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.

The 12th Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism (BIAU) announced today on its website the winners of its four categories: Works, Actions on the Margin, Publications, and Academic Programs.

A total of 9 works and 20 projects were named winners in this edition of the BIAU, an event organized by the Government of Spain through the Ministry of Transport, Mobility, and Urban Agenda (MITMA) via the General Directorate of Urban Agenda and Architecture. The biennial will take place within the framework of the MEXTRÓPOLI Architecture and City Festival in Mexico City from September 21 to 25.

In early September, the Brazilian Embassy in Mexico launched the exhibition Una nueva arquitectura brasileña, curated by the Institute of Architects of Brazil (IAB) and featuring photography by Joana França. The exhibition is held entirely in a public space on Avenida Paseo de la Reforma, one of Mexico City's most prominent thoroughfares. Approximately one million people are expected to pass by the site during the exhibition run. 

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According to the National Fire Academy of Chile, a fire is defined as “fire out of control.” Once a fire starts, temperatures can reach 1000° Celsius, generating flames and smoke that endanger both human lives and buildings.

According to a report by ONEMI, the main causes of structural fires – those occurring in homes, buildings, and commercial premises – include domestic accidents, electrical failures, and gas leaks.

Today's world presents significant challenges for the press at large. Amid widespread debate over news consumption and journalism, architectural publishing is no exception. In a profession where images are paramount, the shift in landscape—from print to digital media—has brought numerous challenges, intensifying the competition for audiences. Social media has become a platform where people not only consume but also produce content.

What is it like to walk past the buildings and houses on the street where you live? Or the street where you work, study, shop, or take your children to school? What relationship do these buildings and houses have with the sidewalk? How do they treat pedestrians? Do they make you want to walk past them? Do they welcome or repel? 

Are they kind... or hostile buildings?

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Architectural lighting design is a broad subject, as it encompasses discussions on the physical and perceptual aspects of light, its applications in lighting projects, luminous effects, and the variables of comfort and performance. Furthermore, it is within the lighting design itself that the integration of natural and artificial lighting systems takes place. Arquicast invited two professionals from the field—one from the manufacturing industry and the other from design services—to outline the current state of this specialty in Brazil.

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So often overshadowed by romantic and professional partnerships with men, women architects have been, and still are, constantly tested and subjected to symbolic violence, disguised as jokes or "simple" banter. The conversation in episode 51 of the Betoneira Podcast, with professor and researcher Silvana Rubino, raised an ever-urgent debate: what is the place of women in architecture?

Combining new and old construction techniques, researchers from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) have built a small earthen structure using 3D printing. It is the first project of its kind in Spain. 

“This prototype represents a bridge between the past – vernacular earth architecture – and the future – large-scale 3D printing technology – which will not only help reshape the architecture of the future, but will also be highly useful in addressing the current climate and housing crisis worldwide,” states the Institute.

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Privately owned public spaces, commonly known as POPS, originated in New York City in 1961 as a public policy incentive to create open, public-use areas on private property, with maintenance provided by the owners.

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"Domingos Libro" is hosted by Carmelo from Enorme Studio, delving into forgotten architectural publications, books, and architecture magazines from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s that hide the most fascinating stories behind them.

After a hiatus in 2022, the series returned with episode 19, titled “Always Young,” which tells the story of Ettore Sottsass Jr. Now, it presents "No One Is a Prophet in Their Own Land," a tribute to the recently deceased master of architecture Ricardo Bofill.

We know that Brazilian cities are exclusionary. They fail to prioritize public transit, which disproportionately harms the poorest residents. They segregate wealthier neighborhoods, driving the working class to live on the urban peripheries. And even there, a large part of the population can only afford housing in the informal market.

Doris Mary Clark Núñez is considered the first female Peruvian architect. With a life marked by difficulties, scrutiny, and restrictions solely due to being a woman in a professional world that had traditionally been male, Clark Núñez stands as a model of activism and resistance, as well as a pursuit of subversion and paradigm shifts in traditional debates and structures. Her life was dedicated—through teaching, political action, and academia—to laying the foundation for expanding the field of influence for women in architecture.

