Snaptrude announced the launch of the Snaptrude Student Plan, a free offering that gives architecture students worldwide full access to Snaptrude's professional platform and intelligent AI workflows. The initiative reflects Snaptrude's commitment to strengthening architectural education and ensuring that emerging designers can build real-world skills while still in school. Full access to the professional platform and AI tools empowers students to design faster and build portfolio-ready work.
When architects are still students, a moment often marks a turning point: their first encounter with software. It's not just about learning a tool but discovering a space where ideas transcend physical models, taking shape in a digital environment and beginning a relationship many will carry throughout their careers. What happens next? Software keeps evolving, and with it, the design experience. In recent years, this evolution has accelerated—machine learning, AI, prompts, and integrated workflows have moved from the periphery to the core of design practice, becoming part of the shared language between software and users. As these tools take hold, a key question emerges: How will this reshape our experience of designing architecture in the future?
Daylight is one of the most effective tools in architecture. It creates atmosphere, improves comfort, and reduces energy demand. However, integrating daylight successfully requires precision at every project stage, from the first sketches to detailed planning. VELUX BIM tools give architects the flexibility and verified data to make that possible.
The latest release of Offsitewood.org marks a significant step forward in making offsite wood construction more approachable for architects. Version 2.0 introduces a set of digital resources aimed at helping designers model, plan, and collaborate more efficiently.
Free downloadable libraries are a central and expanding feature of the site. Additionally, new applications and services are now available that include wood material e-sample viewers, an advanced panelization and framing toolbar for Revit, and a collaborative workspace for project optimization.
The Design-Build model is an increasingly attractive project delivery method, offering benefits such as enhanced control, reduced risks, cost efficiencies, and quicker completion times. Central to this approach is teamwork and collaboration, contrasting sharply with the traditional method of separate design and fixed-price bidding by contractors. Design-Build naturally motivates all participants to seek ways to boost productivity and quality, ensuring fairness and transparency in costs.
Touted as the new era in construction, Building Information Modeling (BIM) has captured global attention with its promise of seamless coordination, trimmed budgets, and newfound efficiencies. Yet in India's construction landscape, the adoption of technology tells a more nuanced story about cultural barriers and technical limitations.
"The bigger barrier isn't the technology but rather the planning culture," explains Rahul Bahl Managing Director of Krishna Buildestates Pvt Ltd, highlighting what may be BIM's most fundamental challenge in India. "BIM requires that every detail be finalized before construction begins, from electrical switch locations to final finishes. In India, we often break ground with just the shell resolved and spend the next several months value-engineering as we go."
How many software tools and platforms are involved today in developing a contemporary project? From designing a single-family house to a public library, relying on just one or two programs is no longer common. Instead, multiple tools combine, overlap, and interact throughout various stages, including analysis, design, rendering, coordination, and construction. This widespread use of software in the virtual world reflects not only the technical complexity of today's practice but also a more subtle yet equally significant shift: software has become less a specific tool and more an environment that accompanies and even challenges the process.
Early-stage design may be where everything begins, but without careful consideration, it's also where everything breaks down. On average, firms report that nearly 15% of all work done generates zero revenue, much of it tied to concept design. Relying on a patchwork of tools like Rhino, Excel, Revit, and Miro, architects often spend weeks swapping between platforms just to get a concept and presentation out the door. Data gets trapped in screenshots, rework piles up, and by the time the model is ready for documentation in Revit, the creative momentum is long gone. Snaptrude 3.0 Was Built to Fix that.
Zaha Hadid Architects has just revealed that the Shenzhen Science & Technology Museum, located in the Guangming District, has officially opened. Designed as a platform to highlight scientific research and technological innovation, the institution will explore the role of science in shaping the future. Adjacent to Guangming Station on Shenzhen's metro network, the design responds to its location as a solid, spherical volume facing the city, defining the southeast corner of the new Science Park. The museum aims to provide a space for public engagement with current developments in science and technology.
For many years, technology has been shaping the future of various industries, and the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry is no different. Initially, architects used to draw sketches on paper, which later progressed to 2D drawings, 3D digital blueprints, and now BIM—these technological advancements have changed how modern architects approach design by making it more sustainable and efficient. According to the 2024 RIBA AI study, 57% of architects believe AI will improve design process efficiency, and 54% expect to integrate it into their practice within the next two years.
