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.

An issue frequently raised by our listeners is the uncertainty that looms after graduation. Gone are the days when finishing school meant entering a relatively stable professional environment with the immediate possibility of putting a structured career plan into action. Today, a far less predictable reality awaits recent graduates, bringing both good and bad news. 

In April 2021, the A8 Design Center at Luxe Lakes in Chengdu presented the exhibition "2 Kilometers of Lakeshore: Southwest Independent Architects 2021 Luxe Lakes Cross-Disciplinary Joint Exhibition." **Thirty-one independent architects** were invited to create installations along the Luxe Lakes waterfront. Working within a **budget of 30,000 RMB**, and drawing on self-reflection and their understanding of public space, they built **experimental, interactive, and experiential micro-spaces, presenting 31 unique perspectives on the world.** Through dialogue among the architects and with the public, the exhibition sought to further stimulate public engagement in design.

Following the exhibition visit, the A8 Design Center organized a hotpot gathering under a bridge with Chengdu's independent architects, sparking this dialogue. **We wanted to delve deeper into what this new generation of independent firms in non-first-tier cities is doing, how they are growing, and what they are thinking.**

Interviewer: Shuangyu Han
Part 1 Interviewees: Yun Lu (MUDA Architects), Youcai Pan (Wray Architecture), Hongduo Jin (Xd-Architects)
Part 2 Interviewees: Kefei Cai (Menkou Architects), Xiang Wang (TeKtonn Architecture), Yuejiu Li (a9a rchitects), Tang Zhang (YI JIE Atelier)

Encouraging households to adopt solar power generation is essential for a cleaner future, but investing in large-scale solar applications is what will truly shift the needle toward net-zero emissions. This is revealed by a new study from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University) in Australia.

Geospatial researchers used the city of Bendigo, in the state of Victoria, to conduct the case study. They estimated the solar electricity generated over a year in the city, which has 17,000 residential solar panels. In comparison, the study evaluates the solar potential of 21 government-owned airports across Australia.

After five years of construction, the Yaying Fashion and Art Center is now complete. Yaying Group, a domestic Chinese fashion brand that has dedicated over 30 years to designing apparel embodying contemporary Chinese elegance, sought to build a diverse platform for fashion, culture, and art exchange. They invited Atelier FCJZ to design a multifunctional fashion and art center at their headquarters in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, integrating brand history, creative offices, and art exhibition and dialogue spaces. Reflecting the brand's aesthetic, the building interfaces with the site as a courtyard capped by a sweeping, curved roof. Double-tiered eaves wrap around the inner courtyard, creating layered transitional spaces between interior and exterior, inviting visitors to experience the architecture in a new way and establishing a "ceremonial space."

Faced with numerous challenges—including pre-existing foundations on the site, a subsequent 15.4-meter cantilever, 30-centimeter-wide concrete columns and walls, and a diverse material palette of bamboo, wood, and concrete—Atelier FCJZ delivered a design that successfully harmonizes site, space, structure, and materials. ArchDaily interviewed Yung Ho Chang, principal architect of Atelier FCJZ, to discuss the relationship between the courtyard form and traditional atmosphere, exposed structures and active spaces, and materials and tectonics.

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FRPO, the Madrid-based international architecture studio, presents its new mixed-use infrastructure project for the city of Toluca de Lerdo, capital of the State of Mexico. Located at the northern end of Juárez Avenue—which connects the historic district with the university area—the building aims to consolidate the scattered activity around this zone to create a new cultural, economic, and social hub at both the local and metropolitan levels.

Since ArchDaily launched its recruitment services, we have received job postings from architectural practices of various scales across China, from Beijing to Shenzhen and Hangzhou. Highly active across diverse architectural fields with their distinct styles, these firms are looking for talented architects to join their teams. Below are six curated openings for May, along with a showcase of their representative projects. Interested candidates are warmly invited to apply.

Every year, our curatorial team presents a retrospective of house projects that stood out over the period. This collection, a small selection of the more than two thousand projects published on ArchDaily Brasil this year alone, comprises a series of residences with specific design solutions that address, each in their own way, factors such as materials, construction techniques, structural systems, building processes, and programs.

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Arquis, the new HBO Max series about the life and work of six of Latin America's most renowned architects, has premiered. It is no surprise that the first one-hour episode features Alejandro Aravena, the Chilean architect who won the Pritzker Prize in 2016.

The winners of the LafargeHolcim Awards Next Generation for Latin America have been announced. The winning projects from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia address key aspects of sustainability. The winners of the LafargeHolcim Awards (Gold, Silver, and Bronze) and Acknowledgements for Latin America will be announced at a hybrid event on November 13, 2021, as part of the 17th International Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy.

Today, the passing of architect and academic Erich Coufal Kieswetter (Vienna, Austria; May 11, 1926 – Guadalajara, Mexico; January 31, 2021) was announced. He settled in Mexico in 1950 and was one of seven European architects who arrived in Guadalajara in the 1950s to found the first School of Architecture at the University of Guadalajara. He was responsible for teaching the freehand drawing class, aiming to improve students' skills and introduce technical drawing to the profession.

