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.

Five years ago, São Paulo approved its Master Plan, a social pact to transform the city by 2029. While a significant portion of the planned actions have been carried out or are currently underway, just as many remain on paper. Assessing this period is essential to achieving the ultimate goal of this entire process: improving the quality of life for its residents, especially those who need it most.

C40 Cities, a global coalition of cities, launched a competition to select the best solutions for transforming underutilized urban spaces into resilient, carbon-neutral developments. Named Reinventing Cities, the competition selected 15 innovative ideas poised to "reinvent" the future of cities. 

Cities that absorb rainwater and allow it to follow its natural course. It should be simple, yet we chose to channel our waterways, preventing nature from doing its part: absorbing and purifying. For Chinese architect Kongjian Yu, this is the key to solving one of the greatest challenges facing contemporary major urban centers: flooding. 

There is no doubt that preserving historical, artistic, and architectural heritage is a fundamental goal for building a just city. It is the right of all citizens, both present and future generations, to know and enjoy our collective memory and culture. However, for this to actually happen, both a discerning eye and a comprehensive vision of the city are essential.

Over the past week, thousands of active fires in the Brazilian Amazon captured global attention in the press and on social media, where the hashtag #PrayForAmazonia was mentioned more than 150,000 times in a single day. But what can satellite data tell us about what is actually happening in Brazil's forests?

In this doctoral thesis, architect Luciano Margotto, advised by Prof. Dr. Mônica Junqueira de Camargo, presents five lessons from architecture: Austerity, Generosity, Freedom, Public, and Spatiality. In his work, the author investigates the works of architects such as Carlos Millan, Marcello Fragelli, Eduardo Souto de Moura, Oscar Niemeyer, Vilanova Artigas, Fábio Penteado, Lucio Costa, Lina Bo Bardi, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Brasil Arquitetura, Gabriel Guarda, Martín Correa, and Alvaro Siza. Below is the abstract of the thesis defended at FAUUSP in 2016.

Felipe Camus, a photographer who has documented ELEMENTAL's project, shares his reflections on Ochoquebradas.

“On Growth and Form”, written by biologist and mathematician D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson [1860-1948], is considered the greatest work of prose in twentieth-century science, highlighting the role of physics and mechanics in determining the form and structure of organisms. The book immediately became a classic for exploring natural geometries in the dynamics of growth and physical processes. Thompson reveals himself to be a great scientist, sensitive to the fascination and beauty of the natural world, writing in a style that led the specialized press to call his work “as much good literature as science; a discourse on science as if it were a matter of humanity.”

Landscape design is a fundamental component of various architectural typologies, particularly for integrating buildings with their surroundings and establishing connections between spaces. While vegetation is most commonly found outdoors, incorporating indoor gardens can completely transform a project's atmosphere.

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Five Brazilians die in traffic accidents every hour. While highly critical statistics like this can spark positive reactions, they are not always enough to change reality on their own. However, knowing that in the city of São Paulo intersections concentrate more accidents per kilometer, and that these rose by 5% from 2017 to 2018, provides decision-makers with the concrete data needed to implement measures to reduce these numbers. Acting on the most dangerous intersections will save lives.

In the popular imagination, *cortiços* (tenement houses) represented the worst of urban housing in Brazilian cities. Deeply rooted in the national culture and immortalized in Aluísio Azevedo’s classic novel, *cortiços* were depicted as unsanitary, dilapidated dwellings where disease proliferated, the margins of society lived, and landlords exploited tenants with extortionate rents.

A quality public transit system does not depend on buses alone: its overall quality is also directly linked to adjacent elements—such as bus stops. In all cities participating in the QualiÔnibus Benchmarking Group, bus stops were identified by the public as one of the most problematic components. But what can cities do to improve them?

Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) has released the 2019 edition of its annual ranking of the world's top universities in the field of architecture. This year, UCL (University College London) took the lead, a position held by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States for the past four editions.

In Latin America, institutions from Chile, Brazil, and Mexico occupy the top three spots, respectively. See the top 10 below: 

Anyone who has ever been to the beaches of Rio de Janeiro has certainly seen vendors selling grilled *queijo coalho* (curd cheese) or grilled shrimp, sweet mate tea, and Globo biscuits—classic snacks of the Rio shoreline. In São Paulo, open-air markets serve sugarcane juice and fried *pastel*, a local adaptation of a dish originally brought by Chinese immigrants and popularized by Japanese immigrants. In Minas Gerais, there is *pão de queijo* (cheese bread) and pastel, also filled with cheese. In Salvador, it is impossible not to mention *acarajé* (with or without hot sauce), which has been declared an intangible cultural heritage asset by IPHAN. The capital of Bahia even has its own Street Food Guide, reflecting the immense culinary diversity found in the city.

