Far from Brazil's major economic and cultural hubs, the Porto Alegre-based firm sauermartins has been garnering national and international recognition that belies its modest scale and structure. Founded by Cássio Sauer and Elisa T. Martins and currently comprising only two other professionals, the studio was selected to represent Brazil at the 2018 Venice Biennale of Architecture, was a finalist for the 2019 Lisbon Triennale Début Award, had a project selected for the national shortlist of the 3rd Oscar Niemeyer Award, was recently named one of ArchDaily's Best New Practices of 2020, and will represent Brazil at the upcoming Bienal de Arquitectura Latinoamericana in Pamplona.

With a practice defined by its singular geographical and cultural position—drawing on references from both Brazil and other southern Latin American countries—sauermartins explores an aesthetic of the cold and the rural, inflected by modern influences and dedicated to addressing concrete, contemporary challenges.

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Academic experience in architecture must prepare future professionals for the urban, social, and community needs to which they will contribute their expertise. Through its International Experience Program (PEI), the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana enables students to put social housing theory into practice.

In this case, they present *Máquina Verde* (Green Machine), an adaptable modular prototype developed for the Ciénaga de la Virgen on Colombia's Caribbean coast. Explore the project in greater depth below.

The year 2019 was one of the most prolific for public design competitions in Bogotá, particularly within the education sector. Recently, the results of the public architectural preliminary design competition for the Hipotecho School were announced, with the winning proposal submitted by the joint team of AR-AR (Martínez Arquitectura) + Fiallo Atelier + MEC arquitectura.

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The call for entries for the Third Edition of the Oscar Niemeyer Award for Latin American Architecture, presented by the Network of Architecture Biennials of Latin America, has successfully concluded. A total of 101 works from 12 Latin American countries are participating, with Mexico represented by 30 high-quality and diverse projects—all clear examples of outstanding contemporary architectural production.

Universidad de los Andes has announced the results of the private competition for the Sociedad Bolivariana - Uniandes Building, with Juan Pablo Ortiz Arquitectos emerging as the winners. Discover the seven competition proposals below.

If we could travel back in time one hundred years and organize an ideas competition to visualize what Bogota would look like in 2020, the proposals would be far from the reality of the urban landscape experienced today in the Colombian capital. Back then, little was known about the events that would later shape history, such as the Bogotazo, which led to the rebuilding or remodeling of most of the buildings that served as architectural landmarks of previous centuries.

The uncertainty of a distant future is perpetual. Yet, this does not stop the imagination from creating utopian or dystopian scenarios of that urban dimension for 2120. This was the main goal of the rendering competition organized by the Student Collective of the Colombian Society of Architects (CESCA) of the Bogota and Cundinamarca chapter.

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Eight years ago today, we began this adventure called ArchDaily México, sharing the same mission as the global ArchDaily platform: to continue providing inspiration, knowledge, and tools to architects, but through a local lens, recognizing the value that national talent has to offer to the world.

For the first time, the Colombian Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism, organized by the Colombian Society of Architects (SCA), will be held virtually. In its 27th edition, over ten days, more than 60 lectures, 9 panels, and 4 forums will be available. Explore the full schedule of the main room below. Meanwhile, the parallel room will showcase the Biennial's finalist projects.

Currently, the volume of projects produced within universities in Mexico is immense, and we believe it is the perfect time to showcase some of their best work. Many undergraduate theses, also known as final graduation projects, address highly interesting and valuable topics for the country; unfortunately, the vast majority end up stored on library shelves or in a computer folder, missing the opportunity to drive real change in our cities and how we inhabit them.

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As part of an event held for the thirteenth consecutive year, a showroom opened in October featuring spaces designed by various architects and designers to showcase the new ColorLife TRENDS 2021 palettes by the Comex brand. Participants included Adrián Marfil, Alexia Ulibarri, Andrés Gutiérrez, Arlette Salas, Cristina Grappin, Jorge Ballina, Luis H. Muñoz, Mauricio De la Garza, Moisés Hernández, Penélope De la Madrid, and Rodrigo Noriega.

Academic architectural practice must push students and faculty toward constant adaptation and exploration. First-semester students at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana built an intervention of ephemeral architecture using wood as a structural material in the arts building (prior to the state of emergency). This gave future architects the academic experience of hands-on construction during their very first semester in the department.

Art Week kicks off today in Mexico City, with more than 210 galleries opening their doors to host diverse programs showcasing the work of artists from 26 countries. Our featured lineup ranges from the recently opened exhibition "Habitat" by Lina Bo Bardi at Museo Jumex to the internationally renowned ZⓈONAMACO art fair, as well as the well-known exhibitions organized by guadalajara90210 that blend art and architecture.

