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.

In early 2016, we reported that construction had been completed on BD Bacatá, Colombia's tallest skyscraper (216 meters), and that its opening was just months away. However, an official opening date has yet to be set, while elsewhere in the Colombian capital, construction is progressing on a project that will surpass BD Bacatá in height: the Atrio Towers (268 meters), designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) and El Equipo de Mazzanti.

After two editions at the Parque Cultural de Valparaíso, the Chilean Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism will return to Santiago in 2019. On Wednesday, June 6, the Mayor of Santiago, Felipe Alessandri, and the President of the Chilean Association of Architects, Humberto Eliash, signed the official agreement during a ceremony at the Mercado Matadero Franklin, which was attended by city council members, Minister of Housing and Urban Development Cristián Monckeberg, undersecretaries, regional authorities, and other officials.

During the ceremony, organizers confirmed that the 21st Biennial will take place in October 2019, with both the Mercado Matadero Franklin and the Teatro Huemul serving as the main venues for the country's premier architectural event.

As is tradition, digital travel platform TripAdvisor has released the results of the 2018 Travelers' Choice awards. These accolades are determined by millions of reviews posted on the website, measuring "the year-over-year increase in positive traveler review ratings," the company explains. Additionally, these cities "have also experienced an increase in search traffic and booking interest" for accommodations.

According to Brooke Ferencsik, communications director at TripAdvisor, the selected cities share the fact that "they all have excellent accommodations, wonderful restaurants, and exceptional attractions for every travel budget."

In South America, six countries are represented on this year's list. Below, discover the ten cities chosen by TripAdvisor users:

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Dampness from water ingress, condensation, or leaking and burst pipes; cracks and fissures in partition walls, facades, columns, or beams; corrosion, deformation, and spalling are some of the most common building pathologies that can affect a structure throughout its lifespan. Detecting these issues is essential to address them, keep the building in good condition, and prevent accidents or structural failures.

To address this, the Official Association of Architects of Madrid (COAM) has launched its first public awareness campaign, titled ‘Arquitecto de la Casa’ (House Architect). The initiative aims to raise awareness about the necessity and benefits of ongoing building maintenance, highlighting specialized architects as the most qualified professionals for the job.

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Throughout 2018, we selected thousands of projects for publication on our site, occasionally highlighting a few for their innovative techniques and materials, their integration with their context, or their community engagement. Working daily with editors in Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Chile, China, and Northern Ireland, and thanks to the extensive network we have forged with institutions worldwide, we have the tools to gain a much broader perspective on current architectural production—not only in Mexico, but globally.

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More than six years have passed since n´UNDO launched its manifesto, which, through its 11 points, advocates for and promotes a new way of approaching architectural action based on non-construction and reuse. This approach is grounded in the re-architecture of territory and the city through subtraction and renunciation. 

Since November 11, 2011, n`UNDO has built a highly active and compelling track record through urban and territorial intervention plans aimed at the social, cultural, environmental, and physical improvement and recovery of our surroundings. In addition, they have participated in several competitions, earning numerous awards and accolades, and have carried out extensive educational work through workshops, courses, lectures, and conferences. Notable among these was the symposium “Empty Space, Subtraction, and Silence: Subtraction and Renunciation in the Creative Process. An Interdisciplinary Perspective,” held in Madrid in November 2016. 

Paulo Mendes da Rocha is currently the most admired and respected figure in Brazilian architecture. However, his extensive list of works narrowly missed including an intervention project for the work of another master, Oscar Niemeyer. Commissioned in 2015 by São Paulo's previous municipal administration to develop a redesign project for Ibirapuera Park, the proposal by the 2006 Pritzker Prize laureate was shelved in December of last year.

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Music is a vital connection to culture. While it serves as a source of entertainment, it is also a medium for communicating ideas and expressing artistic creativity. Through romantic, social, political, or historical themes, every song evokes memories and emotions.

Although there is an endless array of genres today compared to decades past, music still allows us to travel the world without leaving home through its lyrics and music videos. With this in mind, we have compiled a list of 10 songs that not only feature the names of cities in their titles, but also, through their lyrics and visual storytelling, capture the essence of each place—whether capitals or not—bringing to life the magic of their architecture and streets.

Porto Alegre will host the 21st Brazilian Congress of Architects in October 2019. Organized by the Institute of Architects of Brazil, the event will serve as a preparatory meeting for the 27th World Congress of Architects (UIA2020RIO), which will take place in Rio de Janeiro in 2020. The theme of this edition is Space and Democracy.

For this International Women's Day, we have partnered with the Colombian print journal de-Arq (Universidad de Los Andes) to showcase the work of five contemporary Colombian architects. They represent distinct, complementary approaches within our discipline: design, research, teaching, and experimentation.

Today, we meet María Paula González Bozzi, founder and director of Fundación Juligón.

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Colegio de Arquitectos de Chile, the professional association has announced the winners of the 2018 CA Awards, the country's most important national honors.

Following a 2017 edition heavily criticized for the absence of women among the honorees, this year's awards not only introduced two new categories promoted by the Mujer Arquitecta organization—the Dora Riedel and Eliana Caraball awards—and another recognizing regional contributions, but women also swept 9 of the 12 categories awarded by the Colegio de Arquitectos to its members.

Below are the winners of this edition:

September 27, 2010 

“It was that one over there, look. That one. See?”  Dona Ana pointed to the seventh-floor apartment where, a week earlier, the fire had broken out.  Further down, on the fourth floor, Anastasia, Aécio, and Itamar offered strained smiles from a campaign banner .

