A guide from Graphisoft on how to create powerful design presentations with Archicad through the use of Archicad version 25.

In his original article in the Arquia Foundation Architecture Blog, the author Alberto Campo Baeza talked about how important an architect is in the diagnosis and execution of a construction problem. Comparing the scenario to the importance of a doctor treating a disease, an architect is essential to executing a building project.

A city’s monuments are integral parts of its metropolitan identity. They stand proud and tall and are often the subject of a few of your vacation photos. It is their form and design which makes them instantly recognizable, but what if their design had turned out differently?

Paris’ iconic and stunning Arc de Triomphe could have been a giant elephant, large enough to hold banquets and balls, and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. could have featured an impressive pyramid.

GoCompare has compiled and illustrated a series of rejected designs for monuments and placed them in a modern context to commemorate what could have been. Here are a few of our favorites:

The social design from Natura Futura Arquitectura for a greenhouse in the warm subtropical climate of Nayón, Ecuador, the proposal approaches the use of local material resources in the construction of low-budget productive structures for the development of the collective.

The project, materialized with bamboo, wood and greenhouse plastic, is based on the basic geometrical figure of the triangle, proposing sectors with different levels of illumination for different types of farming.

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It’s hard to find an architecture enthusiast who wasn’t obsessed with LEGO as a kid. Many of us would spend hours carefully placing the small, colorful blocks to make our crazy, imaginary environments in our heads a reality—well, somewhat. Whether it was building a dream home for your dolls or simply trying to construct the tallest tower, LEGO was certainly responsible for the first flirtations with the profession. It is no question this tool unleashes our creativity, and this can be demonstrated in a variety of ways.

For this reason, we searched our archive for some architects which highlight the creative and innovative ways LEGO is being used in adult-life. From a few pieces of the LEGO® Architecture Series to the appropriation of some important offices such as Zaha Hadid Architects and MVRDV, urban interventions are being inspired by toys and even serving as a furniture mold.

Universal Favourite have developed a range of modular chocolates Complementary that are formed in 3D printed moulds to satisfy any architect with a sweet tooth. The architectural forms have been developed to establish a connection between the two pieces to be eaten as one, complementing one and other.

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At an altitude of 2735m, architecture students at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have built The Bonatti Bivouac, a temporary refuge for the A Neuve’s glacier. The shelter uses the envelope as a structural object, eradicating the need for metal, screws, or nails. Informed by theoretical architect Semper, their design uses the joints to form a piece of architecture.

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Videos

“Hairy” isn’t typically a term used to describe architecture. However, a “hairy” exterior is perhaps the defining characteristic of this micro-office by 2hD Architecture Workshop in the UK—the outer facades are entirely clad in natural coco-fiber broom heads.

The details and junctions of the broom heads are largely concealed as to let the broom bristles interlock, providing a continuous and visually diffuse surface. This hides any clue as to what is occurring on the interior—the structure existing merely as an object of intrigue.

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New Fundamentals Research Group, in partnership with S.N.B.R., designed and fabricated a stone vaulted pavilion for Rocalia, a natural stone fair held in Lyon last month. At a total area of 36 square meters and 3.20 meters in height, Flux reconnects the past to the present by combining traditional sculptural design with contemporary fabrication processes.

Site models: they are intriguing and playful things by nature, making you feel like a giant looking down on a city. These miniature neighborhoods, however, are often large and bulky and only suited for architecture schools or offices. Imagine being able to have a site model in your home or office. Microscape has launched a Kickstarter to produce 1:5000 scale models of America’s Windy City, Chicago.

'Tis the season for offices, museums, photographers and collaborators from around the world to send us a bit of holiday cheer! See our favorites below (or check out our best reader-submitted cards).

Here’s to a wonderful, architecture-filled 2017! See the best projects and articles published this year, here.

