This guide shows how to use a D5 Render a free live-sync plugin to improve SketchUp workflow.

Twenty-one years after the passage of the federal City Statute (Estatuto da Cidade)—which regulated the “Urban Policy” chapter of the Brazilian Constitution, leading to the formulation of several master plans for 21st-century cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants and, now, the opportunity to revise many of them—it seems timely to tune our radars to a highly relevant topic for all cities, and one we have consistently struggled to address: our sidewalks!

I am referring to various aspects of their use and purpose, their regulatory mechanisms, their maintenance, and their design... Let us look at them.

To promote the use of wood in the construction of mid-rise social housing, the winners of the international competition "Wood: Innovation for Social Housing" have been announced. Organized by the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning (MVOT) and the National Housing Agency (ANV) in Uruguay, with support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the participation of the Municipality of Durazno. Much like previous wood competitions, such as the one focusing on single-family housing typologies, the goal is to promote the development and implementation of innovative timber construction systems. This approach improves climate comfort and energy performance while reducing environmental and economic construction costs.

Mexico City-based firm LOCUS, in collaboration with Studio Météores and Philippe Rahm Architectes, has been awarded fourth place in the single-stage international competition for the renovation of the National Museum of Carthage for its project titled "Byrsa, Topographies of an Act of Reparation." The Ministry of Cultural Affairs of the Republic of Tunisia announced the results of the competition, which was organized by the UIA, the OAT, UNESCO, Expertise France, and Patrimonie 3000.

The BIM (Building Information Modeling) methodology is revolutionizing the construction sector, and with it, the role of the BIM Manager. This professional is responsible for managing the building process using BIM, from initial sketches to project completion.

A BIM Manager's career path can vary based on education, experience, and professional goals. However, in general, BIM Managers tend to follow a similar career trajectory. 

Organized by the Central Society of Architects, the call for entries has been launched for the National Ideas Competition for the Saldías District, in collaboration with the Secretariat of Urban Development of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires and sponsored by the Argentine Federation of Architect Organizations (FADEA). Promoted by Autopistas Urbanas S.A., the competition aims to secure urban design proposals to transform and renew the site located in the decommissioned section of the Illia Highway, along with its immediate urban surroundings.

The word "deck" originated in the English language to refer to a ship's deck. Today, the term is used to describe outdoor surfaces made of wooden planks that may or may not surround pools, hot tubs, and soaking tubs. These design options can be highly diverse—so much so that a new approach has emerged in the market as a growing trend: the wet deck.

African countries have issued a stark joint declaration calling on major polluting nations to help poorer countries develop without further destroying the planet's climate and ecosystems, as wealthy nations did. They advocate for a global carbon tax as the primary mechanism to enable sustainable investment in vulnerable countries.

This year will be pivotal for climate action. The growing impacts of climate change — from floods and droughts to hurricanes and heatwaves — are causing profound damage to human lives and economies around the world, especially in vulnerable developing countries with few resources to protect themselves.

Currently, climate actions are not even close to what is needed to keep global warming below the 1.5°C threshold and avoid the worst of these impacts — countries must significantly accelerate their efforts to get on track. The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that actions taken this decade will have impacts "for thousands of years."

As part of an initiative by Tec de Monterrey, this year's first prize for the 215th Traditional Sorteo Tec features a residential project designed by Mexican architect Cristina Grappin. With this home, the university raffle of Tecnológico de Monterrey furthers its support for the Líderes del Mañana (Leaders of Tomorrow) program, an initiative aimed at driving change, social mobility, and the development of outstanding young scholars.

On Tuesday, September 26, the National Electoral Commission released the list of architecture and urbanism professionals eligible to vote in the October 10 elections.

Check the Qualified Electoral Roll for the entire country on the CAU/BR election website.

Rafael Vélez Calisto, a leading figure in shaping Quito's contemporary image, closed the latest Latin American Architecture Biennial with his lecture "The Trajectory of a Life," while Seville-based architect Manuel Ramos had already opened the event three days prior with his presentation, "The Last Century of Architecture in Ecuador." In the interim, practices ranging from MCM + A Taller de Arquitectura, Surreal estudio, Arquitectura X, Duran & Hermida, Diez & Muller, Espinoza Carvajal, and Arquitectura Sur to the selected young firms Rama Estudio and Emilio López presented a glimpse of both the historic and recent architecture of the country—the guest country of honor for the BAL 2023 edition.

Throughout October, more than 230 events will discuss building urban resilience in the Global South. Featuring representatives from over 20 countries in Latin America and Lusophone Africa, the 2023 Urban Circuit (Circuito Urbano) will take place from October 2 to 31. The schedule is now available on the event website.

The podcast "Lápiz femenino en el aula de arquitectura" was created by Layla Jorquera Sepúlveda, an architect from the Universidad de Chile, to bring visibility to women from different architecture institutions who have completed the Design Studio course, which carries the highest number of academic crédits.

The results of the National Wood Architecture Prize - PNAM’23 have been announced. In its seventh edition, the award recognized a winning project and two honorable mentions in “Sustainability and Circular Economy” and “Material Typology.”

The top prize was awarded to the renovation of Sala Projeto I - Colégio das Artes at the University of Coimbra, designed by architect Paulo Providência, with carpentry by Veiga Lopes, S.A., Carpinlux, and Brito Móveis. The University of Coimbra was the institution responsible for executing the project.

