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.

Dear users,

When we launched this project in 2006, the concept of a "Platform" became highly significant for us, as we sought to provide an effective foundation to showcase your work as architects, building a network for knowledge exchange.

Although it was in Spanish, this network grew from Chile to the world, generating significant interest from various regions. This made us realize that the platform was needed in other languages, leading us to launch it in English, and later in Portuguese and Chinese.

At that moment, we wondered what it should be called: Architectural Platform? Plataforma Arquitetura? 体系结构平台?

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Recently, Tec de Monterrey unveiled “Skyspace: Espíritu de Luz,” an installation designed by American artist James Turrell that now joins DistritoTec in Monterrey, Mexico, as a cultural destination that enhances spatial quality through innovation. Arising from the “Light & Space” art movement, this piece was designed as an observatory to generate a unique visual experience through a sequence of lights every 12 hours, at dawn and dusk. It also serves as a tribute to the life and legacy of Don Eugenio Garza Sada and Eugenio Garza Lagüera.

Paint is synonymous with color, even when it is white. It is the simplest way to restore and correct imperfections on any surface, whether interior or exterior. Without detracting from this significant aesthetic benefit, paint also possesses composition-based properties that turn an attractive, well-finished project into a healthy building—one with a lower environmental impact throughout its life cycle.

What do we mean by heritage? This is one of the main questions raised by Alejandro Orellana, director of Relatos de Barrios—a Chilean project that seeks to reclaim the heritage and historical value of housing complexes, highlighting the community dimension behind the lives of their residents.

A documentary and a book are the results of their experience with the “CCU Worker Housing” in La Serena, later renamed the “Rengifo Housing Complex.” Designed in 1957 by architect Carlos Feuereisen Polanco and built in 1958 by Negochea and Vergara, it represents a characteristic housing typology of the city.

This article by Maya Orzechowska was originally published under the title "Five Principles for a Vulnerable and Intimate Architecture: Drawing Alternative Boundaries and Openings to the Home and the Self" in the 31st issue of Dearq journal on September 1, 2021 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.18389/dearq31.2021.04).

This article investigates how the boundaries and openings of the home are not separate from one another; rather, they play an active role in the politics of bodily and social health. For an increasing number of people, both the idea of the home and the reality of housing fail on a daily basis; therefore, this article seeks alternatives to the narrative of the home, of a utopian internal intimacy that endorses withdrawal, and of a non-responsible relationship toward the public realm. It suggests that the result is dystopian, concealing and exacerbating vulnerability and its resistance to change. In contrast, a vulnerable and intimate architecture focuses on the vulnerable body, drawing the uncanny, repressed, and emotional into the home.

We present it below as part of a joint collaboration to contribute to the dissemination of research, analysis, and opinion produced by the national and international academic community on architecture, urban issues, and related fields.

Exacerbated by the pandemic, the housing crisis has become a global phenomenon. Rising prices, lack of access, and poor housing policies have resulted in greater scarcity and precarious conditions. Chile is no exception. Indeed, according to the latest reports issued by the Chilean Chamber of Construction (CChC), there are “more than 700,000 families experiencing overcrowding and irreparable housing, in addition to 81,000 families living in informal settlements.”

The Municipality of the Villarino District (MPV) and the College of Architects of the Province of Buenos Aires, District 10 (CAPBA, D10), launched the National Binding Preliminary Project Competition for the design of the Pedro Luro Bus Terminal. Sponsored by the Argentine Federation of Architectural Organizations (FADEA), the competition's objectives focused on creating a high-quality space for arrivals and departures of medium and long-distance travel, consolidating the site's character to transform it into a new central hub, and creating a new service space for local identity that engages both the local and regional populations, among others.

