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.

Today, Brazil celebrates Student Day. Established in 1927, the date marks access to a fundamental right for all citizens: education. Nearly a century later, new pedagogies and ways of looking at learning have emerged, bringing with them new architectures that embrace both pedagogical and technical advancements. With this in mind, we have gathered seven examples of Brazilian educational spaces designed after 2020. Through solutions that highlight key design aspects, these projects help outline a brief overview of contemporary references on the subject.

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Some symbols transcend language barriers, easily recognized and understood across different cultures—such as restroom icons, the medical cross, and, more recently, the universal Wi-Fi symbol. Among these ubiquitous graphics is the "recycling" logo, conceived in 1971 by architect and designer Gary Anderson while he was a student at the University of Southern California. The symbol features three clockwise arrows forming a triangle, representing industry, consumers, and recycling, respectively.

Reintegrating what is typically discarded as waste back into the production cycle is a core tenet of the circular economy. This concept is particularly relevant to the construction industry, which has historically relied on resource extraction and destruction to sustain itself. Because the brick is synonymous with building anew, nothing embodies the circular concept quite like it. Innovators have risen to the challenge, devising solutions that transform waste into high-value resources, producing building blocks from raw waste materials ranging from seaweed and plastic to human hair. These innovations not only address pressing environmental concerns but also fundamentally redefine how we construct and inhabit our spaces. In this article, we highlight seven initiatives turning waste into valuable building blocks.

On a recent trip to the United States, looking out the airplane window while taking off from Tampa, Florida, I was struck by the pristine green landscape of the American suburb. Neatly organized rows of seemingly identical trees blanketed the flat terrain like a green carpet. To some, this abundance of green might look like a dream of environmentally integrated sustainability.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The American suburb, based on the outdated concept of the “garden city,” was designed to favor the automobile, low-density single-family housing, and single-use zoning. This model virtually rules out active transportation (walking or cycling) and makes mass transit—which relies on density and walkability—wholly unviable.

Navigating certain cities around the world is remarkably easy to grasp, just as finding an address without GPS is not particularly difficult, even for first-time visitors. Urban design explains this ease of navigation. Urban spaces designed on a grid, such as Barcelona (Spain), New York, Chicago, and Phoenix (US), and Toronto (Canada)—where streets intersect at right angles to form a gridiron pattern—make orientation intuitive and optimize spatial utility.

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There are many reasons why some urban areas deteriorate while others thrive, including economic, planning, social, and cultural factors, as well as sheer chance. Understanding these dynamics—and, more importantly, minimizing the risk of decay while fostering vitality in urban areas—is a recurring theme in urban planning, driven by the shared and legitimate desire to live in beautiful, pleasant, and prosperous environments.

This article by Antonio Giráldez López was originally published in the 17th issue of revista rita under the title "Making the City Through Soft Architectures." Through excerpts from conversations with the Usina de Innovación Colectiva, it reconstructs an experience of ephemeral urban transformation in the former Mercado Modelo of Montevideo, Uruguay. In this intervention, actions and programs take precedence over rigid, permanent structures, allowing us to imagine new possibilities for disused infrastructure. This interdisciplinary proposal arises from the principle of fostering communities, citizen laboratories, and "in-between times" to counter the private management dynamics that increasingly threaten these types of spaces.

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Habitat X is part of an ongoing research initiative developed over more than 12 years, led by Argentine architect Alejandro Borrachia, involving over 100 professors, students, and graduates from the University of Morón – School of Architecture and Design (UM-ESAD) alongside multidisciplinary actors and strategic partners from both the private and public sectors. Focusing on theoretical inquiry and the physical realization of a series of prototypes, the project engages with a specific program based on contemporary societal concerns and needs, connecting with processes, hypotheses, and case studies that spark unprecedented disciplinary shifts.

A resident of Vitória might not think of the Jucu River Basin forests when pouring a glass of water. Uruguayans likely do not think of the Amazon Rainforest when they watch rain fall on city parks. And residents of Addis Ababa are probably not thinking of the Congo Basin when they eat injera, a traditional Ethiopian staple made from teff grain.

Yet, forests near and far affect the daily lives of these people more than they realize.

Composed of extremely fine mineral particles and formed through the long-term weathering and erosion of rock, clay possesses unique properties that make it highly versatile. When wet, it becomes highly plastic and malleable, allowing it to be molded into virtually any shape. Once dried and fired, it becomes hard and durable, leading to its widespread use in construction and ceramics. In outdoor applications, clay pavers are particularly common, favored for their durability, resistance to weathering and traffic, natural earthy tones, and ease of installation.

This research on cultivable components as a replacement for petroleum derivatives in products used to manufacture materials from waste is carried out within a UBACyT Project directed by architect Marta Yajnes, within the framework of the Centro Experimental de la Producción (CEP) of the School of Architecture, Design, and Urbanism at the University of Buenos Aires.

Over the last two decades, the reach of public transit and ridership in one of the world's largest cities, São Paulo, have grown, reducing the share of trips made by car. Yet, despite exceptionally strict restrictions on certain cars and trucks during business hours, congestion—as conventionally understood—remains virtually unabated.

OTROCAFÉ is located on the ground floor of the iconic YWCA building, in the heart of Mexico City's Historic Center—a space steeped in over a century of history. The project was conceived as an integrated architecture and design proposal, a vision reflected in its creative framework. The cafe's design combines several key elements: subtle red accents, wood featured in both the custom furniture and as a continuous envelope wrapping the space, raw walls pigmented with a lime-based plaster, and soft, warm lighting that completes the atmosphere.

