
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.

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 Institute of Architects of Brazil - São Paulo Department has announced the winners of the IABsp 2019 Awards. Divided into 17 categories that cover social housing, commercial and cultural projects, urban design, and restoration—both built and unbuilt—as well as publications, photography, ephemeral architecture, and student projects, the IABsp 2019 Awards aim to identify the advancements and challenges in contemporary national architecture and urbanism. The initiative recognizes ingenious and significant proposals, particularly those that effectively contribute to the development of technique, knowledge, and the built environment in dialogue with nature, society, economy, and culture.


The Bamboo Experimentation Laboratory at UNESP - Bauru is one of the leading centers for bamboo research in Brazil. The group of researchers associated with the lab has produced a vast portfolio of research and products ranging from orthopedic prosthetics, furniture, and shoes to building components. In this thesis, engineer Marco Antônio dos Reis Pereira, the laboratory coordinator, presents the Bamboo Project, which is the result of his academic and research work conducted since 1994. The thesis was presented in 2012 at UNESP - Bauru to obtain the *Livre-Docente* degree in the discipline of Bamboo Design and Construction. Read the author's abstract below.
Architect and illustrator Matías Kim has shared with us a series of drawings featuring some of Oscar Niemeyer's most iconic works. With simple, precise lines, Kim explores the plasticity of the modern architect's works through static and moving images, revealing the interiors of projects such as Casa das Canoas and the Cathedral of Brasília.

The Reasons Offsite, an exhibition on modular and prefabricated architecture, was created in Portugal by the studio SUMMARY and is traveling around the world. The exhibition has been shown in Albania (at Tirana Architecture Week, in September 2018) and in the United States (at the Salt Gallery of the Boston Society of Architects, in March 2019). It now has two more editions confirmed for this year, in Edinburgh and Weimar, the latter as part of the Bauhaus centenary celebrations.
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On Wednesday, October 9, the 21st Brazilian Congress of Architects (CBA) began. Organized by the Institute of Architects of Brazil (IAB) since 1945, this year's edition runs through October 12 in Porto Alegre, inviting professionals and the public to discuss its theme, Space and Democracy, through events held across various locations in the city's Historic Center.

Rio is the World Capital of Architecture. The title was awarded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Friday morning, January 18, during a ceremony held at the organization's headquarters in Paris, and stems from the hosting of the World Congress of Architects in Rio in 2020. This is the first time a city has received this designation—established last year through a partnership between UNESCO and the International Union of Architects (UIA).

Conceived by Tatiane Gonzalez from Ateliê Digital Analógico, "Incerteza Invisível" is a large-scale technological urban intervention in the form of projection mapping, created by an all-female group.

“On Growth and Form”, written by biologist and mathematician D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson [1860-1948], is considered the greatest work of prose in twentieth-century science, highlighting the role of physics and mechanics in determining the form and structure of organisms. The book immediately became a classic for exploring natural geometries in the dynamics of growth and physical processes. Thompson reveals himself to be a great scientist, sensitive to the fascination and beauty of the natural world, writing in a style that led the specialized press to call his work “as much good literature as science; a discourse on science as if it were a matter of humanity.”

The curatorial team of the XII São Paulo International Biennial of Architecture, comprising architects Vanessa Grossman, Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, and Ciro Miguel, has been named a recipient of the competitive 2019 Grants to Individuals from the prestigious, Chicago-based Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. The grant was awarded for the publication of the book Todo dia/ Everyday, the result of the work and research that culminated in the theme of the XII São Paulo International Biennial of Architecture. The bilingual volume will be published by Ruby Press, a Berlin-based publisher specializing in books on architecture, art, and other cultural practices engaged in the production of space in contemporary society.

The magazine Solidarity Housing Production: An International Overview was launched on Monday, November 25, at the opening of the National Seminar on Technical Assistance for Social Interest Housing. The publication compiles the main contributions from the event of the same name, held in July 2018. Organized by architects and urban planners Luciana Ximenes and Thais Velasco, the magazine was produced by CAU/RJ and the Observatório das Metrópoles (Ippur/UFRJ).

Felipe Camus, a photographer who has documented ELEMENTAL's project, shares his reflections on Ochoquebradas.

The exhibition Victims: A Work by John Hejduk materializes the unbuilt work of the New York architect, presented here for the first time by the Leopoldo Rother Architecture Museum at the National University of Colombia. Alongside the scale model of the project, the 67 figures are accompanied by narratives, illustrations, and a short film titled Structures of a Wound.

As a tribute to Mexico's rich and diverse chromatic palette, the Museo del Objeto del Objeto (MODO) presents its new temporary exhibition: “Mexico in Color,” curated by Ana Elena Mallet and Mariano Marroquín. The exhibition offers a cultural review of color perception in Mexico and its impact on art and design. One of the first experiences visitors will encounter is the conceptualization of color in folk art to forge identity. Subsequently, this element is adopted as a defining feature in the arts and, ultimately, as a driving force for the country's modernization.