Testing the limits of structural viability and computer-based modeling, the 2017 Komorebi Pavilion used thin sheets of polyethylene terephthalate (PETG) in a unique way to develop an ethereal, self-supporting enclosure. The pavilion is the result of a collaboration between architecture students at Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) and engineering researchers at the University of Tokyo.

Thinking about resting for a few days during the holidays? We have selected a number of LEGO® sets that are sure to relax you and inspire you so that you too can enjoy these amazing, colorful, minimalist blocks by exploring the wonderful world of architecture, engineering, and construction.

With great inspirations from Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe in the Architecture Series, and some of the world's most iconic works such as the Eiffel Tower, the White House, the Empire State Building, the Big Ben or the Lincoln Memorial in Monumental Series, we invite you to test your skills and be inspired by the following LEGO® Architecture guide.

Check out below!

Milan based office ZarCola and Francisco Rodriguez were tasked with designing a bar and theatre for a new Milanese music festival.

The project site is within the garden of an ancient villa. A baroque trail weaves through the garden’s dense foliage, around many fountains and clearings.

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The clever Italian artist, Federico Babina is at it again, and this time he's taking us around the world in 21 animated illustrations. Hear the ringing of Big Ben, sirens in New York, seagulls of Amsterdam, and Havana drums as you find yourself adding to your travel bucket list. You'll have to watch this animation more than once to catch all of the details Babina captures about an entire city culture in one illustration. Or view each illustration individually below.

The Academy Bezalel students' bamboo project, in Jerusalem, is a proposal that approaches the construction in real scale and the experimentation with materials as an important driving force of architectural design.

The project, a suspended bamboo pavilion, can be reused with different configurations in different places with its joints made up of ropes and 3D printed pieces.

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Sarovic_Plaut Arquitectos’ latest work, “The Grater,” was the Bazar ED 2017 entry pavilion. Last November, Bazar ED’s 13th annual fair united design, decoration and trends at Santiago’s Bicentennial Park.

The pavilion is the first thing people see when they enter the fair and the last thing they see as they leave, making it a particularly memorable space. The spatial atmosphere created by Sarovic_Plaut Arquitectos plays with light and wind to enhance visitors sensorial experience.

Architect and illustrator, Marta Vilarinho de Freitas has yet again enchanted us with her intricate drawings of cities in thin-line-pen on paper. The Portuguese architect has been exercising her passion in drawing through a series of drawings entitled, Cities and Memory - the Architecture and the City.

Fascinated by cities, Marta’s illustrations express her connection with architecture while still capturing the romantic and qualitative aspects of each city, its patterns, colors, atmosphere, and light.

Marta Vilarinho de Freitas combines fantasy with detailed accuracy in her compositions of stacked building facades, roof pitches, plans and sections along with elements distinct to the city depicted such as Dutch windmills, boats, books, and instruments.The process of creating these drawings is cyclical in that they continue to inform Marta of the spirit of each city as she draws each art piece.

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Videos

The Modmin has been a go-to for quality videos and tutorials on architectural drawing and sketching. Their newest video tackles a drawing fundamental: the ability to draw a straight line. For many seasoned architects, this is a skill that they mastered long ago. But if you are just starting out, or if you've been hiding behind your computer's ability to consistently draw straight lines, then this hack is for you.

Referring to the first tip in Matthew Frederick's 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School, Themodmin's Umar shares an exercise he was taught for achieving straight lines. 

Over the last 5 years, the Fairy Tales competition has captured the imagination of thousands of participants from around the world - from students and aspiring architects, to multi-national firms and Pritzker prize winners.

Here is why, if you enjoy design and storytelling, you should give it a shot this year. 

What happens when an architect is inspired by both the pyramids of Mesoamerica and the modernity of Oscar Niemeyer... and said architect has been tasked to create a master plan for a utopic seaside resort? You get La Grande-Motte, a commune in Southern France. Below, photographers Roberto Conte and Stefano Perego share a selection of images from their pilgrimage to this unique site.