How to Develop a Residential Design Concept

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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 life and work of Matilde Ucelay Maórtua, Spain's first female architect

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Matilde Ucelay Maórtua was born in 1912 in Madrid into a bourgeois, professional, and enlightened family, as the eldest of four sisters. Her father's family, Enrique Ucelay, of Basque origin, had held a prominent economic, political, and professional position in 19th-century Madrid, closely tied to political liberalism. Meanwhile, her mother, Pura Maórtua, also of Basque descent, came from a wealthy family as well. Though she lacked formal academic training, she possessed an insatiable desire to learn and was fortunate to travel extensively, visiting museums and architectural works.

Inhabiting the Desert: A Habitable Prototype for Emergency Communities

The Peruvian coastal desert has been the setting for the development of numerous pre-Hispanic cultures; these cultures conquered the arid environment but succumbed to the climatic event known as El Niño (FEN). Subsequent events in 2017 demonstrated that FEN remains a challenge for the communities inhabiting this same context.

Senate approves legal framework for offshore energy production

On Wednesday, August 17, the Senate Infrastructure Services Committee approved a bill establishing a regulatory framework for offshore energy generation—including wind, solar, or tidal—in Brazil's open seas, lagoons, and other bodies of water. The Bill (PL) 576/2021 regulates authorizations for harnessing offshore energy potential. Authored by Senator Jean Paul Prates (PT-RN), the bill was approved in a final vote by the committee and will now proceed to the Chamber of Deputies for review.

Toward a More Human Architectural Photography: In Conversation with Ana Amado

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Since 2009, World Photography Day has been celebrated every August 19, commemorating the presentation of the daguerreotype to the French Academy of Sciences. The daguerreotype was the first photographic process, a milestone invention for human history and, of course, for our own discipline. Discussing architecture through photography is, in the words of Beatriz Colomina, one of its primary means of dissemination.

Mexican artists and designers present pieces for the exhibition "MASA X SOTHEBY’S: Harmonious Contradiction" in New York

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"Harmonious Contradiction" is the third and final summer exhibition at Sotheby's East Hampton Gallery New York and the first collaboration between MASA and Sotheby’s. Running from August 24 to September 18, this group exhibition features brass and polished bronze floor works by eight contemporary artists from Mexico City-based Masa Gallery, in conversation with a curated selection of contemporary and post-war works from Sotheby's.

Area Beta: The new educational center designed by Sauerbruch Hutton for Nordelta, Argentina

In the northern area of Greater Buenos Aires, Nordelta has been developing a new urban project across its 1,700 hectares for around 30 years. Initially conceived for low-density residential use, it now also includes medium- and high-density housing, educational, recreational, and service facilities, as well as production and supply hubs, among others. Area Beta is located in the southern part of Nordelta, designed to complement this mixed-use and service urban sector.

Banco do Brasil creates financing for low-pollution transportation

Those interested in purchasing low- or zero-emission transportation options can now access a new line of credit. This month, Banco do Brasil (BB) launched the BB Crédito Mobilidade line, which will finance items such as bicycles, kick scooters, electric or manual scooters, and motorcycles under 125cc, with repayment terms of up to five years.

Botanikafé Pinheiros / OM estudio

Botanikafé Pinheiros / OM estudio - Interior Photography, RestaurantBotanikafé Pinheiros / OM estudio - Interior Photography, Restaurant, Door, Table, ChairBotanikafé Pinheiros / OM estudio - Interior Photography, RestaurantBotanikafé Pinheiros / OM estudio - Interior Photography, Restaurant, Garden, Facade, Arch, Arcade, Door, Table, ChairBotanikafé Pinheiros / OM estudio - More Images+ 15

  • Architects: OM estudio
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  323
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2020
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  Terracor, Dalle Piagge

Balcony Enclosures as a Selling Point

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In Brazilian cities, we see new residential buildings being constructed with cantilevered balconies—that is, extending beyond the building's perimeter and encroaching upon the minimum required setbacks (referred to as afastamentos in Rio de Janeiro). However, what we have seen in recent years is a growing trend of enclosing these balconies with glass panels, consequently expanding the adjacent rooms. But what is the reason behind this enclosure? If there is a need to enlarge these spaces, why aren't they designed this way to begin with?

