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.

Around one in the morning in Cairo, despite the darkness of the night, everything feels yellow. Arriving in a city of 9 million people, with an airport that handles 3 million daily, is overwhelming, staggering—or, as Lovecraft might describe those lurking in the dark, indescribable and unnameable. In the gloom of a hotel room that saw its glory days long ago, I can see the Great Pyramid of Giza in the distance, shrouded behind the ever-present haze.

The relentless city devours almost everything in its path; the desert resists, tourism does its part, and, for now, the Sphinx simply watches. Restoration and archaeological work are always underway around the historic sites; you brush the dust off your feet only to uncover ancient remains. Saqqara—the Step Pyramid—is perpetually draped in massive scaffolding of dry wood, weathered from years of waiting for the next discovery that might finally let each prop rest. The heat in Cairo is stifling, and while collective memory associates the city with the pyramids and the Sphinx, its daily life breathes desert, diversity, tourism, commerce, and religion.

A field is a mapping from one vector to another; some experts believe that momentum should exist within the field. The architectural field, however, represents the holistic concept of architecture. Architecture exists within the field, which serves as the map, result, and answer for the exchange, dialogue, and intertextuality between interior and exterior spaces. Burdened by material things and troubled by emotions, yet integrated with the physical world, it ultimately achieves its own depth.

On the afternoon of December 14, 2018, a forum titled ‘Creating the Field: Villa District · Art · Design’ was held with great enthusiasm at the Beijing Youan Mansion Sales Center. Co-hosted by Youan Mansion and Designwire, the event invited the project's lead designers to explore the “field” created by Youan Mansion. Starting from the villa-centric nature of the project and extending to the dimensions of art and lifestyle, the panel discussed the relationships between theory and design, philosophy and aesthetics.

At more than 3,800 meters above sea level and on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the city of Puno stands as the folklore capital of Peru, where architecture, archaeology, and dance intersect. It is not only home to the Candelaria festival—declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2014—but also sits just a few kilometers from the vast archaeological legacy of the Pucará and Tiwanaku cultures. Additionally, visitors can travel to the floating islands of Uros, Amantaní, and Taquile on the world's highest navigable lake.

Before going any further, if you are not accustomed to this altitude, we recommend drinking coca tea regularly or chewing coca leaves, which can be purchased at any local store. Furthermore, the weather can be highly unpredictable; a single day can bring sun, rain, and hail, so keep this in mind when choosing what to wear. Lastly, in Peru, streets that are at least ten blocks long, narrow, and usually one-way are called jirones (abbreviated as Jr.).

The LIMPAR SANTANA project involves constructing a sustainable basic sanitation system to clean up the waterways of Quilombo de Santana, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, aiming to improve the quality of drinking water in local homes.

Based on an assessment of the area's topography, geotechnics, and geography, the proposal suggests using evapotranspiration basins—a system that treats effluent through natural filtration and evaporation via banana leaves—and biodigester tank systems that convert wastewater into a usable byproduct for agriculture.

What happens when we juxtapose two works by two renowned architects, Mies van der Rohe and Rem Koolhaas, completed twenty-five years apart? We find the answer in the following article by the Arkrit Collective.

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This week, the latest edition of Concéntrico, the Logroño Architecture and Design Festival in Spain, came to a close. For the second consecutive year, we have participated in this initiative, which invites residents and visitors to discover and rediscover spaces of interest in the city's historic center. Over five days, a series of temporary installations by creators from around the world became resting places for pilgrims, urban stages for enjoying a glass of wine, and adventure playgrounds for local children.

“A thesis is like a pig; everything in it can be put to use,” concluded Umberto Eco in his book How to Write a Thesis. Indeed, these research projects, developed through four or five years of intense effort and sacrifice, become extraordinary tools and inexhaustible sources of information for both students and professionals looking to delve into a specific topic within their field of knowledge.

In Spain, the 2008 economic crisis triggered a notable increase in the number of architects who chose to pursue a doctoral thesis as a way to continue their academic training and expand their career options. Coupled with the rigorous training that Spanish architects typically receive, this has led to a vast body of exceptionally high-quality research, serving as an invaluable reference resource for both students and practitioners.

This article compiles 10 doctoral theses focused on major Spanish architects whose careers spanned the 20th century and who, for various reasons, left an indelible mark on the history of Spanish architecture during this period.