Set in the heart of one of the world's most arid deserts, the Nasca aqueducts form a hydraulic system that, for nearly two thousand years, has demonstrated advanced geological and hydrological knowledge. This system allows water to be sourced for both human consumption and agriculture, creating fertile oases in the desert. The Nasca Aqueducts represent a unique hydraulic system in the Americas, owing to their distinct design, construction technique, location, and function. They serve as an exceptional testament to the capacity of ancient societies to overcome adverse conditions, offering solutions that could be applied to the climate challenges of our time.

How do we experience cities? What moves us? What do we remember about them? Monuments? Museums? Are we merely tourists, or do we live the city as an experience? Art is part of the urban fabric—a way to create new paths, lifestyles, and reference points that lead us to identify the unique spaces and moments experienced within it. Art is not confined to museums; it is in the streets, on the walls, and on the buildings that shape the city. Public space dialogues with artistic expression, engaging people, neighborhoods, cities, and an interconnected world to create new modes of community within a culture that is attentive to and understands our contexts and ecosystems. 

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Although the construction industry has spent years making strides in new fields such as biomaterials, nanotechnology, and 3D printing, it simultaneously remains one of the slowest to adopt new technology. Many of these innovations never progress past the experimental stage. How can this situation be reversed?

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Teresa Moller, José Cubilla, Solano Benítez & Gloria Cabral were honored today with the 2021 Global Award for Sustainable Architecture, organized by the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, a French institution dedicated, among other initiatives, to organizing events focused on heritage and architectural education.

Pedro Pitarch Architectures & Urbanisms, a Madrid-based architecture office, has recently designed a project for the Special 40th Anniversary Section of the ARCO Fair called "ARCO 40+1." This exhibition space commemorates 40+1 years of the art fair. The exhibition, where nineteen galleries present their works, was curated by María Inés Rodríguez, Sergio Rubira, and Francesco Stocchi.

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Peru, a country of rich heritage and ancestral wisdom, won two awards at Expo 2020 Dubai for the Peru Pavilion, which captivated visitors through the concept of "Timeless Peru." First, the trade publication Exhibitor presented the pavilion with the World Expo Award in the People’s Choice Awards category, following an online vote where people from around the world selected their best overall experience from the expo.

Additionally, on March 30 of this year, the Peru Pavilion won the Gold Award at the BIE Day Awards in the Self-built pavilions – Category B (between 1,750m2 and 2,500m2) category. The award recognized three key aspects: architecture and landscape, exhibition design, and theme interpretation.

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As part of the cultural agenda for Art Week 2022 in Mexico City, guadalajara90210—in collaboration with Michan Architecture and Luis Young—presented the exhibition "YACIMIENTOS," featuring works by 53 artists and architects. The venue, a building currently under reconstruction in the Condesa neighborhood, hosted the exhibition from February 12 to 20.

Fernando Abellanas had already shown us how to take refuge from the city within the city itself, with an installation that invited shelter in the interstitial spaces of an existing bridge. This time, he presents Urban Macroparasite: a habitable and connective structure created during the UIT Urban Festival in Tartu, Estonia.

This mobile installation adapts to achieve structural parasitism, prompting us to rethink how we occupy the inert and hidden spaces that make up our cities.

Today is the day to discover the finalists of ODA2022: the award for the best Spanish-language architecture. Our expert jury—meaning you, our readers—has selected 15 of your favorite projects from nearly 1,000 architectural works built across Latin America and Spain.

This award has become a true tradition, now in its 14th edition. It is an invitation extended to all our readers to recognize the works published during 2021 that inspired them and represent the identity of their local contexts in a globalized planet, shaping the way architecture is made in Latin America and Spain within an increasingly heterogeneous and multicultural world.

Starting today, and until next Wednesday, March 30, at 11:59 PM (GMT -3), you can explore each of the finalists in detail and vote for the work that best represents the Spanish-language architecture that inspires us, defines us, and leaves a mark on us. Discover all the finalist projects below.

The 2022 Obra del Año Award is brought to you by Dornbracht, renowned for its leading architectural designs, which can be found internationally in bathrooms and kitchens.

