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.

Following the decision of a jury comprising leading figures in national architecture, combined with the public vote, the winners of the 2020 Best Brick Architecture Award were announced. The award aims to recognize outstanding national architecture projects featuring exposed brick, highlighting the architectural value of a material central to Chilean identity.

There are many ways to define BIM methodology. One of them describes it as a set of processes that help us combine a project's geometry with the data required to complete its entire lifecycle. We could say that modeling in BIM is like virtually executing the construction process.

Another key aspect is that it allows us to work in a collaborative environment, helping to simplify the flow of information among different stakeholders and providing greater control over our projects. 

Medellín-based firm Taller Síntesis shares the following article emphasizing the importance of recognizing the rural built environment—which accounts for most of the country's territory but not most of its architectural practice—in order to raise awareness of how architecture is directed and recognized in Colombia. Read on below.

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Chilean architect Cecilia Puga will take over as director of the Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, one of the most visited in Santiago. The news was announced by her predecessor, anthropologist Carlos Aldunate del Solar, in a recent interview with Chilean magazine Sábado, where he announced his resignation after four decades at the helm of the institution. "Obviously, a younger person with more energy should take over," Aldunate commented in the interview.

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The Post_Arq student collective of the Leopoldo Rother Architecture Museum at the National University of Colombia shared with us the interview series titled "Siete Imaginarios, Siete Arquitectos" (Seven Imaginaries, Seven Architects). The interviewees include prominent figures such as Sebastián Serna, Santiago Pradilla, Leonardo Álvarez Yepes, and Lorenzo Castro, among others.

Below, you can explore the interviews conducted with these renowned figures of the Colombian architectural scene, several of whom were winners or received honorable mentions at the XXVII BICAU.

Colombia boasts an immense variety of thermal zones that create breathtaking landscapes and dreamlike natural environments. Its flora and fauna vary distinctly depending on region, altitude, and humidity. For architectural practices designing Colombian homes, the natural context is a constant source of inspiration, ranging from incorporating vegetation as interior architectural elements to framing nearby landscapes. When designing spatial perception—whether from within or without—nature is an undeniable component of these projects.

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Croquis CDMX is an initiative led by Héctor López, founded eight years ago to foster and strengthen the connections between the eye, the brain, and the hand. The project seeks to portray life in Mexico City through freehand sketches. While architectural education is geared toward training professionals to design and construct buildings, Héctor—who studied at the Faculty of Architecture of the National Autonomous University of Mexico—views university education as “the axis of all elements: I already knew how to draw, and in school I became interested in construction, history, and theory. That was where drawing became disciplined. I would encourage students to draw, regardless of whether they think they can or not, because you discover things that you don't understand when drawing with software.”

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In 2018, a flexible and ephemeral space was erected in Mexico City's Alameda Central, demonstrating the luminosity and plastic versatility of joining 2,500 water jugs to form a conical blue oasis. Today, this pavilion is located within the Huerto Urbano Roma Verde, where it has hosted various events and activities, shedding the transience and impermanence that originally defined its essence.

Alarcia Ferrer is an Argentine architecture firm based in Córdoba, founded in 2009. Focused on medium-scale private residential projects in suburban and rural settings, they have worked for over a decade in close dialogue with the province's landscape, constantly reflecting on the tensions and interactions between nature and artifice. Each project can be read as the result of a material and spatial exercise that serves as a prompt to rethink deeper issues such as permanence, authenticity, and simplicity.

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Vacío is a temporary intervention that seeks to redefine the boundaries and experience of the space in which it is located. It is crucial to understand the environmental impact of ephemeral projects. 
To construct this void, we used four floating curtains made of repurposed sheets of paper collected from other architecture firms, bathed in indigo to erase the drawings, texts, and prints of their previous life. 
The installation's lightness allows the airflow to constantly reshape the defined geometry of the prism. Inside, the space mutates and interacts with visitors, almost compelling them to move as the floating sheets seem to breathe.  

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.

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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.

Jointly developed by China Resources Land and Shanghai Land Group, with architectural design by KPF, the Lujiazui Riverfront Center is nearing completion. Located along the Huangpu River within Shanghai's Lujiazui waterfront district, the project spans a total gross floor area of 200,000 square meters. Eight small-scale, standalone commercial buildings run parallel to the shoreline, reshaping the waterfront skyline with staggered heights. Inside the cluster, a network of pedestrian paths and axes links the internal plazas and surrounding buildings, integrating with neighboring historic structures to establish a strong dialogue with the broader urban design.

Characterized by its low-density layout, the development features specialty retail, shared conference spaces, sunken plazas, and rooftop gardens. By connecting with nearby luxury hotels, art venues, and high-end residences—all within walking distance—it creates a 24-hour elite lifestyle hub, establishing Shanghai's first workplace that seamlessly integrates garden-style offices with the Lujiazui CBD. Additionally, the project features a generous 4.5-meter floor-to-floor height, yielding a clear height of 3 meters for standard floors and 3.5 meters for executive floors. In terms of floor plate design, the column-free interior spaces offer unobstructed, panoramic views of the Huangpu River.