The world’s first hydrogen-powered passenger train service has begun operations in Germany. The 100% hydrogen-fueled rail line debuted in the small town of Bremervörde, near Hamburg. A total of 14 trains will replace diesel locomotives across nearly 100 kilometers of track in the northern part of the country. In addition to Bremervörde, the regional line serves the cities of Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, and Buxtehude.

"Architecture and urbanism have the opportunity to offer solutions that involve looking beyond the discipline itself, so that the margins and boundaries of necessity lead us to seek actions outside of standard practice. Positioning ourselves on the margins allows us to see new alternatives, expand the practice, and have a perspective that is not central, but peripheral," say Anna Vergés and Guillem Augé (UNDO), curators of the XII Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism, whose central theme is "Habitar al margen" (Living on the Margins).

Slow Down! is the theme driving the 9th edition of the Arquiteturas Film Festival to the city of Porto, marking a change in both location and organization. Now organized by INSTITUTO under the direction of architect Paulo Moreira, the 2022 edition of the Arquiteturas Film Festival establishes itself as an international platform to discuss and disseminate architectural production through films, exhibitions, and debates.

Over its 457-year history, the built landscape of Rio de Janeiro has taken shape in diverse ways. During its first few centuries, the city developed around Rua Direita (now Rua Primeiro de Março), consisting primarily of two-story row houses, typically featuring a single door and two windows on the ground floor. This layout stemmed from the measurement standard of the era, the *braça* (fathom), with plots usually measuring three *braças* wide (each *braça* equivalent to 2.2 meters). Rio's land ownership profile has always driven its urban form, and the Portuguese plot—with its narrow frontage and deep lot—defined an era and left an indelible mark on the city's development. 

The vulnerability found in countries on the periphery of capitalism, such as Brazil, has wide-ranging consequences that are evident both in statistics and in how the occupied territory is shaped. Peripherization and the struggle to access fundamental rights—such as healthcare, education, and housing—are among these consequences. Addressing these challenges falls to organized social groups striving to build alternatives within this context, as seen in social movements and Usina CTAH, an architectural practice dedicated to providing technical assistance to organized social groups.

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The Brazilian Steel Construction Center (CBCA) has announced the winners of the 15th CBCA Competition for Architecture Students. In this nationwide competition, teams were challenged to address the theme “Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.”

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For a long time, cars were the primary protagonists of major cities. This prioritization resulted in territories occupied mostly by highways, leaving them uninviting to people. In recent years, however, many cities have undergone spatial transformations, seeking to reshape their relationship with automobiles and prioritize pedestrians and the human scale. 

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The winning proposal for the construction of the new infrastructure for the Faculty of Performing Arts at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) has been announced. The project will be designed by the prestigious architecture firm Barclay & Crousse. The new building aims to centralize Performing Arts activities on the PUCP campus and strengthen a sense of community by bringing theater, performing arts creation and production, music, and dance together in an integrated space for learning where the architecture itself becomes a stage and a landscape for education.

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The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world's largest book trade fair in terms of publishing representation, taking place every year in mid-October. In this edition, Spain is the Guest of Honor, presenting a unique opportunity to showcase its culture and literature to the world.

Estúdio 41 is a name frequently seen on lists of design competition winners throughout Brazil. Based in Curitiba, the architecture firm was born out of a collaboration between architects who graduated from UFPR, dedicating its energy to developing competition proposals where inquiry, experimentation, and innovation find fertile ground. What is striking is that the team—composed of João Gabriel Rosa, Martin Kaufer Goic, Eron Costin, Emerson Vidigal, and Fabio Henrique Faria—has achieved a remarkable success rate, with completed projects such as the Antarctic Station and the Fecomércio Headquarters.

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María Luisa Dehesa Gómez Farías (1912–2009) was a Mexican architect from Xalapa, Veracruz, who became the first woman in Mexico to earn a degree in architecture. Her professional training began in 1933 when she entered the Royal Academy of San Carlos. This required her to relocate to Mexico City—renting a rooftop room in Coyoacán from which she commuted by streetcar—to join a class of 113 students, only five of whom were women.

YouTube is the social network with the highest number of monthly active users—around 2 billion, nearly double that of Instagram. As a search engine, it ranks second, behind only Google. It comes as no surprise, then, that the fashion, music, and beauty industries have embraced the platform with open arms. By contrast, design and architecture have lagged behind.