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As part of a call for entries launched in 2019 by GAP (Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico) for the remodeling of facades, as well as the expansion of the public concourse and parking lot of Guadalajara Airport's Terminal 1, the proposal by Bosco Arquitectos (Bosco, Lázaro, and Sebastián Gutiérrez Cortina), Andrés Casillas de Alba, and Lucio Muniain et al has been announced as the winning design.

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The Abierto Mexicano de Diseño is an international festival that annually gathers and celebrates the design community in Mexico in all its breadth within a single geographic point: the Historic Center of Mexico City. Its programming aims to connect the public with the creative initiatives of established designers, emerging studios, students, universities, cultural institutions, and other stakeholders. This year, the festival features the theme: “Design and Utopia: From Manifesto to Action.”

The Superintendency of Industry and Commerce has granted a utility patent for the invention "Multifunctional Self-Supporting Modular Roof System" to professors Camilo Ayala García and Christiaan Job Nieman Janssen, from the design department, and Diego Alejandro Velándia Rayo, from the architecture department, at the Faculty of Architecture and Design of the Universidad de los Andes.

After the state of emergency, nothing will return to the way it was. At that point, public and private spaces will routinely be occupied in ways that prevent transmission of a still-active virus. However, just as this situation has forced us to recognize our deficient healthcare system, it has also revealed how inadequate the spaces we inhabit often are.

In 2018, sociologist and cycling activist Marina Harkot defended her master's thesis Bicycles and Women at the University of São Paulo (USP). To develop a qualitative methodology examining the challenges faced by female cyclists in the city, she interviewed various women: those who bike to work, those who explore the city on two wheels, and those who love tackling the capital's rolling topography.

Her methodology succeeded in revealing a common thread among these diverse cyclists: “It is the network surrounding these women that seems to prompt them to start cycling and keep them riding — as well as female role models, the women (whether known to them or not) who ride and inspired them,” wrote the researcher. 

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“Renaturalizing cities and gaining quality space for citizens is no longer just an interesting idea—it is a necessity,” says Jordi Fernández, one of the two founding partners of ON-A Arquitectura. This Barcelona-based smart office specializes in urban greening and green building. Over its 15-year history, the firm has designed various ways to adapt green spaces to urban contexts, such as the remodeling proposals for Llano Amarillo Park in Algeciras and Taichung Gateway Park in Taiwan. Its current project, called Nou Parc, follows these international examples, aiming to transform Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium into a 26-hectare park.

For the third time since its founding in 2002, Mexico will host the Latin American Social Workshop of Architecture Students (TSL Mexico 2020). This edition is organized by the Latin American Coordinator of Architecture Students (CLEA Latin America), alongside CONEA Mexico and the Municipality of San Felipe del Progreso.

This article by Felipe Samarán Saló was originally published in the 11th issue of rita_ magazine under the title "Inhabited Renders and Deserted Architecture. The Hidden Message of Architecture Revealed by Photography" and is part of a joint dissemination collaboration. Below, we present a study on how the focus of architecture has shifted from "serving the person by addressing all their dimensions" to "generating a universe of surprising, beautiful, and photogenic forms and spaces," relegating the end-user to the background or into oblivion.

Through the book “Nuestras Arquitectas. Re-mapeo y nuevas cartografías. Buenos Aires 1”, Dr. Architect Inés Moisset and Specialist Architect Carolina Quiroga propose a critical reflection on the contributions of women to the history of Argentine architecture, aiming to develop new cartographies grounded in approaches of equity and inclusion.

Although we typically associate their presence with playgrounds in parks, gardens, or schools, the swing or hammock—the terminology varies by region—is an element that can also function as complementary furniture in architectural projects with highly diverse programs, such as bars, restaurants, homes, and even offices and coworking spaces. These elements introduce movement and dynamism, creating interactive spaces that allow for a playful and unusual appropriation of architecture—one that fosters not only play, but also leisure and rest.  Suspended by tension-bearing elements—such as cables, chains, ropes, or solid bars—and anchored to ceilings, walls, beams, or dedicated structural supports designed to prevent overloading, these elements can completely redefine an interior or semi-covered space. In doing so, they provide a stimulus for play while also offering a place for relaxation and moments of quiet contemplation.

COVID-19 cases in Brazil continue to rise, overwhelming the healthcare system with patients diagnosed with the virus. Understandably, hospital visits by people suffering from other illnesses have also decreased due to fear of contracting the coronavirus. To prevent health complications among those hesitant to visit hospitals, the architects at the Brazilian studio Democratic Architects have proposed the Immediate Health Bus (O-SI), a system focused on telemedicine.

When reality demands complex and unprecedented answers from us, one of the most interesting methods to find them is biomimicry, which consists of asking nature questions in search of inspiration. In this light, it is worth asking: how does nature deal with emergency situations where an organism's behavior must be quickly modified?