The use of technology has become vital in the documentation and conservation of heritage, especially in difficult or urgent circumstances. After many landmarks of the historic city of Palmyra were destroyed during Syria's war in 2015, conservators built three-dimensional digital models of the destroyed city to aid its future reconstruction. The destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan in 2001 with very little prior documentation prompted action in the documentation of vulnerable monuments, such as the establishment of CyArk. More recently, detailed digital surveys and a heritage BIM model were essential in the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris after it was devastated by fire in 2019.
Modernism, a movement that sought to break away from traditional forms and embrace the future, laid the groundwork for many technological and digital advancements in contemporary architecture. As the Industrial Revolution brought about mass production, new materials, and technological innovation, architects like Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, and Mies van der Rohe championed the ethos of "form follows function" and a rational approach to design. Their principles resonate in the digital age, where computational design and high-tech materials redefine form and construction.
The 20th century's modernist ideals — efficiency, simplicity, and functionality — created a foundation for architects to experiment with structural clarity and material honesty. High-tech architecture, which emerged in the late 20th century, evolved from these principles, merging modernism's clean lines with advanced engineering and technology. This paved the way for parametricism and algorithm-driven design processes, revolutionizing architecture and enabling complex forms previously thought impossible.
In many cultures, fire is a sacred element used in rituals of rebirth and renewal. It carries a dual symbolism, being both a creator and a destroyer—capable of illuminating paths or consuming everything in its wake. In Greek mythology, for example, Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity, marking it as a symbol of progress, knowledge, and creative power. However, fire also evokes destruction, as seen in biblical tales like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, where it was used as divine punishment. This duality was also evident in the 2019 fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral, which devastated its historic structure. The disaster sparked a wave of solidarity and led to unprecedented technological advancements, with restoration efforts utilizing digital tools such as laser scanning and Building Information Modeling (BIM) to recreate intricate details and preserve architectural heritage.
From the Colosseum's vast arches to the Pantheon's perfect dome, Roman architecture fused engineering precision with expressive form. These buildings reshaped the urban life of antiquity but also left traces that continue to guide contemporary design. Yet much of the knowledge behind their construction has been lost or obscured over time, like the geometry, the proportions, and methods. Today, new technologies are helping to recover that hidden layer of architectural intelligence, offering fresh perspectives on how Romans built with such ingenuity.
We are thrilled to announce our upcoming December workshops in collaboration with our ArchDaily Plus partner, Parametric Architecture. These workshops have been thoughtfully curated to empower architects, designers, and enthusiasts by providing them with the latest insights and skills in the dynamic realm of parametric design. Guided by industry experts and visionaries, these immersive sessions will explore cutting-edge techniques, innovative tools, and practical applications, creating an inspiring and dynamic learning environment where participants can take their design expertise to unprecedented levels.
Every innovation brings with it frictions, disruptions, and, above all, learnings. In the construction industry—a sector historically resistant to change—new construction systems are often met with some skepticism, requiring careful analysis of the challenges that arise. The wood frame system, widely adopted in countries such as the United States, Japan, and Germany, has yet to gain significant popularity in Brazil due to factors that keep the sector labor-intensive and strongly tied to conventional masonry and concrete methods.
However, with the decreasing availability of labor and new demands for efficiency and sustainability, the construction sector has gradually begun to explore innovative alternatives. In this context, the Parkside Carvoeira building in Florianópolis stands out as a landmark of innovation, being the tallest wood frame building in Brazil. Developed in partnership with Desterro Arquitetos, Parkside, and the local construction company Tecverde, this pioneering project adopts the system as a sustainable and efficient solution to meet the needs of contemporary construction in the country.
We are thrilled to announce our upcoming November workshops in collaboration with our ArchDaily Plus partner, Parametric Architecture. These workshops have been thoughtfully curated to empower architects, designers, and enthusiasts by providing them with the latest insights and skills in the dynamic realm of parametric design. Guided by industry experts and visionaries, these immersive sessions will explore cutting-edge techniques, innovative tools, and practical applications, creating an inspiring and dynamic learning environment where participants can take their design expertise to unprecedented levels.
For centuries, models have been central to architectural design, providing architects with a tangible way to explore ideas, test concepts, and communicate their vision. From the Renaissance to Modernism, models have been instrumental in the construction and reflection processes, offering insights into form, proportion, and spatial relationships. However, in today's digital age, where 3D models and Virtual Reality (VR) have become powerful and efficient tools, the question arises: Are physical models still relevant in contemporary architecture?