Dementia villages, or communities designed for people living with dementia, represent an innovative model of care for individuals experiencing cognitive decline, such as Alzheimer's disease. These environments are adapted and welcoming, fostering a sense of community while promoting resident autonomy and well-being.

Neuroarchitecture and dementia villages are closely linked, as both seek to create spaces that enhance the well-being and quality of life of those with dementia. Combining neuroscience with design, neuroarchitecture explores how the physical environment impacts the human brain and behavior.

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Greenhouse gas emissions from the operation of existing buildings are significantly higher than those generated by new construction—that is, from materials and their use during construction, which account for 25%, while building operations represent 75% of emissions. And this is without accounting for the vast number of buildings falling under the concept of energy poverty.

Against this backdrop, the 'Proyectar a Conciencia' (PAC) competition continues to advance the debate surrounding "building better versus improving what is already built" in its fifth edition. As always, the competition invited students and architects to present a vision of a better society through the energy retrofitting and partial physical transformation of institutional, private, or public infrastructure.

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A few days ago, on a beautiful, sunny Sunday in the middle of winter, my wife and I decided to take our two young children to visit Villa-Lobos Park, in the far west of the city of São Paulo, nearly on the border with Osasco.

It is not a park we visit often nowadays, but it undoubtedly holds a special place in our personal history. She grew up in Cotia; I, in Osasco. Both cities lie in the western part of the São Paulo Metropolitan Area, and the park was perhaps the main public space relatively close to our homes during our childhood and youth. We even have photos from when we first started dating in 2013, capturing idle moments—sometimes stretched out on a broad green lawn, other times embracing under a blossoming tree.

As if dealing with a culinary recipe, Cedric Price compared the evolution of cities to the multiple ways of cooking an egg, showing how the relationship between the yolk and the white (inherent to each preparation) resembled the configuration of different urban models that have emerged over the last couple of millennia. This evolutionary description moves from the almost perfect hard-boiled egg embodied by ancient cities (the result of walled settlements) to scrambled eggs, comparable to modern cities (sprawling shapelessly across the vast territory). It is a metaphor that exemplifies how, so often, the elements that make up the city resemble one another (like the yolk and the white) and yet, the way these ingredients intermingle is key to the final recipe—that which characterizes and explains them.

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Until a few years ago, the right bank of the Seine River in Paris was a high-speed thoroughfare carrying more than 40,000 vehicles every day. Despite being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the roadway was routinely gridlocked during rush hours or used as a speedway for cars. Consequently, it contributed to the city's air pollution levels—which frequently exceeded European Union limits—and to thousands of premature deaths in the French capital each year.

A new space has opened its doors in a 1930s house in the San Miguel Chapultepec neighborhood of Mexico City. This cultural enterprise, named ARCO, merges art, design, and architecture to create a collaborative venue housing the architecture firm WORC and the furniture-focused design studio VETA.

The construction of urban highways continues to expand worldwide. In Latin America, major projects are underway in Santiago (Américo Vespucio Oriente), Lima (Línea Amarilla), Quito (Solución Vial Guayasamín), São Paulo (Rodoanel Mário Covas), and Mexico City (Segundo Piso a Cuernavaca), to name just a few.

In Colombia, the national government announced a new program to improve access to urban areas during the 18th Congress of the Colombian Chamber of Infrastructure. In the words of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, “Our goal is also to transform access to cities. It is of little use to save time on intercity trips if that time is then lost within urban areas.”

Barco gallery is located in downtown Santiago, right next to Santa Lucía Hill. It occupies an apartment in the homonymous building designed by Sergio Larraín, celebrating a pioneering work of Chilean modern architecture. It is a curatorial practice dedicated to the debate, research, and development of critical and innovative ideas concerning the discipline through exhibition cycles. Its most recent exhibitions include 1972: Cities for Downtown Santiago, You Will Only Have Stones and Additive Manufacturing Shelf.

In partnership with the Embassy of Brazil in Chile, they organized a tribute to the leading figure of Brazilian modern architecture: Lina Bo Bardi. The exhibition "Sirena" by artist Jessica Briceño, curated by Matías Allende Contador and Anton zu Knyphausen, places Bo Bardi's disciplinary work at the center of reflection through an immersive installation that brings together five pieces abstracting her most recurring motifs.

It is increasingly common to observe how current generations, characterized by greater respect and awareness of the environment, seek new ways to interact with nature while assuming a deep responsibility to protect it. Accordingly, the future of architecture is closely tied to the ability to balance these desires and obligations, particularly in the design of natural public spaces.

By integrating subtle paths and walkways, public space design can open up access for people of all ages and abilities. Combined with a natural material palette, architects and designers can create spaces that complement their surroundings. Yet, however beautiful these natural areas may be, making them safe and suitable for visitors can have detrimental effects on the environment. Consequently, design and material selection must be approached mindfully and with care.

The Council for Architecture and Urbanism of São Paulo (CAU/SP) announced the three selected proposals in the first stage of the national competition to renovate the CAU/SP headquarters building, alongside honorable mentions and highlights. The competition registered 49 entries from firms across different regions of Brazil, receiving a total of 29 proposals.

On Friday, January 20, 2023, during the Constitutive Session of the new National Board elected by our members in the 2022 CA Elections, the new Executive Board and officers of the Colegio de Arquitectos de Chile were chosen for the 2022–2024 term.

Over 4% of deaths in European cities during the summer months are due to urban heat islands, and one-third of these deaths could be prevented if tree canopy cover reached 30%. These are the main findings of a study recently published in the journal The Lancet and conducted by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).