AOA Magazine #46

With a dialogue on the country's emerging housing deficit and the rise in land occupations, professionals, academics, and authorities participated in the launch of the latest edition of the Association of Architecture Offices (AOA) magazine—an issue that addresses this topic and the multiple elements shaping a complex reality.

Australian researchers use rubber from old tires to produce concrete

Rubber from discarded tires can replace 100% of conventional aggregates used in manufacturing concrete. This is what engineers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, have discovered. The concrete made with the material meets building codes and promises to boost the circular economy.

This “greener concrete” uses rubber from discarded tires instead of gravel and crushed stone. According to the team that developed the material, the new concrete is lighter and promises to significantly reduce manufacturing and transportation costs.

6th Workshop + Community Build: Architecture in the Periphery

This is our 6th AnP Workshop + Mutirão, another unmissable opportunity to discuss architecture focused on social practices and to join forces on the construction site, learning and exchanging knowledge.

The "exotic" floating city of Manaus

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The end of the rubber monopoly, the economic crisis of the 1920s, demographic growth driven by the migration of river dwellers and northeasterners to Manaus, and a scarcity of resources all contributed to a housing crisis in the city.

Amid this adversity, in 1920, João Aprígio, a native of Paraíba with a wife and children to support, faced immense hardships. His meager earnings were barely enough to feed his family. Lacking a home of his own, Aprígio gathered two açacu logs from an igapó (flooded forest) and towed them behind his canoe to the Educandos waterfront, which he deemed the most suitable location to build his dwelling. For twenty days and nights he worked, eventually erecting what would become the first floating house in Manaus.

Spain launches curatorial competition for its pavilion at the 2023 Venice Biennale

The Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma), through the Directorate-General for Urban Agenda and Architecture, has launched a project competition with a jury for the contract to provide curatorial services, exhibition design, and touring curation for the Spanish Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition, the 2023 Venice Biennale, as indicated on the State Contracting Platform.

Ferro House / dbA. arquitectura

Ferro House / dbA. arquitectura - Interior Photography, Renovation, Door, FacadeFerro House / dbA. arquitectura - Interior Photography, Renovation, Kitchen, Table, ChairFerro House / dbA. arquitectura - Interior Photography, Renovation, Stairs, Handrail, Door, LightingFerro House / dbA. arquitectura - Exterior Photography, Renovation, FacadeFerro House / dbA. arquitectura - More Images+ 24

  • Architects: dbA. arquitectura
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  2691 ft²
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2022
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  BRUMA, Banema, Cinca, QUICK-STEP

Additive Manufacturing Shelf: Towards a New Architectural Language

‘Additive Manufacturing Shelf: Towards a New Architectural Language’ is an exhibition that compiles part of the applied research project on 3D concrete printing developed by Verónica Arcos since 2018. Three-dimensional printing with cementitious and clay materials allows for unprecedented formal freedom, ushering in a new architectural language.

Domestic Ecosystem / Augusta Pastor + Santiago Roose

Domestic Ecosystem / Augusta Pastor + Santiago Roose - Interior Photography, Houses, Door, Table, Chair, LightingDomestic Ecosystem / Augusta Pastor + Santiago Roose - Interior Photography, Houses, Bathroom, Beam, Countertop, SinkDomestic Ecosystem / Augusta Pastor + Santiago Roose - Interior Photography, Houses, Kitchen, Beam, Table, Chair, CountertopDomestic Ecosystem / Augusta Pastor + Santiago Roose - Exterior Photography, Houses, GardenDomestic Ecosystem / Augusta Pastor + Santiago Roose - More Images+ 14

Exhibition at IMS Paulista explores the relationship between photography and the city in the early decades of the 20th century

On September 13, IMS Paulista opens the exhibition Moderna pelo avesso: fotografia e cidade, Brasil, 1890-1930. With free admission, the exhibition features photography from some of the country's major capitals—Porto Alegre, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Recife, and Belém—during the First Brazilian Republic, from 1889 to 1930. The exhibition documents radical urban reforms that took place during this period, addressing the tensions and contradictions of these processes, which altered landscapes and the ways people lived in and moved through cities.

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