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.

The city of Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, hosts the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, from November 6 to 18. The conference builds on the negotiations of COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2021, with the expectation that countries will demonstrate climate ambition and urgency to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5°C.

Various studies have indicated that, to prevent temperatures from rising more than 1.5°C, there must be a major drop in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To achieve this, it is necessary to develop compact cities designed for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users, as well as rapidly and strategically adopting electric vehicles, with a focus on public transportation.

Cities have never been more engaged in climate action. At the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), more than 1,100 cities representing a quarter of global CO2 emissions joined the Cities Race to Zero initiative. By doing so, these municipalities committed to ambitious, inclusive, and equitable actions to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C. In November of this year, at COP27, these cities presented their progress and shared how they plan to deliver on their commitments.

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In the early 19th century, in a Paris on the verge of having its medieval fabric torn open by Haussmann's grand boulevards, novelist George Sand dressed as a man to walk the streets. According to her journals, "in trousers and boots I could fly from one end of the city to the other, regardless of the weather, the hour, or the place." No one paid her any attention, no one guessed her disguise, and no one stared or criticized; she was just another "atom lost in that immense crowd." Thanks to her male attire, Sand experienced fearless incursions and solitary wanderings like a true flâneur—experiences that would later become fundamental to crafting her successful narratives.

Combining art, nature, and architecture, Barcelona-based practices Mendoza Partida (Héctor Mendoza and Mara Partida) and BAX studio (Boris Bezan) have joined forces to design Art-Sauna, an experience conceived as a continuation of the emotional journey at the Gösta Serlachius Museum of Contemporary Art in Mänttä, Finland. With a subtle, intimate, and domestic scale, this new space joins the complex, harmonizing the dialogue between these three variables and integrating the building into the journey by merging it with the terrain and making it part of the landscape.

Among the various problems stemming from the excessive use of cars in large and medium-sized cities, traffic congestion and time lost in transit are undoubtedly those that receive the most attention from the media and society.

Drivers tend to overlook other issues, however severe, such as traffic fatalities and tragedies, air pollution, the stressful noise generated by motorized vehicles, urban sprawl—which makes cities dysfunctional, expensive, and far-flung—or the hydrological problems caused by the excess of asphalt and concrete dedicated to cars. Generally, these issues are ignored or seen as inevitable, whereas gridlock is highly visible, instantly perceived as a nuisance demanding immediate solutions.

Archiplan S.A. has won the Industrialized Social Housing Competition organized by Chile's Ministry of Housing and Urbanism. Part of the government's Housing Development Plan, the initiative includes the construction of 60 homeownership units in the Lo Espejo district and 103 fair-rent housing units in the Renca district.

The illustration above is a famous image by the artist Imperial Boy (帝国少年), who works in the anime industry. I sometimes claim that the entire *solarpunk* genre was inspired by this image. That is an exaggeration, of course—some people have thought very seriously about *solarpunk* design principles—but the influence and appeal of Imperial Boy's design are undeniable. Moreover, other *solarpunk* art, though often lovely, tends not to immediately resemble the kind of cities you would actually want to build; it is either an image of a high-tech farm, or some variation of "slap a tree on the side of every building."

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Young people from the Quebrada Agroecógica collective received the ImaGen Ventures award during COP-27, the world's largest climate change summit, held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The collective brings low-cost mini-cisterns to informal settlements and low-income communities.

Mired in a housing crisis for about a decade, New Zealand has modified its zoning laws to allow more medium-density housing to be built in the nation's largest municipalities.

The initiative comes in response to a shortage of housing units, soaring property values and rents, and is aimed at narrowing the widening “chasm” between household incomes and housing costs, as detailed in a report by The Guardian.

“If I said that Brasília is beautiful, people would immediately see that I liked the city. But if I say that Brasília is the image of my insomnia, they see this as an accusation; yet my insomnia is neither beautiful nor ugly — my insomnia is me, lived, it is my astonishment.” — Clarice Lispector

In 2020, Brasília turned 60. The anniversary almost slipped by, but in times of isolation, I recalled the walks I had the opportunity to take there last year — walks that opened my eyes to the beautiful, the unbeautiful, and the “unobvious” in this famous modernist city. That said, I would like to share my astonishment in exploring this machine-city on foot.

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Juliana Terra, Fernanda Sakano, Danilo Terra, and Pedro Tuma are not typical Paulistano architects. At least, not to the extent that the recognition of the firm they lead—Terra e Tuma Arquitetos Associados—might suggest. Rejecting the figure of the genius and dispensing with that of the entrepreneur, the quartet runs the firm as craftspeople shaping the object. "We see ourselves as a craft-based practice," says Danilo, who explains the design process as a continuous remaking, free of hierarchy, involving four heads and eight hands.

