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.

We often see futuristic, high-tech homes or workspaces in sci-fi films: from Theodore’s apartment in Her (pictured above), where lights turn on automatically upon his arrival without a single touch, to Tony Stark in Iron Man commanding his system to connect to the network and brew coffee, or Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible controlling lights and televisions with his voice. With the rapid evolution of technology, smart homes have turned these sci-fi visions into reality. At the forefront of this evolution is the century-old German brand Gira, whose smart home systems bring these once-cinematic concepts into everyday life.

While advanced technology promises convenience, it often introduces complexity and steep learning curves. Gira addresses this by bridging the gap between technology and user needs, designing highly intuitive, easy-to-use products that deliver ultimate comfort. With a 117-year legacy—evolving from the original toggle switch to today’s intelligent home systems and touchscreens—Gira has consistently embraced innovation. By aligning technological capability with human experience, the company has established itself as a global benchmark in smart home technology and electrical installations, operating in over 40 countries and earning numerous accolades.

Project Positioning: Urban Renewal, Bay Area Cultural Landmark, Cultural Services for an Ancient Town's Historical Community
Nantou Ancient City is located in the rapidly developing Nanshan District of Shenzhen. Situated on the eastern bank of the Pearl River Estuary, its history dates back nearly 1,700 years to the establishment of Dongguan County in 331 AD (the sixth year of the Xianhe era in the Eastern Jin Dynasty) [1]. With Shenzhen’s reform and opening up, the area has not only preserved the spatial layout of its historical village settlement but has also integrated industrial development and high-density housing, evolving into Shenzhen’s most unique “urban village” (chengzhongcun). In 2019, with the official launch of the Nantou Ancient City Protection and Utilization Project, two core questions emerged: how to unearth Nantou's historical context, and how to address the contemporary challenges of urban renewal through innovative design? These questions became the starting point for our team, Diameter Narrative Design (DND), in curating and designing the visitor experience for the “Shared Origins Museum Group” (Tongyuan Guanqun). Nantou's history dates back to 110 BC, when the Han government established the Panyu salt office here to oversee salt production along the eastern shore of the Pearl River Estuary. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the seats of both Dongguan County and Bao'an County were set in the Nantou area, extending Dongguan's jurisdiction from the eastern bank of the estuary to what is now eastern Guangdong. Subsequently, successive imperial dynasties established political, economic, and military administrative organs in Nantou. Consequently, Nantou is not only a witness to the shared roots of Shenzhen and Hong Kong but has also directly experienced the historical evolution of the Greater Bay Area. From its inception, the Nantou project aimed to become a cultural landmark for the Greater Bay Area, with the “Shared Origins Museum Group” serving as both a physical manifestation of Nantou's historical value and a hub for community public cultural services.

How can architecture and urbanism once again contribute to the debate and production of Social Interest Housing (HIS)? This was one of the guiding questions behind the Guidelines for Social Interest Housing in Jardim Lapena, developed by the Tide Setubal Foundation and BlendLab for the East Zone of São Paulo. The document compiled a set of guidelines on housing, management models, site planning, and integration with the urban environment, shaping the proposals for the +Lapena Habitar Call for Projects held in late 2022.

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How can architecture and urbanism once again contribute to the debate and production of Social Interest Housing (HIS)? This was one of the core questions that guided the development of the Guidelines Manual for Social Interest Housing in Jardim Lapena, created by the Tide Setubal Foundation and BlendLab for the East Zone of São Paulo. This document compiled a set of guidelines on housing, management models, site planning, and integration with the urban environment, which in turn guided proposals for the +Lapena Habitar Call for Projects held in late 2022.

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Applying neuroscience to architecture, specifically within the realm of neurogastronomy, provides a unique understanding of the intersection between human sensory domains and the built environment. It seeks to understand brain function in relation to eating, which has traditionally been viewed as a process limited to the mouth and stomach. Ultimately, it is the brain that eats. Accordingly, this article aims to consolidate scientific concepts related to neurogastronomy applied to architecture, examining the dining experience and architectural spaces, with a particular focus on active aging.