No one knows how the fire started in one of the subdivided apartments in Tower 100, occupied by a waste picker. But the spectacle that followed played out comme il faut.  Panic, screams, flames, flashing lights, a helicopter hovering overhead, journalists accosting the supposedly injured and devoring improbable accounts, sirens, smoke, commotion, action.

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SketchUp is one of the most widely used digital modeling software programs in both professional practice and academia—and undoubtedly the most intuitive. However, the ease of creating orthogonal geometries can quickly turn into a nightmare when the goal is to design curved and organic shapes and objects.

With this in mind, Gabriel Chahoud of Chahoud Cursos released 30 video tutorials for what he called "SketchUp Month," sharing tips on how to model objects that, at first glance, seem complex to create in this software.

By 2050, more than two-thirds of the world's population will live in cities – hubs that catalyze economic, cultural, and political progress, but also consume vast resources and account for 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions. To avoid catastrophic climate change while ensuring a prosperous and sustainable future, we must act quickly.

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In this edition of International Women's Day, we have joined forces with the Colombian print publication de-Arq (Universidad de Los Andes) to showcase the work of five contemporary Colombian women architects, who represent different complementary approaches within our discipline: design, research, teaching, and experimentation.

Today we talk with Lina Toro, a Colombian architect, co-founder of dosmasunoarquitectos, current director of linatoro.arch, and professor at IE University in Spain. "I believe the problem lies in the system's inability to recognize excellence," says Toro.

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The concept of Complete Streets has gained prominence in recent years and has arrived in Brazil bringing the vision that streets must be planned, designed, operated, and maintained to allow safe, convenient, and comfortable travel for all users, regardless of age, ability, or mode of transportation.

Starting in May, Argentina reaffirms its presence at the Venice Biennale with an invitation to critically rethink the territory.

The "Imagined Lines" exhibition in the Argentine Pavilion, Horizontal Vertigo, curated by architects Javier Mendiondo, Pablo Anzilutti, Francisco Garrido, and Federico Cairoli, is a proposal to rediscover the territory as a collective construction—based on the potential of the relationship we perceive between territory and society—understanding architecture through its capacity to spark unexpected possibilities in each project.

Explore the selected projects and a statement from the curators below.

The results of the competition for the Brazilian Pavilion at EXPO 2020 were announced today, November 12. The objective of the competition was to select a proposal and subsequently commission the complete Executive Project (Architectural Design, Complementary Engineering Projects, and Exhibition Design), construction supervision, consulting, and related services for the Brazilian Pavilion at the World Expo. The competition was promoted by Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency) and organized by the Federal District Department of the Institute of Architects of Brazil (IAB/DF). 

According to the competition brief, “the Brazilian Pavilion should highlight diversity with the theme TOGETHER FOR DIVERSITY, sub-divided into nature, people, and tomorrow (Together for Nature, Together for People, and Together for Tomorrow). These are the starting points for the architects to showcase the diversity of fauna and flora, the ethnic, creative, and cultural multiplicity of our people, and present Brazil as a unifying country, as well as a key global actor in international sustainability issues. The keyword summarizing the Brazilian theme is sociobiodiversity—and the Brazilian Pavilion, from its conception, must reflect this unique characteristic of the country.”

The Council of Architecture and Urbanism (CAU) has re-released the free guidebook on Technical Assistance for Social Interest Housing (ATHIS), originally published by CAU/SC. The 60-page document contextualizes this assistance work in relation to public authorities, the general public, and professionals, presenting different service delivery scenarios.

Brazil's greatest living architect, Paulo Mendes da Rocha does not appreciate architecture alone. Music is also part of his daily life, and this playlist—shared with us by his daughter, Joana Mendes da Rocha—features some of the musical preferences of our Golden Lion.

The Institut Ramon Llull has presented the project RCR. Dream and Nature_Catalonia in Venice in Barcelona, an exhibition showcasing RCR Arquitectes as part of the collateral events of the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale, set to open on May 26.

Representing Catalonia at the 2018 Venice Biennale, the project is co-curated by journalist Pati Núñez and architect Estel Ortega alongside the 2017 Pritzker Prize-winning firm. Together, they have created a space free of scale models or blueprints to "investigate and rethink humanity's relationship with the world, located at the La Vila estate in Vall de Bianya (Girona, Catalonia)," according to an official statement from the Catalan institute.

Thanks to its geographical and climatic characteristics, Bogotá has great potential for the development and enjoyment of nature tourism. The Colombian capital is bordered by the beautiful Eastern Hills, which connect with countless parks and trails that welcome visitors.

Among its natural wonders is the Sumapaz Páramo, the largest of its kind in the world. Exploring each of these places is undoubtedly an experience that few have the opportunity to enjoy and admire. As a result, numerous activities have sparked public interest in weaving together a city rich in environmental assets, including parks, rivers, wetlands, and gardens.

Placing five low-income families from a settlement in southern Lima, Peru, at the center of local and global design. That is the vision behind CIUDADES [en] VISIBLE.

CIUDADES [en] VISIBLE will be the flagship competition of MUTUO, and this is its pilot edition. MUTUO is a collaborative project dedicated to the dream of decent housing, founded in 2016 by Mar Layseca and Sebastian Paredes Smith, both architects who graduated from the School of Architecture of the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas.

The competition focuses on designing homes for five low-income families within the 3 de Diciembre settlement in Lurín. The Acarraz, Huamán, López, Salazar, and Teccse families will be the protagonists of this architectural challenge.

At FITUR, the Logroño City Council presented LA CALLE ES UN MUSEO (The Street is a Museum), a project aimed at revitalizing tourism and cultural visits in the city by showcasing public artworks and their creative processes, narrated by the artists themselves.