Starting tomorrow, April 8, the London city government will implement strict emission rules for pollutants and particulate matter in the central area of the city. The goal is to reduce air pollution levels. According to London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the measure could help reduce the incidence of lung disease and premature deaths related to air pollution. Official estimates suggest that around 9,000 people die annually in the city from pollution-related illnesses.

The Museo Casa de la Memoria is located in Medellín's Boston neighborhood and was developed to commemorate the bicentennial of Colombia's independence. Led by Juan David Botero as the design team coordinator, the project was conceived from the outset as a highly recognizable building for both the community and visitors, drawing its sculptural form from traditional gabled houses. "It is a museum for the victims of violence, and as such, we had to ensure it was a space for everything; a home, the house where memory comes to life," Botero says.
The 3,800-square-meter cultural facility unfolds along the creek like a tunnel, housing exhibition rooms, workshops, archives, offices, and an auditorium. Its envelope functions as a folded skin, incorporating an air cavity that absorbs cool air, draws it in through the facade, and expels it as hot air at the top. This chimney effect helps control the typical 30ºC summer temperatures of the area, ensuring a stable and comfortable indoor climate. Below, we take a closer look at its sculptural thermal and acoustic envelope.

A disruption of chronological order. This is what we know as Anachrony, and it is also the perfect concept to describe the creative process of Chilean architect Juan Agustín Soza. Through his sketches, Soza reveals a timeless creative process—one that does not aim to graphically represent the future final result of a work, but rather expresses ideas through aesthetic codes to establish design guidelines and parameters for the project.
Below, you can read more about the drawing process as a design tool in our interview with Juan Agustín Soza.

The casa chorizo is a residential typology historically used in Argentina, primarily in the city of Buenos Aires. It consists of a succession of similarly sized rooms connected along a longitudinal axis that open onto a gallery or courtyard, from which they receive light and ventilation. Typically built on plots between party walls, their service areas are grouped at the back. Today, numerous projects address the rehabilitation of this type of housing. These can be understood as research initiatives exploring how a city's characteristic construction matrix can be reviewed and updated to adapt to contemporary ways of living.

Photographer Manuel Sá shared with us his perspective on the Coati Restaurant, designed in 1987 by Lina Bo Bardi, João Filgueiras Lima - Lelé (precast reinforced mortar), Marcelo Ferraz, and Marcelo Suzuki.
The entire complex—comprising a restaurant, a bar, and three historic houses converted into nine apartments with ground-floor commercial space—is located in the Pelourinho district of Salvador, and is part of the pilot project for the Bahia Historic Center Recovery Plan proposed by Lina. The restaurant is unfortunately abandoned and falling into disrepair, as is the rest of the complex.

Residencia WW is a project in Mexico born from the idea of fostering community among women. Located in a 1920s house at 102 Edgar Allan Poe Street in Polanco, Mexico City, the space functions as a social and business club designed to build and support this community's growth.

The new workplace paradigm, driven by digital transformation, is introducing significant changes to employee profiles and the roles people perform within their work environments. At Actiu, these shifts represent an opportunity to turn workspaces into strategic levers of change, allowing organizations to align their transformation goals with the well-being and satisfaction of their workforce.

A sustainable social housing unit featuring productive and commercial spaces is the winner of the third edition of the Chilean competition Construye Solar. The project, known as Casa Mercado, was developed by a team of students from Universidad Mayor.

The XI Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism (XI BIAU) recently announced the 210 projects selected for its upcoming edition, which will be held for the first time in Asunción this October.

The project emerged as an opportunity to increase accessibility to Buenos Aires's Hipódromo de San Isidro—currently privately managed—through minimal interventions. By creating a linear park around the perimeter, the proposal makes this urban green lung more inclusive, transforming it into a social hub that enhances both the environment and quality of life.

Anyone who has ever been to the beaches of Rio de Janeiro has certainly seen vendors selling grilled *queijo coalho* (curd cheese) or grilled shrimp, sweet mate tea, and Globo biscuits—classic snacks of the Rio shoreline. In São Paulo, open-air markets serve sugarcane juice and fried *pastel*, a local adaptation of a dish originally brought by Chinese immigrants and popularized by Japanese immigrants. In Minas Gerais, there is *pão de queijo* (cheese bread) and pastel, also filled with cheese. In Salvador, it is impossible not to mention *acarajé* (with or without hot sauce), which has been declared an intangible cultural heritage asset by IPHAN. The capital of Bahia even has its own Street Food Guide, reflecting the immense culinary diversity found in the city.