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The relationship between cities and ocean sustainability was highlighted at the Brazil Pavilion during COP28, the United Nations Climate Change Conference. The panel "Cities, ports, and conservation: integrated effort for resilient and climate-adapted cities" brought together representatives from the federal government, subnational governments, the private sector, and civil society, and marked the launch of the publication "Ocean Without Mysteries – Building Blue Cities."

I was intrigued to read on UOL that Silicon Valley billionaires plan to build a perfect city from scratch in California. But what, after all, actually makes a perfect city?

According to the article, the city would feature high-quality public services, walkability, lush greenery, and safety, along with housing at various price points and sizes, all integrated with shops, schools, and restaurants.

In addition, the city would offer high-paying jobs for its residents, while local schools would train people from the area to work in local businesses.

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One of the key themes of the past year was reclaiming the connection between humans and nature—or rather, recognizing that we are not separate from it. Strategies such as biophilia, biomimicry, and approaches drawing from vernacular and ancestral techniques show that incorporating natural elements into architecture is no longer just a compositional choice, but a practice that directly influences behavioral and health outcomes. Consequently, landscape design goes beyond mere aesthetics, turning yards, gardens, and outdoor spaces into functional and therapeutic extensions of the home.

A quick scan of Africa's 100 largest cities yields few surprises. Most are located in the continent's wealthiest nations. The majority serve as national or regional/state capitals. At least half feature river or sea ports. Many have had railway stations for decades and, more recently, airports and highway connections. A large number host universities. All have Wikipedia profiles, many of which span several pages.

Although people with disabilities represent nearly 15% of the global population, and more than half of them live in urban areas, our cities rarely meet their needs. Most are designed from the perspective of non-disabled people traveling by private transport (such as cars and motorcycles), rather than those who walk, cycle, or use public transportation. 

In Brazil, popular festivals share a deep spatial, historical, and symbolic connection with urban public spaces, providing a unique experience of collective occupation, appropriation, and reimagining of these sites during their occurrence. These events not only utilize urban spaces in ways that differ from their daily routines, but they also constitute the cultural and social landscape of cities, offering alternative ways of perceiving them. By appropriating the streets—in their full potential and broadest sense—these festivities imbue them with new uses, which often transcend and subvert their everyday functions.

Weary of minimalist, cookie-cutter standards, people are increasingly seeking spaces with character, featuring pieces that reflect their own identity. At least, that is one interpretation when we consider that kitchens with "bold colors, clashing patterns, artwork, plants, and, of course, the mandatory refrigerator penguin" are trending in Pinterest for 2024. Fueled by the return of a kitsch aesthetic and these eclectic elements, we have selected several projects published on ArchDaily to inspire a transformation in this essential household space.

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With an estimated population of over 3.7 million people, Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, is home to about a quarter of the country's urban population. The city generates more than 29% of Ethiopia's urban GDP and 20% of national urban employment. Over the last two decades, Addis Ababa has witnessed rapid socioeconomic changes and a drastic physical transformation, driven by a development-oriented government and the private sector.

How can architecture and urban planning contribute once again to the debate on and production of Social Interest Housing (HIS)? This was one of the core questions guiding the development of the Guidelines Booklet for Social Interest Housing in Jardim Lapena, created by the Tide Setubal Foundation and BlendLab for the East Zone of São Paulo. This booklet compiled a set of guidelines regarding housing, management models, site planning, and urban integration, guiding the proposals for the + Lapena Habitar Call for Projects held at the end of 2022.

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The Oca da Saúde is one of the buildings that comprise the 4 Varas Integrated Mental Health Movement (MISMEC), located in Barra do Ceará, on the outskirts of Fortaleza. It serves as a healing space, offering free holistic care and experiences to the community. Built by traditional master builders alongside local residents, the structure features an Afro-Indigenous architectural typology rich in ancestral symbolism.

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When the first rays of sun strike the Swedish town of Jukkasjärvi, as winter gives way to spring, this ice hotel begins to melt. Five hundred tons of water flow toward the Torne River. What were once walls, floors, and ceilings are now drops of water seeking their natural course. In this scene, which has occurred every year since 1989, everything is a contradiction: the solidity and longevity of construction versus the ephemerality and transience of ice sculpture.

