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.

Not many architectural projects require maps of the area to be updated. But, then again, not many projects are as sensitively considered as the Lighthouse Hotel & Spa in Büsum, North Germany.

It could have gone so wrong. But local architect Thomas Ladehoff – in close collaboration with hotelier and creative sparring partner Jens Sroka – managed to deliver a 108-room destination that, through its clever voluminal articulation and constructional materials, respects both the scale and the vernacular language of its environs – and most importantly mitigates its partial obstruction of the 110-year-old lighthouse next to which it sits and from which it takes its name.

Alternating between housewife and architect, Lina Bo Bardi appeared in the pages of O Cruzeiro magazine—featured in women's columns for her risotto alla milanese, and in cultural sections as the architect of MASP (Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo). Published weekly by Assis Chateaubriand's Diários Associados, O Cruzeiro enjoyed nationwide notoriety and circulation. Although targeted at upper-class housewives, its content was broad, covering fashion, culture, cinema, politics, and "women's advice sections" (sic).

One of the great theorists of architecture, the city, and nature recently passed away on March 17, 2022, at the age of 85. Born in Vienna on October 4, 1936, Christopher Alexander lived a long life of singular contributions, offering visionary ideas about cities that challenged the mainstream of architectural practice.

Throughout the years, coffee shops and cafés alike have become so much more than just a place to acquire a delicious brew. Since the first coffee shops were established, they have been used as social places to congregate and meeting points for the public. Alongside the development of coffee shops came the ‘coffee culture’, a set of traditions and rules regarding the way cafes are used, and the way these delicious brews are enjoyed. 

Coffee shops are everywhere, not just on our city’s high streets, but globally beloved. They offer an atmosphere that is warm and inviting, with a focus on the ambiance and aesthetic of the space as well as the services they offer, with some cafes housing multiple functions beyond the brew. Therefore, the question stands: how are coffee shops today tapping into creating new spaces that are interesting and bring new life to the beloved culture?

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Documenting architectural and urban projects is not just a final step, but a vital act of preserving memory. In this episode of the Betoneira Podcast, architect Hugo Segawa, a pioneer in using photography as a tool for researching and documenting Brazilian architecture, emphasized that the act of documenting must generate knowledge.

As one of the wonders of the world, the Egyptian pyramids are steeped in rich history and shrouded in mystery. Using their unparalleled resources to create structures on a scale that had never been seen before, the ancients used the pyramid shape to construct structurally resilient and visually powerful icons, surviving the ravages of time. Presenting a new definition in terms of monumentality, these architectural marvels remain a timeless and influential form for design concepts today.

Although its origins are historical in nature, this iconic structure is resurfacing in many architectural projects around the world, modern pyramid architecture for a range of different functions and applications. From sustainable building, museums, malls and residential structures, the pyramid typology is visually enthralling and can be constructed in a range of different materials and environments.

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No País dos Arquitectos is a podcast created by Sara Nunes, who also runs the architectural film production company Building Pictures. The podcast aims to profile the professionals, projects, and stories behind leading contemporary Portuguese architecture. With just over 10 million inhabitants, Portugal is a highly compelling country within this professional field, and its architectural output far exceeds what its population or territorial scale would suggest.

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Tulum is a region located in southeastern Mexico, within the state of Quintana Roo, specifically on the coast of the Caribbean Sea, and is part of the Riviera Maya. Historically, Tulum was a walled city; its name, which means "wall" in Mayan, arose when the settlement was already in ruins.

One of the most significant shifts in contemporary work culture has been the widespread adoption of remote work. Indeed, even more than two years after the onset of the pandemic, this remains the reality for many workers. While some predicted this would spell the end of the physical office, many companies have opted for a middle ground: a flexible, hybrid model designed to restore in-person collaboration while preserving the benefits of working from home. However, returning to the office in a pandemic context has raised several critical questions—chief among them, how to ensure a safe and healthy workplace?

The visual aesthetic of the past few decades could be defined as designing with the principles of ‘nothingness’. Whether it’s through art, lifestyle, fashion, industrial, or interior design, there has been an alleged need to keep things at a bare minimum, promoting the globally-loved-yet-highly-criticized trend of minimalism. Minimalism is this notion of reducing something to its necessary elements, but who is deciding what is necessary, and who is deciding what is too much? With those questions in mind, combined with radical changes in consumerism and the way people live seen during recent years, current trends have shown that minimalism might be here to stay, but with a twist.

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Designed by Rotterdam Rooftop Days and MVRDV, the Rotterdam Rooftop Walk has finally opened to the public. The installation offers visitors a new perspective on the city, with a 30-meter-high aerial bridge that spans across a variety of the city’s rooftops, from the roof of The Bijenkorf department store to the top of the World Trade Centre plinth. The project aims to showcase how rooftops can provide an added layer of public infrastructure in a dense city where public space is scarce. Rotterdam Rooftop Walk is open from May 26 to June 24 from 10:00 to 20:00.

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The Graham Foundation has announced the award of 56 new grants to individuals exploring ideas that expand contemporary understandings of architecture. The recipients have been selected from an open call that resulted in nearly 500 submissions. The selected projects are led by 81 individuals with diverse backgrounds. The funded projects, including exhibitions, publications, films, and podcasts, among other formats, encourage experimentation and foster critical discourse in architecture.