For its 43rd edition, the Grand Jury of the 2022 Konex Awards has selected the 100 most outstanding figures of the last decade in Argentine Visual Arts, spanning the period from 2012 to 2021. Honoring five individuals in each of the 21 established disciplines, the awards and diplomas of merit will be presented on Tuesday, September 13.

Celebrating its 35th anniversary, this edition of CasaCor brings together projects by 68 renowned professionals spread across more than 10,000 square meters inside a landmark of São Paulo modernism, the Conjunto Nacional. Under the theme “Particular Infinite,” this year's exhibition focuses on the accumulation of time, on the stories already told and those we tell about ourselves. In this universe of ways of inhabiting the world, and of the traces we leave around us—from finger marks on the walls to the dust we carry on the soles of our shoes—we are always searching for something that is ours alone, inexhaustibly our own.

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Various Associates, one of the winners of the 2021 ArchDaily Young Architects of the Year. With the evolution of the retail market and the rise of consumerism, a highly visual "photo-ready aesthetic" has come to dominate market values, sparking the mass production of spaces that are visually striking but devoid of functionality or experience. Various Associates refuses to chase market trends or cater to this photogenic aesthetic. Instead, relying on rigorous spatial design methodologies, they meticulously control every detail and material to formulate a site-specific "sole solution" for each brand. Our interest in their work extends beyond final aesthetics; we are drawn to the design strategy and logic articulated through their practice.

SND Chongqing WFC Concept Store / Various Associates
SND Sanya / Various Associates
HAYDON Hangzhou / Various Associates
(SO)What Chengdu / Various Associates
J1M5 Boutique / Various Associates
The Waiting Hall of the Future / Various Associates
Floating Gallery / Various Associates
Vanke Nantou Ancient City Exhibition / Various Associates
Voisin Organique / Various Associates
MORPH / Various Associates

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Featuring a spectacular amorphous structure, Bloodlust Wine Bar is located in Ejido El Porvenir, in the heart of Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California, Mexico. Its origins date back to late 2019, conceived by the vision of Juliette Cheanne, Poncho Muriedas, and Yuri Muriedas—three highly creative minds with a single shared mission: to bring to life a gastronomic space that, in addition to featuring an inimitable architectural facade designed by surrealist illustrator Jaime Zuverza, would offer an immersive auditory and visual experience to all who visit.

In these unprecedented times, uncertainty about the future runs deep. The Covid-19 pandemic is not over, the effects of climate change are already being felt everywhere, and many around the world continue to suffer from inequality. And this is just the big picture, to say nothing of how these issues interconnect. In a rapidly changing world, with stories emerging and evolving daily, which ones will have the greatest impact on people and the planet?

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How do we actually give citizens the ability to discover and understand what is happening around their cities? This is one of the key questions raised by Eva Franch, artistic director alongside Beth Galí and José Luis de Vicente of Model - Barcelona Architectures Festival.

How do we bring these issues to the table, into public debate, and into the public sphere? One answer could lie in augmented realities—technologies that allow us to visualize parts of the real world overlaid with new information through a technological device. For this architecture event, in addition to the five temporary physical installations scattered throughout the city, five augmented reality installations were produced, reflecting the event's different themes: Between-Generations, Between-Cultures, Between-Species, Between-Classes, and Between-Materials.

Established by master plans, zoning indexes consist of a set of regulations that govern building dimensions relative to the lot on which they are built. These requirements vary according to the zone in which the land is located and are divided into three main principles: Lot Coverage, Floor Area Ratio (FAR), and Permeability Rate. Learn what each one means and how to calculate them below.

The national competition for the redevelopment of Avenida 25 de Julho in Flores da Cunha, RS—organized by the municipal government in partnership with the Institute of Architects of Brazil – Rio Grande do Sul Department (IAB RS) and supported by the Council of Architecture and Urbanism of RS (CAU/RS) and the Brazilian Association of Landscape Architects (ABAP)—has announced its winning projects.