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Numerous countries across Africa and Latin America share similar social contexts. One such challenge is the difficulty of accessing remote regions and poorly managed resources, which results in shortages for rural communities. A team from Colombia has won the competition to design innovative, low-cost construction techniques to replace a temporary school with permanent structures in Senegal.

The practice SOMStudio, with a team led by architects Santiago Osorio, Carlos Peña, and Mauricio Suarez, won the Senegal Elementary School competition organized by Archstorming.

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It might seem that the concept of “urban gardens” emerged alongside the gentrification of Mexico City—a model of food autonomy that not only provides us with fresh, organic, ready-to-eat produce, but also beautifies the urban landscape and reconnects us with nature. However, nothing could be more mistaken than viewing urban agriculture as a mere trend.

Oficina Nómada de Arquitectura (ONA) is an Argentine studio established in 2017 in the province of Mendoza. Specializing in architectural design, project management, coordination, and business management, ONA operates through a collaborative cloud-based virtual work platform. This digital, nomadic framework enables the interaction of various disciplines and trades, allowing team members to carry out their work from anywhere in the world. Additionally, seeking to expand their design reach, the studio operates two parallel initiatives, ARCINECTURA and ONALAB, where they experiment with the intersections between architecture and cinema, and develop new representation and visualization techniques.

With the aim of getting to know the architects, projects, and stories behind Portugal's landmark architecture, Sara Nunes, from the architectural film production company Building Pictures, launched the podcast No País dos Arquitectos, where she talks to key figures in contemporary Portuguese architecture.

In this week's episode, Sara talks with architect Camilo Rebelo about the project for the Côa Valley Museum of Art and Archaeology. Check out the other interviews from the No País dos Arquitectos podcast and read the transcript of the interview with Rebelo below.

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Organized by the Association of Architects of the Province of Buenos Aires – District I – and promoted by the Municipality of La Plata, the Provincial Ideas Competition “La Plata Technology District Convention Center” aims to stimulate the urban transformation of a highly potential area of the city, creating a space for creativity, technological innovation, and connection between government, academia, businesses, and institutions. Sponsored by the Argentine Federation of Architecture Organizations (FADEA), it seeks to improve citizens' quality of life, foster the competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses, and enhance the efficiency of public administration.

The jury awarded first prize to architects Valentín Ayala, Rodrigo Ballina Benites, Luciano Del Valle, and Agustina Ronconi, members of the firm Paralelo Colectivo. Read more about the project below.

This article by Ana López Ortego (Colectivo Arquitectura Expandida) is a collaboration with Colectivo RE and was originally published on August 2, 2020, in the second edition of Huevo de pato, a publication that aims to share thoughts and experiences as a strategy toward democratizing knowledge and action.

The Rio de Janeiro City Hall has announced the expansion of vegetable farming on municipal land along the Madureira Park railway line. In 2022, the area will host what is set to become the world's largest urban garden, covering 110,000 square meters.

The primary objective is to generate income and food security for 50,000 low-income families per harvest by 2024. The initiative will also establish a green corridor of vegetables running along Madureira Park to Guadalupe, in partnership with Embrapa and the utility company Light, as part of the crops will be located under the company's power transmission towers.

Peripheria Films has shared the first episode of its documentary series "Se vende" (For Sale), a production that examines the impact of tourism and real estate development on the Costa del Sol (Málaga).

Citymakers is working with ArchDaily to publish a series of articles, conversations, and interviews with the different actors involved in co-producing the city behind the Citymakers Barcelona Lab 2021—a program whose next edition will run from November 8 to 12. For this installment, Víctor Torres, director and co-founder of CityMakers, presents his article "Re-naturalizing the City."

The Spanish architecture firm IDOM was selected by Cruzados through a competition to modernize the San Carlos de Apoquindo Stadium of Universidad Católica de Chile.

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Inadequate living conditions in a building trigger discomfort and even physical pathologies in humans. Scientific experiments have shown that a lack of concentration and even everyday accidents are influenced by both high and low indoor temperatures. And while thermal sensitivity varies from person to person—depending on their clothing, gender, habits, and age—the basic principles behind thermal comfort are universal. Thermal comfort is primarily determined by air temperature and humidity. In this regard, the human body seeks to maintain a near-constant core temperature of 37°C, continuously exchanging heat with the environment.

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The history of painting in Mexico has a deep legacy that extends far beyond oil on canvas, as some of its most prominent figures found diverse intersections with other disciplines to develop their capacity to observe—and, above all, to construct scenes that told a specific story of their time and context. Numerous figures have elevated Mexico's reputation, positioning it as one of the countries with the greatest cultural and artistic wealth, including Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, Dr. Atl, Emilia Ortíz, and Mathias Goeritz, among others.

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Construction recently commenced on a prominent internet company's industrial park in Hangzhou. Serving as a central hub in the enterprise’s digital ecosystem, the project will offer a one-stop office and commercial park experience for its network partners. Guided by a deep understanding of the client's vision, the design team took the corporate spirit of "shared connectivity" as their starting point, reflecting seamless partnership and brand identity through a unique master plan and architectural form.