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.

There’s something about the saturated hues of blossoming springtime flowers and the fiery, warm tones of a sunset descending upon a cityscape that brings us joy. Humans crave color. In fact, we’ve been fascinated by them since the beginning of our existence. So much so that everything from the color of our clothes to the brightly illuminated pixels on this screen is an attempt to recreate –and enhance– the vibrant shades present in nature, finding in them a source of inspiration and vitality. Our brains are wired to link colors with sensations and experiences: the lush greens of a forest evoke feelings of tranquility and renewal, while the deep blues of the ocean stir a sense of mystery and adventure. It is this ability to elicit emotion that makes colors an invaluable tool for architects and designers –and which also explains why trends are moving away from the once-reigning neutral minimalism towards a more maximalist aesthetic that embraces pops of color, dimension and playful texture.  

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MAD Architects has unveiled the project for the renovation of the "Wanmicang" warehouse on the southside of the Shanghai Zhangjiang Cement Factory. The building is set to be transformed into a multifunctional public waterfront space for culture, creativity, and commerce. The project maintains the character of the former industrial site but introduces a new addition in the form of an ark-like metal 'floating' volume, creating a stark contrast between the old and new structures. The project is scheduled for completion by 2026.

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The designs for the Australian Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, have been unveiled by Australia’s Minister for Trade and Tourism. Designed by global firm Buchan, the scheme celebrates Australia’s natural beauty. Under the theme “Chasing the Sun,” the pavilion is aligned with Expo's larger theme: developing and adopting the best practices to drive sustainable co-creation. In essence, the theme is meant to capture the confident optimism the nation possesses, inspiring creative solutions and international cooperation.

Granted annually at UNESCO since 2015, the Prix Versailles consists of architecture awards that showcase the finest contemporary achievements worldwide. Today, alongside the announcement of the World Selections in the categories of airports, campuses, passenger stations, and sports spaces, the 2023 edition is officially inaugurated.

There are several reasons why Colima is a Mexican state of relevant cultural wealth, one of them is due to its climate and orography where beaches such as Manzanillo and the Colima volcano are sheltered, facilitating tourism in this region. Moreover, the rich pre-Hispanic history signed on archaeological sites such as "El Chanal", "La Campana" and "Meseta de la Hierbabuena", as well as some important haciendas (farms) such as the Hacienda de Nogueras, Hacienda del Carmen and Hacienda San Antonio.

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Sub-Saharan Africa is home to an enormous number of religious adherents – within which there is extraordinary diversity in religious expression. Iconic buildings serving a religious purpose are found throughout the continent, such as The Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Family in central Nairobi or the Hare Krishna Temple in South Africa. What is evident is that architecture that hosts religious gatherings makes up a key part of the urban fabric of sub-Saharan African cities and that in a lot of cases, religious structures go against the grain – leaving aside or tweaking classical models in favor of a unique architectural approach.

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The ample supply, durability, and affordability of brick makes it one of the most widely used and iconic materials in Spanish architecture, especially within the Mudejar tradition. Throughout history, they have added both beauty and function to the spaces that use them, offering protection from the elements while also permitting the entry of natural light and air flow.

In recognition of brick's impact on Spanish architecture throughout history, we have created a compilation of contemporary projects that highlight its aesthetic and functional benefits along with advice from their creators about how best use this tried and true material. 

Every year, the Colombian Society of Architects convenes representatives, experts, and special guests to address pressing issues related to everyday architecture. At this year's Colombian Congress of Architecture and Urbanism, the overarching framework was defined by the concept of "social architecture."

As part of an initiative by a group of young people who make up Patio Efímero, early in 2023 the open call was launched for the "Patio 4 Competition: Meeting of Ephemeral Interventions" in collaboration with the National System of Art Creators of the Federal Ministry of Culture, CREST EVOCA, El Parral Departamentos, and the Management of the Historic Center and Cultural Heritage of the Municipality of Puebla. The invitation was extended to plastic, graphic, visual, and multidisciplinary artists, as well as established and emerging architects, to participate in the fourth edition of Patio Efímero.