Assumpció Puig is set to become the first female dean of the College of Architects of Catalonia (COAC) after leading the Ara, Arquitectes (“Now, Architects”) slate. The winning list received 1,238 votes, defeating the candidacies of Ramon Torra (600 votes) and Enric Mir (385) votes, according to an announcement by the COAC.

The professional association reported that 2,452 members voted, representing 24% of eligible voters—an improvement over the 2015 elections, which saw a 17.3% turnout. Puig will lead the governing board for the 2018–2021 term, alongside Pere Castelltort (secretary), Ione Ruete (treasurer), and board members Josep Ferrando, Guillem Costa, and Duna Bellmunt.

After receiving more than 70 submissions from various Argentine universities and cities, our editorial team selected 10 of them, focusing on projects that demonstrated critical thinking regarding contemporary issues, formal execution, and representation. The selection not only highlights projects that delivered the best possible architecture through simple design tailored to their context, program, and users, but also those showing significant attention to human scale, mediation, transition, and new ways of approaching urban architecture.

Discover our 10 highlighted projects below.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD AS A CULTURAL CENTER: Alejandro Asens - Victoria Carbonin - Juan Cardozo Sánchez - Italo Parietti

On Wednesday, November 21, the winners of the XXI Pan-American Architecture Biennial of Quito (BAQ2018) were announced in Ecuador.

Divided into six participation categories, the juries selected a series of projects and publications that stand out as meaningful contributions to their respective fields, offering relevant lessons for our discipline. The following are the winners in Category A (Architectural Design), Category B (Urban Design and Landscape Architecture), Category C (Social Habitat and Development), and Category D (Architectural Rehabilitation).

Alô, alô, W/Brasil… Alô, alô, W/Brasil… / Jacarezinho! Avião! Jacarezinho! Avião! / Cuidado com o disco voador / Tira essa escada daí / Essa escada é pra ficar aqui fora / Eu vou chamar o síndico / Tim Maia! Tim Maia! Tim Maia! Tim Maia!

Upon entering one of these modern gated communities, designed with the latest urban planning engineering, one experiences a calming sense of having finally found order and security. We quickly realize that this is a way of life in which precariousness, risk, and uncertainty have seemingly been abolished. The space is homogeneous, governed by specific stylistic rules. Inside, locations are well-distributed, and positions are comfortably occupied. Security forces feel genuinely present, albeit private. The streets are well-paved and signposted, despite a slight excess of signs dictating directions and rules of use. The houses display their inevitable front lawns, without fences. Everything else is functional, managed, and clean. The image of this island of serenity captures the illusions of the average Brazilian consumer dream: a region insulated from the rest of the world, where one can freely cultivate a sense of community among equals. It offers a return to nature, a worry-free life, abundant in leisure and the company of peers—a shared destiny manifesting in countless variations: vertical, horizontal, residential, commercial, private, and even public.

On December 20, the final curatorial review for the first edition of the National Essay and Research Competition, Arquitectura Escrita 2017, took place at the national headquarters of the Colegio de Arquitectos de Chile.

Organized by Grupo Arquitectura Caliente and co-organized by Ediciones ARQ, the competition awarded the 20 best essays out of 87 submissions in the undergraduate and graduate categories, representing 18 architecture schools across 9 different Chilean cities.

The competition was directed by Gabriela García de Cortázar, with a jury committee made up of 30 prominent academics and professionals.

Below is the research essay by Pontificia Universidad Católica student Francisco Cardemil, winner in the Undergraduate Category.

Every Sunday morning, 120 kilometers of Bogotá are transformed into an extensive cycling circuit. This is La Ciclovía, a cultural and recreational initiative in which some of the Colombian capital's streets are designated as wide bike paths, allowing both residents and tourists to travel across Bogotá by bicycle.

In a radio interview broadcast by RCN, architect Jaime Ortiz recalls the origins of the ciclovía in the 1970s, when it emerged as a proposal developed alongside other architects to open up major avenues as cycling spaces every Sunday.

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Barcelona is an ideal city, boasting a surprisingly rich cultural scene, vibrant neighborhoods full of life, miles of beaches, and an idyllic year-round climate. Yet, without a doubt, it is its architecture that stands as a must-see for visitors and residents alike. The Sagrada Família, Park Güell, and Casa Milà are some of the most famous architectural landmarks and, consequently, the most visited by the tourists arriving daily in this magnificent city.