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Brazilian architecture firm Estúdio Leonardo Zanatta has received an honorable mention in the international competition "Cool Abu Dhabi," which challenged participants to design creative solutions to tackle climate change and mitigate the urban heat island effect in Abu Dhabi. Titled Abu Dhabi Skins - (Bio)Reactive Urbanscape, the proposal is the only selection from the Americas.

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"Traveling Without Leaving Home" is a project by artist and designer Jorge Cejudo, also known as “Cejas.” Over the course of seven months, he shared a pandemic-born series of over 200 drawings on his Instagram account @soyelcejas, reconnecting with his followers after the emergency lockdown by inviting them to join him in imagining journeys through various cities around the world.

Poured Architecture / Arquitectura Vertida is an experiential art installation presenting artist Sergio Prego's perspective on the late Spanish architect Miguel Fisac.

Supported by a Graham Foundation grant, the artist explores the possibility and synchronicity of materials and processes across architecture and visual art in a new series of sculptures and drawings inspired by Miguel Fisac's innovative architectural and construction techniques.

Experience it all through the short film by Spirit of Space.

This article is part of a collaboration with the website coolhuntermx, and was originally published under the title "La Bauhaus Tapatía."

"A sort of Bauhaus" is how Mathias Goeritz, in short, tried to convince Italian architect and theorist Alberto Sartoris to come to Mexico. In 1950, through letters, he invited him to teach at the very project that had drawn Goeritz in and excited him so much: the first School of Architecture of Guadalajara, founded in 1948 by Ignacio Díaz Morales.

Children are often overlooked or entirely deprioritized in urban planning. Globally, it is estimated that up to 500 children die every day in traffic accidents. Thousands of others are injured in collisions or develop psychological trauma that can last for years. Whether on the streets or in public spaces, feelings of insecurity or discomfort discourage children from physical activity outdoors—at a time when 80% of children between the ages of 11 and 17 are not physically active, and another 38 million under the age of five are overweight or obese.

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Rojkind Arquitectos + AmasA Estudio present a new project on a site named "Tres Cerritos" in Valle de Guadalupe, part of the wine route in the Francisco Zarco district of Ensenada, Baja California. The project arises from an understanding of nature's value and its historical use as a sanctuary and refuge, creating a hospitality concept that reconnects the visitor with the environment.

Earlier this month, the Observatory of Innovations for Sustainable Cities was launched. The project aims to gather information, proposals, and concrete examples of municipal initiatives and public policies that help improve people's quality of life and strengthen the environment. The initiative is a partnership between the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovations (MCTI), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Center for Strategic Studies and Management (CGEE).

"La Ciudad como Texto" (The City as Text) was the theme of the Arqfilmfest panel discussion, where designer Carola Ureta detailed her project focusing on public space and its transformations: facades, historical figures, and walls serving as a canvas to immortalize the social sentiment following Chile's October 2019 social uprising.

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In early October, a new space opened in Mexico City under the name Design House at Público Coworking, showcasing a series of interventions that integrate disciplines such as design, architecture, and interior design. Over the past ten years, Design House has presented cutting-edge concepts from more than one hundred participating firms across various venues, collaborating with showrooms on the Design Route (Ruta del Diseño) that provide the pieces and accessories featured in the diverse installations.

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This October 2020, the Memory and Tolerance Museum by Arditti + RDT Architects in the heart of Mexico City marks the tenth anniversary of its founding—a space designed to raise awareness and showcase the terrible consequences of hatred and indifference. Over these ten years, the museum has welcomed 5,000,000 visitors, hosted more than 4,000 free workshops and courses benefiting 470,000 people, generated 1,500,000 scholarships for vulnerable students, and spearheaded countless initiatives that have successfully fostered a culture of peace and tolerance. It has become a national and international benchmark in matters of historical memory and Human Rights—a voice that gives visibility to diverse causes, a bridge for conflict resolution, and an ally to various sectors, including schools, civil associations, institutions, and socially responsible corporations. Above all, it serves the individuals who wish to transform their environment through knowledge, introspection, reflection, and social action.

As part of an initiative by ArchDaily and the Abierto Mexicano de Diseño, a call for entries was launched this year, inviting architects, urban planners, landscape designers, industrial designers, graphic designers, floral designers, and any creative discipline that understands public space as a place for fostering collaborative encounters in cities. Published in September, the call sought unpublished or previously published projects in the form of written essays, research papers, visual essays, lectures, or other digital communication formats that offered a personal or collective reflection aligned with the theme 'Public Space.'