The book Sustainable Tropical Cities, published by the Institute of Tropical Architecture (San José, Costa Rica) in 2006, gathers the conclusions its authors compiled over years of observation and study. Bruno Stagno and Jimena Ugarte, both architects and immigrants enamored with the tropics, aimed to demonstrate the specific characteristics that cities located in the tropical belt possess—or should possess—while introducing an unprecedented topic.

The Museo Casa de la Memoria is located in Medellín's Boston neighborhood and was developed to commemorate the bicentennial of Colombia's independence. Led by Juan David Botero as the design team coordinator, the project was conceived from the outset as a highly recognizable building for both the community and visitors, drawing its sculptural form from traditional gabled houses. "It is a museum for the victims of violence, and as such, we had to ensure it was a space for everything; a home, the house where memory comes to life," Botero says.

The 3,800-square-meter cultural facility unfolds along the creek like a tunnel, housing exhibition rooms, workshops, archives, offices, and an auditorium. Its envelope functions as a folded skin, incorporating an air cavity that absorbs cool air, draws it in through the facade, and expels it as hot air at the top. This chimney effect helps control the typical 30ºC summer temperatures of the area, ensuring a stable and comfortable indoor climate. Below, we take a closer look at its sculptural thermal and acoustic envelope.

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ArchDaily is working with CityMakers to publish a series of articles, conversations, and interviews with the key figures in urban co-production behind the Barcelona CityMakers Lab 2019, an event taking place from October 14 to 20, 2019.

On this occasion, we feature Jokin Santiago Elorriaga, director of Leku Studio, who will lead a masterclass at the Barcelona CityMakers Lab 2019. Jokin is the founding architect of Leku Studio and was responsible for the design and transformation of the Sant Antoni Superblock.

As part of a series of articles developed by Nikos A. Salingaros, David Brain, Andrés M. Duany, Michael W. Mehaffy, and Ernesto Philibert-Petit on the study of social housing in Latin America, this installment reviews examples of design strategies for its construction. Read all previous publications and the new article below.

Berlin is a global leader in urban mobility, according to the Mobility Futures study by data and consulting firm Kantar, which evaluated major world cities. The German capital topped the mobility ranking due to several factors, most notably more cost-effective travel and easy access to a broad public transit infrastructure network and shared mobility services.

Venice is undoubtedly one of the most sought-after destinations in Europe for travelers from around the world. The city boasts attractions in many areas, from gastronomy to art, and naturally, architecture—an art form deeply woven into the city's fabric, most prominently showcased at the Architecture Biennales, held since 1980. Beyond the Biennale, the island has much to offer those interested in exploring places that epitomize the relationship between past and present, the preservation of historical memory, and new technologies serving buildings in constant relation with the water.

It is well known that our cities are increasingly saturated by automobile use; mobility has therefore become a key element in any discussion on urban living, particularly in large Brazilian cities. This premise prompts us to examine and better understand which aspects of urban commuting we can prioritize for intervention, moving toward approaches where car use is less necessary. An important step in this dialogue is understanding just how time-efficient cars actually are. Mapping Lab conducted a visual analysis of 27 Brazilian capital cities using data from the here.com platform.

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The Brazilian student team, comprising Luiza de Souza Santos, Marcus Barbosa, and Gabriel Thomé de Oliveira from UFMG, was awarded an honorable mention in the SkyCity Challenge 2019 international competition, which aimed to "explore sustainable ways of living, working collectively, and having fun." Learn more about their proposal below.

In this doctoral dissertation, architect and urban planner Gabriela Leandro Pereira explores the accounts and contested urban narratives of the writer Carolina Maria de Jesus, from Minas Gerais, Brazil. Carolina is one of the country's pioneering and most prominent Black female writers; her best-known work is the book Quarto de Despejo: Diário de Uma Favelada—the raw account of the harsh daily reality experienced by a Black woman, waste picker, and resident of the Canindé favela in São Paulo. Defended in 2015 at the Federal University of Bahia under the advisement of Professor Ana Maria Fernandes, PhD, the dissertation received the Rodrigo Simões Doctoral Dissertation Award from the National Association of Postgraduate Studies and Research in Urban and Regional Planning (ANPUR) in 2017. Read the abstract provided by the author below.

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The casa chorizo is a residential typology historically used in Argentina, primarily in the city of Buenos Aires. It consists of a succession of similarly sized rooms connected along a longitudinal axis that open onto a gallery or courtyard, from which they receive light and ventilation. Typically built on plots between party walls, their service areas are grouped at the back. Today, numerous projects address the rehabilitation of this type of housing. These can be understood as research initiatives exploring how a city's characteristic construction matrix can be reviewed and updated to adapt to contemporary ways of living.