I grew up in a time of technological advancement, something captivating and somewhat frightening. I’m currently in between high school and college; it’s a very strange phase of life where I feel a mix between excitement and a lot of waiting around. I have taken advantage of that waiting around to grow my passion for architecture.
After having the pleasure of being introduced to Dominique by my grandfather, I wondered what he thought of artificial intelligence. He told me that he was familiar with the concept of it but wanted to know more; this led to Dominique and me diving deeper into the realm of AI, specifically in architecture. Dominique put me in touch with his friend Rick Epstein, a practicing architect who founded re:architecture and a lecturer at CU, and Jordan Crawford, an architectural intern at Gettliffe Architecture. I also was introduced to a graduate from the Environmental Design Program at CU, Hunter Chesnutt-Perry. I interviewed Dominique, Rick, Hunter, and Jordan to hear their take on AI in architecture.
Today, AI is rapidly growing in most areas of society. Industries around the world are beginning to add AI to their business models; even architecture is starting to inject artificial intelligence into its veins. “Yeah, I’ve used AI a little to think about new ways of approaching a design problem,” said Rick when I asked him whether or not he’s used AI. “Mostly just playing around with it in the conceptualization period.” This seems to be the theme of using AI in architecture: the conceptualization period. Architects have begun using programs like Midjourney’s Imagine AI, Dall-E by Open AI, and Stable Diffusion to create renderings that help their creative flow.
AI rendition by Hunter Chestnutt-Perry, for his final school project.
A new class in the Architecture program at CU guides students through the generative AI programs and then allows the students to work on architecture projects utilizing the various software. Hunter described his experience in the first iteration of this course during our interview. “We started with basic image rendering from certain prompts and just playing around with a lot of different programs anywhere from midjourney to chat gpt and several others. We then went into a kind of reverse engineering by looking at images and then coming up with a prompt that would describe that image. Then we would input that prompt to see how close we could get to the original image.” The class also dealt with the ethical side of AI in architecture with the job market question. I see many people having a lot of fear around AI taking away jobs. “I think in architecture, as long as we continue to educate ourselves around how to use AI, it can only be used as a tool. I think there will be AI specialists; In that sense, there will be new jobs. And yes, some jobs may not be needed, or there will be better ways to complete those jobs….” says Hunter. Some may feel that AI is a threat to architecture considering the possible automation that it could bring. “I think it’s also a slippery slope because, especially in what we do, it’s so entrenched in designing for humans, and keeping emotion and the soul in the designs is hard to do while relying too heavily on AI,” said Jordan regarding the possible future AI could bring. But, as Dominique thinks, there are other perspectives on the question of what AI could become: “I relate that to other technologies that we’ve used and that have been developed such as 3D printing, CNC machines, and BIM.”
Hand-sketched conceptual study (without AI input) for an educational facility of turtle preservation in Nicaragua by Dominique.
What does the future landscape look like with the use of AI in architecture? Rick believes that AI might begin to design monotonous buildings such as apartments or townhomes. “AI could maybe even take over less design-oriented Architecture firms, much like Revit has made commercial architecture dumber and dumber by allowing architects to reuse building models without much variation. AI could make some of the standardization we see with Revit even worse.” On the other hand, AI can have its place as a tool in conceptual explorations. The referencing research for architectural projects could be completed in less time and renderings could look sharper. “It’s similar to how we used to write everything by hand, and then you had printing and then you had the typewriter. Well, does that dehumanize writing? Yes, in a certain way. But it’s not like you don’t have a human author behind a book that is typed and not handwritten.” Dominique says when I asked him if AI is a threat to Architecture.
AI rendition based on a conceptual design study in the architectural portfolio of Gettliffe Architecture.
In conclusion, the exploration into the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) within the realm of architecture illuminates a nuanced landscape of possibilities and concerns. Through conversations with industry professionals like Dominique, Rick Epstein, and Jordan Crawford, it becomes evident that AI’s role in architectural design is evolving, primarily manifesting in the conceptualization phase. As AI permeates various facets of society, its incorporation into architecture raises questions about automation, creativity, and the preservation of human essence in design.
The last passage was written by AI, and as you can see by only a short sample, there is a lack of personality in the writing style. There are pros and cons to the use of AI. If architects start to rely too heavily on AI, designs will inevitably lose the human touch. “I think it could be an interesting tool,” Says Rick, “I think Dominique would use it carefully; I think I would use it carefully by having care and intention much like we are now using ArchiCAD and Revit.” When used as a tool, AI can enhance the efficiency of architectural design, much like CAD or 3D modeling did when they took the world of architecture by surprise. My view on AI has changed while working on this article these past few weeks. I began by being fully against AI. After studying the question, both Dominique and I have come to the realization that at its current stage, AI for architecture is already a powerful tool for quick and complex visual renditions and can contribute to an architect’s creative exploration process. However, it is a long way from being able to respond with architectural intelligence or with talent to integrate diverse and numerous criteria, such as client programs, regulations, building codes, site constraints, seasonal and climate variations, topography, energy-efficiency, ergonomics, construction systems and costs, cultural sensitivities…. and the continuing list of all that human architects manage to distill into buildings that are not only functional, but indeed responsive, dynamic, and artful.
— Felix Sorenson
