor its dissemination. When the typical challenges of architecture are compounded by others stemming from an intense process of neocolonialism, taking good ideas off the drawing board and actually building them becomes a formidable task. Stretching the relationship between the physical and the digital, the Angolan collective Banga turns to virtual space to bring to life projects that blend architecture, sensory experiences, and art.

Colombia has an immense territory with some of the greatest biodiversity in the world thanks to its privileged geography, and human presence spans the majority of this territory, regardless of how far it is from urban centers. Below, Sebastian Contreras of Estación Espacial Arquitectos presents the experience and both the human and architectural challenges of building a Maloca with and for the Ticuna community deep in the Colombian Amazon.

In a year marked by physical distancing, social media took on an even greater dimension in the ways we connect and stay informed. Our Instagram has expanded its reach, bringing our audience the best of what we publish on our website: projects, articles, interviews, and news from the architectural world, inspiring new ideas and tools for a better future.

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In Latin America, the concept of emergency architecture refers to spaces that serve as temporary shelter in the face of adverse circumstances, such as earthquakes, floods, and migration. Various countries, including Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay, and Panama, have faced events that required redefining emergency housing according to each nation's specific needs.