Eva Franch I. Gilabert is one of the three artistic directors of Model. Barcelona Architectures Festival, together with Beth Galí I. Camprubí and José Luis de Vicente. The first edition of a project that has taken the city of Barcelona as a place for experimentation and debate.

From the 5th to the 15th of May, they took the public space and transformed it into both a playground and platform for international voices, local architects, policymakers, politicians and citizens, to engage and discuss what the future of Barcelona and other cities could be.

"Growing up queer means experiencing the destabilizing absence of a broad and accessible queer history, most notably, in our case, in relation to spatial design". This account is what intrigued artist Adam Nathaniel Furman and architectural historian Joshua Mardell to bring together a community of contributors who bring new perspectives to the field of architecture and share stories of spaces that challenge cis-heteronormative morals, sheltering lives that seek to live their own truths. The result of this quest is a book titled Queer Spaces: An Atlas of LGBTQIA+ Places and Stories, which explores stories about distinct social, political, and geographical contexts within the community.

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This article was originally published on Common Edge.

Unions are a trend among college-educated young people, the New York Times reports. They seek solidarity—collective leverage—to bring about desired changes that are being resisted. While Amazon and Starbucks get the headlines, younger architects are also organizing. Doing so is urged on by The Architecture Lobby, a group that leans Democratic Socialist. The Manhattan-based firm SHoP was a recent, ultimately unsuccessful target of a group of its employees and a sponsoring trade union.

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Avian hazard – and that's hazard to birds rather than some Hitchcockian hazard to you – is an increasing concern for architects and developers. You may not have thought about it much, but build a tall glass building and sooner rather than later an unwitting bird is going to fly right into it. And then more and often with fatal consequences.

In fact, billions of birds collide with buildings every year, especially during migration. And given our insatiable appetite for putting up more and ever taller glass buildings, that tally is only going to rise. To tackle that death toll, more and more cities – including, not surprisingly, New York – have passed or are passing legislation that require architects and developers to install bird-friendly glass.

Machine learning and generative design are profoundly shaping modern life. A central critique to the value and advancement of artificial intelligence, especially in the context of architecture, is the ability for a machine to design, as well as the resulting fear that professional services may be limited. As cities continue to develop, new tools emerge to help envision and create the built environment. How can architects embrace generative design to reimagine models of sustainability, inclusive practice, and new aesthetics?

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In the context of the pandemic, where several businesses were forced to close temporarily, movie theaters across the world were among the most affected. Fast forward more than two years later, and the lingering effects of COVID-19 are still present, marking a turning point in the traditional cinema experience. But even as attendance is still not close to pre-pandemic levels, certain segments of moviegoers are enjoying the benefits of the giant screen, comfortable seats, massive speaker systems and theater snacks.

Videos

Berlin-based hospitality tech start-up Raus has collaborated with Danish designer and architect Sigurd Larsen to create nature-inspired cabins in the middle of nature. The small retreats are designed with eco-friendly features, offering city dwellers the opportunity to escape the bustling city life, and stay in a chalet that combines art, culture, and nature. The cabin will be temporarily located on the grounds of Wehrmuehle in Biesenthal, Brandenburg, and will soon expand beyond Germany and its borders.

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New York-based architecture studio ODA has revealed the design of Ombelle, a duo of residential towers in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The two 43-story buildings will accommodate 1,100 rental units, completed with amenities and retail spaces. At the base of the building, an urban plaza connects the development to its neighboring area and Flanger Village. The Ombelle complex is ODA's second large-scale residential project in Fort Lauderdale. The first one, the Kushner tower, is located in the same district.

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'PARC BLAU' is an experimental proposal to reflect on the future of cities presented by the architecture studio ON-A in the framework of Model. Festival of Architectures of Barcelona - a space to rethink how we want to live together through new urban models.

The project addresses a possible transformation for the port of Barcelona into a large urban park, a future for the area that offers the opportunity to re-naturalise the space, turn it into a park, fill it with life and allow citizens to enjoy it without renouncing the services currently established in the area.

Have you ever heard of neuroarchitecture? What would spaces look like if architects designed buildings based on the emotions, healing and happiness of the user? Hospitals that help with patient recovery, schools that encourage creativity, work environments that make you more focused…

This is neuroarchitecture: designing efficient environments based not only on technical parameters of legislation, ergonomics and environmental comfort, but also on subjective indices such as emotion, happiness and well-being.

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The first stage of the Architectural Visualization Award has come to an end. 40 finalists, 10 from each category: Exterior, Interior, Conceptual and Real-Time Rendering were selected by the official ArchDaily jury.

As the design world prepares for one of the most anticipated events of the year, Designboom, Architonic, and ArchDaily which make up DAAily platforms have put together for the visitors of Milan Design Week 2022, a unique, storytelling-programmed space, designed by architects and designers for architects and designers. This year, DAAily platforms are taking the opportunity to take to the stage together from 7 to 10 June at the Swiss Corner at Piazza Cavour / Via Palestro 2, hosting curated talk series and gathering spots, along with immersive art installations.

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