Architecture is a transdisciplinary field. It incorporates principles and knowledge from several other disciplines to ensure a built structure functions as intended. This fundamentally involves considering the context in which a building is placed, including its immediate surroundings, such as neighboring structures, local biodiversity, and climate. Essentially, architecture only exists within a particular context. When we expand this context to a broader scale, it becomes what we commonly refer to as the "environment."

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WXCA Architectural Design Studio has won the international competition for the reconstruction of the Saxon Palace, a heritage site located in the historical city center of Warsaw, Poland, that was significantly damaged during the Second World War. The competition, organized by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in cooperation with the Association of Polish Architects, aimed to create a concept for the restoration of the monument, which is set to be rebuilt in its external Neoclassicist form of 1939.

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MVRDV has been selected as the winner of a competition to design three new buildings at Václav Havel Airport Prague. In collaboration with NACO (Netherlands Airport Consultants), the project will be the largest airport in Prague and the Czech Republic. The expansion of Terminal 1 will house a central security facility, business and VIP lounges, and a vertiport. Referred to as “Czech Lanterns,” the exteriors are illuminated with programmable satellite images of the Czech Republic.

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With a diverse and highly distinctive portfolio of projects, particularly notable for their innovative representations, the architecture office fala is marked by a bold, refined, and dynamic creative process. Established in 2013 by architects Filipe Magalhães, Ana Luisa Soares, and Ahmed Belkhodja, fala is headquartered in Porto, Portugal, and typically engages in projects across various scales, ranging from territories to birdhouses.

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In September of this year, New York City experienced a severe storm that inundated its streets with more than 7 inches of rain in less than 24 hours, causing a number of roads to close, cars to submerge, and buses to get trapped. This event again highlighted the city's old infrastructure's inability to handle fast and heavy rainfall. As climate change intensifies, experts warn that such extreme weather events will become increasingly frequent. This vulnerability is especially concerning in densely populated urban areas such as New York City, where flooding risks increase due to the large amounts of impervious surfaces.

Upholstery is at the heart of every living space, providing comfort both physically and visually. It’s the basis for an interior to grow and evolve, setting the tone for a wider 360-degree landscape. To create a truly dynamic foundation, it usually takes a few different sofas or armchairs, but pairing them up to create the desired harmony between color, texture, form and function can be a challenge without experiencing them side by side in space.

Reflecting on landscape, typology, and technology, the architecture firm Balsa Crosetto Piazzi designed this shared bathroom module for dairy farmers living a few kilometers outside the town of Ausonia in the province of Córdoba, Argentina.

Through urban renewal projects, architects, urban planners, and designers can infuse new life into dilapidated urban landscapes by upgrading the infrastructure, introducing new functions into the urban fabric, and reimagining the character of open public spaces. These types of projects present interest due to their dual character: on the one side they offer an opportunity for reimagining the potential of the city, but the areas they affect are already well-ingrained within the urban fabric, raising challenges of integration and contextual adaptation.

This week's curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights projects submitted by the ArchDaily community that enhance functionality, aesthetics, and sustainability of urban areas while respecting and embracing the existing fabric of the city. From a residential neighborhood that prioritizes self-sufficiency and circularity in the Netherlands, to a highway ramp transformed into productive spaces in California, United States, or a new elevated path designed to alleviate urban congestion in the harbor of Copenhagen, his selection features projects that highlight the ever-changing character of our cities. Featuring projects from both emerging and established architectural offices such as Benthem Crouwel Architects, Space&Matter, and Vincent Callebaut Architectures, the projects demonstrate the variety of approaches needed to adapt urban environments to the needs of their residents.

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Videos

Façade colors are closely linked to place identity and help influence the surroundings and inhabitants of an area; they make it easier to safeguard and correct the use of color in urban areas. During the launch of their new color collection, STENI worked in collaboration with Scandinavia's leading expert in color and architecture, Kine Angelo, Associate Professor at NTNU, Department of Architecture and Technology, who has been working with color for over 12 years.