Atrium Ljungberg unveiled Stockholm Wood City in Sweden, the world's largest urban construction project in wood, and in Norway, just four years ago, Voll Arkitekter completed the Mjøstårnet Tower on Lake Mjøsa, one of the tallest wooden buildings in the world at 18 stories. On the other side of the planet, the Tamango project by Tallwood Architects is an example of the challenges and opportunities of wood construction in Chile, as it could become the first 12-story building with a prefabricated wood structure in Latin America. Meanwhile, in Peru, the Construye para Crecer project by Poggione+Biondi Arquitectos won the XIX National Architecture Biennial 2022 with a residential complex to be built mainly of wood. Nearby, Uruguay recently concluded its social housing in wood competition, paving the way toward innovation in social interest architecture. Furthermore, in 2020, Vicente Guallart won an international competition to define the standards for the buildings of a new city in China. The project, titled The Self-Sufficient City, was already a design that materialized a new urban model in wood across four city blocks.

Across the globe, sustainability and innovation in construction are constantly evolving, and wood structures are presented as a promising option. ArchDaily presented The Future of Wood as its monthly topic, opening up a discussion to explore and hear predictions and thoughts from our readers regarding the future of this material in architecture and urbanism. Is wood the key to a more sustainable and livable urban future? Or are there challenges we must address before embracing this trend? What are the implications for architecture, cities, the economy, and the environment?

At the crossroads, three women with their histories and ancestries seek to overcome the challenge with a necessary padê: the construction of a narrative that attempts to purge from the epistemic rubble certain questions born from observing how people reacted to the fact that a "chic favela dweller" received an international award. The case (and tale) in question is the award in the "Houses" category of ArchDaily's international Building of the Year 2023, which was granted to "Kdu's Shack"—a house that expresses planning, design, exposed concrete, exposed brick, beauty, and poetry, but... From its inception, it has been a house "out of place"—and this caused discomfort. In this text, we address these (dis)comforts and materialities; the disputes over narratives; what is "out of place" and who does the classifying; territory; design; aesthetics; gingas; the delegitimization of self-discourse, and other intersections.

Thirty-eight years ago, the Colegio de Arquitectos del Estado de Jalisco A.C. established the Jalisco Architecture Prize to recognize the work of outstanding architects and to encourage and motivate architecture professionals in the State of Jalisco. The award was also conceived to celebrate the region's rich tradition of excellence and innovation, as the birthplace of numerous illustrious professionals, including architect Luis Barragán Morfín and Fray Gabriel Chávez de la Mora—who designed the signature medal for this prestigious honor. The accolade is divided into three main categories: the Architectural Design Award, the Urban Design and Planning Award, and Distinctions, as well as the Honoris Causa Recognition.

Launched in 2023 and developed by the Technological Center for Innovation in Construction (CTEC) and the Chile Green Building Council, the P+ Material Passport for Construction Platform enables the registration, characterization, and traceability of building materials and components throughout their lifespan.

The winners of the XXII Bienal del Colegio de Arquitectos de Nuevo León in Monterrey have been announced. Under the theme "Coherence," this edition's discourse proposes establishing dialogues and expressions to recognize the correct expressive and material act of architecture in practice. The biennial seeks to acknowledge how both architectural objects and urban projects operate under the following categories: social coherence, ethical coherence, strategic coherence, participatory coherence, productive coherence, and material coherence.

From October until November 24, 2023, the Mugak International Architecture Biennial of the Basque Country will take place. Now in its fourth edition, the event brings together a wide range of open, free activities across San Sebastián, Bilbao, and Vitoria-Gasteiz under the theme “rebuild, reinhabit, rethink,” encouraging debate on the impact of architecture within the context of today's multidimensional crisis—encompassing its environmental, economic, and social responsibilities, as well as its capacity for transformation and care. 

More than one billion babies and children live in urban environments. However, the way cities are planned fails to consider their needs, or those of the people responsible for their care. To support decision-makers, urban planners, and transportation professionals in improving access to urban opportunities for thousands of Brazilian children, ITDP Brasil has launched Access for Babies, Toddlers, and Caregivers, developed in partnership with the Bernard van Leer Foundation.

Urban public space is, and must remain, a platform for social, cultural, and political expression. Studies such as those by UN-Habitat recognize that accessible, safe, and inclusive public spaces are vital tools for mitigating urban inequality.

Moreover, when conceiving these spaces as a "living room," they should ideally be functional and welcoming to everyone, ensuring users feel "invited" to linger, use, and care for them. Over the past two decades, open public spaces (streets, intersections, squares, plazas, parks, etc.) have increasingly become the focus of strategic and tactical activations and experiments.

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The Liberdade neighborhood, in the central region of São Paulo, will begin testing the Open Streets (Ruas Abertas) program this Sunday (1st). Similar to what has been done on Paulista Avenue since 2016, four streets in the area will be open exclusively to pedestrians from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays and holidays.

Led by the Municipal Department of Urban Development and Licensing, the initiative aims to prioritize the use of urban space based on pedestrian needs. “The goal is to foster conditions that encourage people to linger, improve walkability, and strengthen the area as a tourist and commercial attraction,” the São Paulo city government stated in a press release.

Architects and urban planners across the country will participate in a national election this Monday and Tuesday, October 16 and 17. More than 200,000 professionals in the field are set to choose 402 state councilors for the Councils of Architecture and Urbanism of the States and the Federal District (CAU/UF) and 28 federal councilors for the Council of Architecture and Urbanism of Brazil (CAU/BR) – one from each Federative Unit plus one representative of Higher Education Institutions (IES).