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.

From NFTs and the Metaverse to the productivity benefits of real-time rendering, this year presents a prime opportunity to discuss the latest trends in visualization.

With this in mind, we want to open the debate and hear your thoughts on the following questions: How much can we learn from other related industries such as cinema, video games, and industrial design? How can architecture contribute to and advance the world of visualization?

Spanish architect Lluís Comerón, who recently passed away at 62, has been recognized for his tireless professional practice with the Gold Medal of Architecture. The High Council of Colleges of Architects of Spain (CSCAE) has posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Architecture to Catalan architect Lluís Comerón Graupera, who served as president of the institution during the 2018–2022 term.

Since the 15th century, the territory of Misiones, Argentina, has witnessed the constant passage and local overlap of a vast number of highly diverse cultures. Indigenous Guaraní, Spanish conquistadors, Jesuit missions, Paulist bandeirantes, people from the Republic of Entre Ríos and later the Province of Corrientes, Paraguayans, Brazilians, and, finally, a sweeping influx of European immigrants fleeing the world wars make up some of the layers of its immeasurable cultural fabric.  

On the path toward poverty reduction, economic growth, and environmental sustainability, both water and sanitation measures play a fundamental role, demonstrating the importance of access to a resource like water in people's lives. To mark World Water Day, celebrated every March 22, we present the Palacio de Aguas Corrientes (Water Company Palace) in Buenos Aires—one of the greatest creations of the 19th-century European foundry industry outside Europe, combining art and engineering in a unique Argentine work declared a National Historic Monument in 1989.

The CCCB is launching the call for entries for the European Prize for Urban Public Space, a biennial competition organized to recognize and promote projects that create, restore, and improve public spaces in European cities. This honorary award—with registration open from April 20 to May 17, 2022—will recognize works completed between 2018 and 2021. Teresa Galí-Izard, an agricultural engineer, landscape architect, and professor at ETH Zurich, will chair the prize's international jury. The rules and all information regarding participation are available on the website.

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In Peru, communal kitchens (ollas comunes) are self-managed neighborhood initiatives located in vulnerable areas. Driven by the food and educational insecurity triggered by the pandemic, these spaces have assumed a vital role in child development, transforming themselves into neighborhood schools. Within this context, "DIT: Building a Space for Children" emerged—a project selected for the XII Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism. Through this initiative, architects Gian Franco Pedreschi, Sergio Iván Puch, and Jhordano Zabanick, together with the community of the AA.HH. Horacio Zevallos, intervened in the public space adjacent to a communal kitchen in the Rímac district, improving the residents' quality of life.

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In the latest edition of the FAD Awards for Architecture and Interior Design, the Kindergarten in the Cerro Colorado Community, located in the city of Arequipa, was selected as a 2022 International FAD Finalist. Designed by architects Ander Bados Sesma and Betsaida Curto Reyes, the school was developed as an expansion of the Villa Magisterial school by the NGO All Hands and Hearts following severe flooding in the city.

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The National Architecture Award of Chile is presented by the Colegio de Arquitectos (Architects Association) to recognize "a lifetime dedicated to the service of architecture," according to the organization. First awarded in 1969, the inaugural recipient was Juan Martínez, architect of landmark projects such as the Law School at the University of Chile and the Votive Temple of Maipú.

The DNA Paris Design Awards have announced the winners of the 2022 edition in the categories of architectural design, interior design, landscape design, product design, and graphic design. The results were announced at the end of June, and the awards ceremony will take place in Paris in September 2022.

On this day 117 years ago, Juan O'Gorman—the first Mexican functionalist architect—was born, whose work marked a turning point in the architectural production of his era. He trained at what was then the National School of Architecture, where he completed and integrated his studies in architecture and engineering. Considered the father of modern architecture in Mexico, O'Gorman trained in the style of Le Corbusier and the stripped purism of Villagrán, eventually evolving toward the "New Mexican Baroque" movement. His works were characterized primarily by the use of reinforced concrete, asymmetric exteriors, and a constant search for air and light.

The growing focus on sustainable architecture drives architects to explore alternative sustainable construction materials that can be implemented in new buildings. The research “Totora as a Thermal Insulation Material: Properties and Potential” was published by architect Leyda Aza Medina as a master's thesis in 2016 and won the ADUS 2021 academic practice award. The study offers a sustainable alternative, utilizing the renewable resource of totora reeds to develop thermal insulation for buildings in the Peruvian highlands.

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Following the 60th anniversary of the iconic Casa en Jean Mermoz—a precursor to the ideas of Ciudad Abierta in Ritoque—Igor Fracalossi, PhD, proposed a reconstruction of its wooden formwork system. He knows the building well; since 2012, he has dedicated his research to studying "the most complex residential project in Chile to date.”

While walking through the exhibition of the reconstruction in the gardens and galleries of the Centro Cultural Las Condes in 2022, he explains in detail the innovative and unique construction aspects of this demolished work. The house was originally designed by Fabio Cruz Prieto, architect and founding master of the School of Architecture and Design at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso.