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Located in the Bird Streets of Los Angeles, adjacent to Beverly Hills, the Blue Jay Way Residence occupies a prime, elevated site overlooking the Los Angeles and Hollywood skylines. The project’s open floor plan establishes a strong visual and experiential connection between the interior and the panoramic city views, complemented by staggered courtyards and warm white materials that invite a play of light and shadow into every corner of the building.

How can architecture and urbanism contribute once again to the debate and production of Social Interest Housing (HIS)? This was one of the central questions guiding the creation of the Social Interest Housing Guidelines Manual for Jardim Lapena, developed by the Tide Setubal Foundation and BlendLab for the East Zone of São Paulo. This manual gathered a set of guidelines on housing, management models, implementation, and integration with the urban environment, directing the proposals for the +Lapena Habitar Call for Projects held in late 2022.

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Nearly ten years after the last major fire in Valparaíso, Chile's Fifth Region is once again facing this type of disaster, but on a much larger scale. The fires, which began on February 2, affected more than 10,000 hectares and 15,000 homes, along with the total loss of the Viña del Mar Botanical Garden, an iconic nature sanctuary in the city.

Consequently, the community and authorities must once again begin the process of rebuilding and restoring the affected areas. At this critical juncture, it is paramount to consider the factors that heightened the risk and spread of the fires, and to reevaluate urban planning regulations, land regularizations, and, above all, community risk-prevention education—especially since many of these homes were built informally and outside existing codes.

Hãhãwpuá is the name used by the Pataxó Indigenous people of Brazil to refer to the land, the soil, or, more precisely, the territory that after colonization became known as Brazil, though it has had—and still has—many other names. Amidst all these “Brazils,” Brazil as Indigenous land is the focus of the country's pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale 2024, which has consequently been renamed the Hãhãwpuá Pavilion.

The images in this exhibition seek to create a space for reflection on a condition that can be extrapolated to the current state of the city of Concepción, Chile. They offer a simultaneous view of architectural works related by technique, scale, or construction period, capturing the distinctive identity that defined the city over the last 100 years—one that is currently threatened by an urban renewal process far removed from the motivations that gave rise to its heritage legacy.

Conceived during the Fall Residency Program for Independent Projects at the IPA – Institute for Public Architecture, the project “The other of the other” (2023) was developed through visits to and research in a series of institutional sites and archives in New York City—resources that have influenced Talles Lopes's work since 2018. These primarily include spaces and archives related to the dissemination of Brazilian modernist architecture in the Global North from a New York perspective, specifically the MoMA archives in Manhattan.

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Some lessons, however simple, can resonate lastingly within our personal practice. This is the case with a specific memory from my undergraduate years in the Architecture and Urbanism program at Escola da Cidade, where, during a second-year technical drawing class, the professors suggested we retrace the floor plans of the Butantã House, designed by architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha. My recollection is that, immediately, some of the students found the activity uninspired or even irrelevant—which is understandable—while for others it was certainly enjoyable and fruitful, even if they might not recall this specific episode more than a decade later, as is the case here. The value of being exposed to different activities within a course—from the most to the least conventional, from the simplest to the most elaborate—is that each individual will utilize different tools and knowledge in unique ways. Hence the importance of a wide range of experiences, even within the seemingly rigid instruction of technical drawing. What is trivial for some can be instrumental for others, whether momentarily or over the long term.

Concrete, in its various facets, exhibits an interesting duality thanks to its aesthetic and technical qualities, which have been explored by architects and designers in different typologies and contexts. On the one hand, reinforced concrete displays the strength and durability required for large-scale construction, efficiently withstanding adverse weather conditions. On the other hand, the malleability of stamped concrete allows it to elegantly adapt to complex shapes and imprint patterns on the surface, utilizing texture and pattern to cultivate a distinct atmosphere within the built environment.

Stamped concrete has gained prominence due to its durability and versatility, offering options and designs that adapt to different architectural styles. However, while we are familiar with its use and applications, specifying it requires a meticulous approach to ensure optimal results. Below is a practical guide covering the essential considerations from Melón Hormigones for specifying this innovative material, from pattern selection to proper care and maintenance.