Welcome to Architecture PDX!
I’m Arnulfo Aldaco, an architect (licensed in Mexico) from Guadalajara, currently a M.Arch student at the University of Oregon at Portland. As an architecture and urbanism critic, I can’t stop myself from digging into Portland’s built environment, and with the perspective of an informed outsider I want to document that process. There is a reason I chose Portland over a variety of cities in North America.
Before moving here on September 2025, I founded urbes.mx, a urbanism media platform in Mexico, Co-directed Arquitectos Plural, a multifamily-specialized architectural practice, and worked as an architecture columnist and television commentator. Now, as a graduate student in Portland, I’m bringing that critical lens to a new city, studying not just what gets built here, but why it matters to the broader field.
This project is my attempt and process of understanding Portland through its architecture while sharing what I learn. I’m looking at the projects that shaped this city, the ideas they embody, and the lessons they offer. Each piece asks: what makes this building significant? What can we learn from it?
I’m building a curated archive, not comprehensive documentation, but critical selections of projects that deserve deeper attention. You’ll find analysis that goes beyond description, drawing on formal architecture discourse while remaining accessible. Right now the project is in its early stages, you can learn more about the plans for it on the roadmap page.
This is a learning process made public. I’m discovering this city’s architecture while developing a practice of architectural criticism rooted in a specific place.
Is there a project that you believe is worth paying closer attention? Let me know in the comments or shoot me a message
All images credited to their respective photographers. If you hold copyright and wish for removal, please contact me.