Like the armadillo from which the studio takes its name, Tatú Arquitectura is based in the southern reaches of Latin America. From there, the Montevideo-based group quickly launched its practice, receiving an award in the competition organized by the Universidad de la República for the RIFA 2014 house. Their work has expanded through a steady, persistent presence in architectural competitions and their first private commissions. The studio's exploration presents itself as an unyielding dialogue with the landscape, regardless of the scale of the commission.

ArchDaily presents the following interview, where the young Uruguayan firm shares details about their projects, motivations, challenges, and ways of working.

Many of us agree with Roman Mars of 99% Invisible when he says that "we tend to not notice well-designed things"—yet many also agree that design is often perceived as being for only a select few. Consequently, we must ask ourselves what is truly democratic when it comes to design, and from there, help define and contribute our vision toward a more just society.

From the perspective of design and architecture, we can approach the democratization of design from various angles—from incorporating design into everyday needs to designing inclusively. At the core of it all lies the search for solutions that improve accessibility and livability in our daily lives.

The construction industry is one of the largest producers of pollutants and waste globally in its daily operations. To put this into perspective, in the mid-1990s in Great Britain, construction processes generated nearly 10 million tons of post-industrial waste. Approximately a decade ago, over 3.5 billion new bricks were used annually, while around 2.5 billion were demolished; of that total, only about 140 million were reused, with the rest sent to landfills.

When addressing the recycling process of construction materials, several obstacles stand in the way of achieving a comprehensive and effective outcome. First, careless demolition can make the process highly complex, as materials destined for different recycling streams are often mixed together. Furthermore, not all materials can be recycled or processed efficiently, as many still require costly or overly complex processes. However, the construction industry—a major contributor to waste production and greenhouse gas emissions—has also developed multiple new technologies to improve its practices. This is where the WOOL2LOOP project comes in, aiming to resolve one of the greatest challenges in applying a circular approach to construction and demolition waste.

Born in Quito in 1947, Guadalupe Ibarra settled in Cuenca during her adolescence due to her father's military career. It was there that she decided to study architecture, enrolling at the University of Cuenca in 1963. An outstanding student, Ibarra earned her degree in 1970, becoming the first Ecuadorian woman to graduate as an architect in the country. 

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Architectural visualization is a branch of the profession that has gradually evolved to show more than just a final image of the projects presented. Over the years, with new tools made available by technology, it has become increasingly interesting to explore the different facets that speak not only to an author's language, but to a firm's own processes. At ArchDaily, architectural visualization has been a topic we have explored through various articles that reveal different ways of working, but above all, of communicating.

Over the years, the practice of architecture has maintained a very clear line regarding the solutions and services it offers to society. However, given the fast-paced and shifting context we inhabit today, it is far more common to find emerging firms establishing themselves through new discourses that promote transparency and horizontality in the profession. Today, it is fascinating to see how younger generations are increasingly adopting a perspective that borders on theater and the arts, shaping a scene that complements and draws inspiration from other disciplines, rather than remaining confined within the boundaries of architecture itself.

Gathering spaces in rural areas play an important role in improving the quality of life for local communities. In April 2022, Fundación Mi Parque launched the book “Rural Public Spaces: Community, Architecture, and Landscape” as both a contribution and a guide for a design discipline that seeks to highlight and address the need for meeting spaces in rural environments. The book is the culmination of five years of fieldwork, during which 37 community spaces were built, benefiting more than 26,000 residents in the Choapa Province of Chile's Coquimbo Region.

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“Mercado Retablo” is the winning proposal of the II Semilla Competition organized by MURU, presenting a new design for the Playa Grau Municipal Market, located in the city of Ayacucho. Architects Santiago Nieto Valladares and Lucía Uribe Osores explain how “the market proposes quality public spaces that establish it as a gathering place, moving beyond a mere site for transit and commerce to host and foster social interaction.”

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The Municipality of Avellaneda, in partnership with the Association of Architects of the Province of Buenos Aires (CAPBA), launched a national ideas competition for a new urban public park and the National Football Museum. The project is to be located near the urban center of Avellaneda, in the province of Buenos Aires.

The bookstore and publishing house Arcadia Mediática, alongside the architecture, design, and construction magazine Arkinka, began 2022 with the launch of their first joint editorial project, “Ideas de Hábitat. Arquitectura en Perú 2010-2020”. Through built projects of varying scales and territories represented by more than four generations of architects, the book aims to showcase the finest works of contemporary architecture in Peru over the last decade.

In November 2022, the Network of Latin American Architecture Biennials REDBAAL will mark its first ten fruitful years, celebrating this milestone by launching the Fourth Edition of the Oscar Niemeyer Award for Latin American Architecture, the prestigious ON-04 Prize. This August, the jury's decision was announced, revealing the top three winners and recognizing the work of architects from Brazil and Mexico.