The year 2024 brings forth an intriguing array of Color of the Year selections from renowned paint manufacturers, each offering a unique perspective on the hues that will influence our living spaces. Striving to capture the moods and aspirations of the coming year, color experts have veered towards soft and calming shades, hoping to bring a sense of serenity to counter the hectic and tumulus passing year. Countering the bold color chosen by Pantone in 2023 as their previous Color of the Year, Benjamin Moore embraces a softly saturated and nuanced shade, AkzoNobel emphasizes calmness and stability, Sherwin Williams aims to inspire mindfulness, Graham & Brown fosters warmth and tranquility, and C2 Paint focuses on freshness and sustainability.

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Henning Larsen has revealed the designs for Europe’s largest timber logistics center. Located in Lelystad, on the Dutch island of Flevopolder, the center is a testament to the future of timber structures. Serving as Bestseller’s new 155,000 sqm Logistics Center, the design is committed to reduced emissions, fair working conditions, and following circular design principles in order to minimize waste.

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World Tourism Day is observed every year on September 27th. Tourists create itineraries based on a wide range of interests, such as architecture, gastronomy, or natural beauty, which are the most common choices. However, some travelers seek out hints of mystery and places with haunting histories. In a city as rich in stories as São Paulo, it's not hard to discover locations with a past marked by unsettling events, which have now been repurposed into cultural attractions, enriching the tapestry of the city's society.

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Videos

Cities are the bedrock of civilization. For millennia, they have attracted people with the promise of superior standards of living — from better economic and educational opportunities to easier access to quality public infrastructure such as housing, healthcare, and public transport. Today, however, many cities around the world are finding it challenging to live up to this promise. With urban migration accelerating at a dizzying rate – the United Nations projects that over two-thirds of the world's population will live in cities or urban centers by 2050 – existing resources and services in cities are coming under increasing pressure, rendering them dysfunctional and leading to glaring inequities.

There is no singular way to define or assess liveability; every city has a unique set of characteristics, from its history, culture, geography, and demographics, to how it is governed and what urban issues plague it. Therefore, improving liveability requires concerted efforts from multiple stakeholders including people, governments, and experts, to identify critical problem areas and opportunities, and devise contextual solutions. The TV show Tale of Two Cities, where Indian architect and urbanist Dikshu C. Kukreja sits down with global leaders, brings out great insights into what some major cities in the world are doing to create more liveable environments for their inhabitants. Here we present five examples: from Bogotá, Kolkata, Hannover, Tirana, and Washington, D.C.

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As urban areas around the world continue to experience population growth and increasing demand for housing, the land available for development is becoming both more limited and expensive. In large urban centers, many people deliberately choose the convenience and efficiency of compact living spaces in exchange for the benefits of city life, such as proximity to work, amenities, and cultural attractions. For others, however, the need to live in small spaces is a reality imposed by circumstances. In order to make construction feasible and increase urban density, builders and developers end up significantly reducing the size of rooms in homes, occasionally compromising the quality of life of those who live there. This has led to the adoption of various creative strategies to improve the efficiency of reduced interior spaces and provide greater comfort for occupants.

The relationships between the waters and the diverse lives that inhabit the Amazon. This is the starting point for the first Bienal das Amazônias, which brings together 120 artists from all the countries spanning the territory of the world's largest rainforest. Under the title “Bubuia: Waters as a Source of Imaginations and Desires,” the exhibition is curated by Keyna Eleison and Vânia Leal, with the collaboration of Sandra Benites and Flávia Mutran in the project's conceptualization, and is currently on view in Belém. The exhibition took shape in a building remodeled specifically to host it, and its exhibition design maintains a constant dialogue with the materials and cultures of the region. We spoke with architect Juliana Godoy, who was responsible for the exhibition design, to understand how Amazonian subjectivities were translated and conceptualized within the spatial realm.

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