While there is growing interest in exploring the architecture that lies beyond the city's major icons and symbols, many tourists still bypass—or are simply unaware of—brilliant contemporary works such as Jordi Badia's Can Framis Museum, or the recent restoration of Sala Beckett by architects Flores & Prats, which received a jury mention in the 2017 Spanish Architecture Awards.

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Over the last twenty years, the world has never been so connected. At the turn of the century, the digital realm seems to have invaded analogue layers, redefining standards, lifestyles, interactions, and the way we connect and use spaces. This social redefinition is strongly attributed to Generation Z—the cohort born during the transition from the 20th to the 21st century, between the 1990s and 2010s. But do you know the defining characteristics of this group?

Jorge and Andrés Kálnay began a journey back in 1920. By that time, Argentina had already built most of its public buildings, Alejandro Bustillo was traveling through Europe, Mario Palanti was erecting his colossal Barolo Palace, and Le Corbusier would have to wait nine years before setting foot in Buenos Aires.

Little did the architect brothers imagine, when they boarded a ship bound for the United States, that they would end up in the waters of the Río de la Plata, shaping part of Buenos Aires's current architectural memory. 

Dear readers,

As the end of the year approaches, we would like to thank you all once again for making 2018 our best year yet. Thanks to your continuous support and our close connection with our readers, we now reach far more architects around the world, inspiring them to create better urban environments.

Recently, CCTN Design released renderings of the renovation scheme for the Shougang No. 3 Blast Furnace Museum. The architects have carefully preserved the iconic blast furnace of the original Shougang steel plant, including core industrial structures such as the main body of the No. 3 blast furnace, the hot blast stoves, the gravity dust catcher, and the dry dust collector. By opening up the original main control room that previously blocked the furnace on the west side, the design establishes a clear dialogue between the No. 3 blast furnace complex, the Xiuqi Lake to the west, and Shijingshan Mountain. Below, the design approach for the industrial heritage revitalization of the Shougang Museum is explained through three dialectical relationships.

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Since 2016, we have joined forces with Spotify, the world's largest music streaming platform. Since then, we have created our own playlists for those moments in every architect's life. At the same time, we have invited architects from Latin America and Spain to share the music that inspires them, or even better, the sounds that have shaped their careers.

To mark Women's Month, we have prepared a series of special articles: we highlighted 15 Mexican women architects who are building the future of their country, featured 5 outstanding Colombian women architects in design, research, and teaching, and presented a selection of the best biographies published by Un día | Una arquitecta.

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We interviewed Gabriela Etchegaray (curator) and Jorge Ambrosi (exhibition designer) about the participation of the Mexican Pavilion in the 16th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale. They describe the geographical, imaginary, and cultural weight of Mexican architecture; responding to the theme of Freespace—proposed by the Biennale's Artistic Directors, Irish architects Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara—this pavilion grounds the connections expressed in the interaction with the intangible and the incorporation of cultural heritage into architecture.

The Ruin Experience project, developed by architect Sergio Navarro García, proposes an intervention in the ruined buildings scattered across the countryside of Lorca, Murcia (Spain), where the local population gradually abandoned these robust houses to move to the city. The project offers an alternative approach to intervention, engaging directly with the environment and leveraging its resources to create sensory complexes where people interact with nature through architecture.

El Mesillo, the site selected for the intervention, is a unique, hidden enclave in the municipality of Lorca, defined by a direct and deep-seated relationship between its inhabitants and nature through agriculture. Historically, this bond was even closer, giving rise to the creation and use of entirely natural creams and treatments. Water, soil, air, sun, essential oils, homemade lotions and concoctions, fruits, vegetables, and, of course, a proper siesta, served as home remedies for minor ailments and daily stress.

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The cities of Bucaramanga (Colombia) and Cipolletti (Argentina) are the winners of the second edition of the international competition “City for People,” organized by the Government of the City of Buenos Aires and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The award ceremony, held in Buenos Aires, recognized the Argentine city in the Sustainable Mobility category for its proposal to implement a sustainable mobility plan designed for youth. Meanwhile, the Colombian city won in the Reviving Cities category with the renovation of the Patio de los Edecanes, a late-18th-century structure in downtown Bucaramanga. 

Writing for the ARKRIT Collective, architect Carmen Espegel presents an article that exemplifies how the home can serve as a simple refuge for the essence of life—defined by the survivor's austerity, voluntary renunciation, and a rejection of the bourgeois lifestyle.