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The public can now experience the virtual version of the traveling exhibition 7 Povos – Retratos de um Território. This is a restaging of the exhibition that has already taken place in person at three venues across the country: the Memorial do Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre (RS); the Sítio Arqueológico de São Miguel Arcanjo in São Miguel das Missões (RS); and the Paço Imperial Cultural Heritage Center (CCPPI) in Rio de Janeiro (RJ). With the launch of the online version, the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) aims to bring the exhibition to an even broader audience, both in Brazil and internationally.

With the rapid urbanization of our cities, animals that once called these environments home have been displaced, forced to seek refuge elsewhere.

Birds are perhaps among the species hardest hit by urban growth, as they are drawn during flight by stimuli like artificial light and wind currents—both of which can be radically altered by how a city is built and laid out.

As part of the celebrations for its 158th anniversary, Campina Grande, Paraíba, has launched a national design competition for the revitalization of its Central Market. The competition is promoted by the City of Campina Grande and organized by the Institute of Architects of Brazil (IAB), with support from the Council of Architecture and Urbanism of Brazil (CAU/BR), the Council of Architecture and Urbanism of Paraíba (CAU/PB), the Institute of Architects of Brazil – Paraíba Department (IAB/PB), and the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN).

The Association of Architects of the Province of Buenos Aires District VIII launched a provincial preliminary design competition for the design of its headquarters in the town of Saladillo.

In 2020, Trenzando launched the “Ideas for the Rehabilitation of Railway Stations” competition, designed as an opportunity to showcase the richness of this heritage, which includes 170 stations connected to the country's railway network. The open call received around 100 proposals for the rehabilitation of the San Rosendo and Yumbel stations in the Biobío Region, Rungue in the Metropolitan Region, and Ocoa in the Valparaíso Region.

A new urban park under the Santa Ifigênia Viaduct, a lookout on Senador Queirós Avenue, wider sidewalks and reorganized traffic at Alfredo Issa Square, increased green space at Dr. João Mendes Square, and a redesigned Clóvis Beviláqua Square for public use. These are some of the urban design solutions presented by the winners of the Reinventing Cities São Paulo International Competition to revitalize four public spaces in the city's downtown.

Beyond Pelé and Maradona, November marks the celebration of Brazil-Argentina Friendship Day. Established in 2018, the date (November 30) aims to highlight diplomatic and commercial relations between the two nations. Together, Brazil and Argentina account for 63% of South America's total land area, 60% of its population, and 61% of its GDP, establishing themselves as key trading partners. 

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It could be argued that indoor air quality has never received its due attention throughout history. While atmospheric pollution has been considered a threat since the time of Hippocrates in 400 BC, becoming a tangible concern with industrialization during the Industrial Revolution, little is said about comfort conditions in indoor environments. This issue is increasingly critical given that humanity spends about 90% of its time indoors, and the quality of these spaces directly affects long-term well-being and health. In fact, Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) encompasses far more than just indoor pollution. It refers to a balance between air quality, acoustics, lighting, temperature, and other factors that contribute to a pleasant and, above all, healthy environment for occupants. Under the motto “every space can be a healthy space,” Armstrong has developed solutions to help improve the environments where we spend the most time, such as educational and healthcare facilities, offices, and homes.

CAU Brasil has launched its campaign for the 2022 Architect and Urbanist Day. To mark the occasion, celebrated on December 15, a variety of content is being published featuring real-life stories of architects who have overcome various challenges in both their careers and personal lives. The goal is to promote professional appreciation by showing how architecture and urbanism improve people's quality of life.

A floating solar farm capable of tracking the sun's rays is being tested in the Netherlands. The prototype, dubbed Proteus, was selected as a finalist for the European Inventor Award, which celebrates the best and most innovative inventions.

Although it was not chosen for the European award, the plant demonstrated its technological potential. Its panels rotate slowly on two axes, using mechanical, geospatial, and light sensors to precisely track the elevation of the sun's path as it moves from east to west. This increases the farm's energy production capacity, allowing it to generate around 73 kilowatts of power.

An emblematic building for Meliana and the entire region, the Palauet Nolla dates back to the 17th century and has long served as a symbol of the famous Nolla mosaic factory. Situated within the landscape of Valencia's northern agricultural region (the huerta norte), after decades of neglect, the building had fallen into ruins by 2010. Its conservation status was critical, marked by a lack of exterior woodwork, a compromised structure, collapsed roofs, and severe natural and human-caused damage to its ornamentation, among many other issues.

Faced with the challenge of the housing deficit—defined as the number of new homes needed to accommodate doubled-up families and replace uninhabitable dwellings—the construction industry must seek new design strategies to address this issue. How can we address the housing deficit through quality housing? Alongside constructing new homes, architecture must propose designs that ensure habitability, which largely depends on solutions that promote effective thermal conditioning.

Through its building materials, products, and systems, ETEX Chile develops thermal strategies focused on habitability and comfort, responding to the specific climatic conditions that characterize each region of the country.