Green Architecture with gen-AI

My friends Sandu Baciu ???? Baciu and Ar. June Chow introduced a ?? Green Architecture challenge ??... Being Brian - I decided to do this in a more explorative fashion, and bring you along for the journey.

I decided to start the exploration with Chat-GPT.

ChatGPT responded with...

Certainly, approaching architecture with a fresh perspective on sustainability and material use is both timely and crucial. Let's dive deeper into each of these topics:

1. Recycling/Repurposing and Unlikely Sources:E-waste: With tons of electronic waste generated every year, innovative thinkers are considering ways to incorporate e-waste components, like metals and plastics, into architectural materials.Ocean Plastics: Harvesting plastics from the ocean not only cleans the environment but also provides a raw material that can be converted into durable construction components.Used Tires: Instead of accumulating in landfills, tires can be converted into rubberized asphalt, insulation, and even flooring.Waste Glass: Ground up waste glass, termed as "glass sand," can be used as a replacement for natural sand in concrete.Old Clothing: Rather than throwing out old clothes, they can be shredded and used as insulation materials.
2. Locally Sourced Materials:Rammed Earth: By compacting a mixture of locally sourced raw materials such as earth, gravel, sand, silt, and clay, one can create walls that are both sustainable and durable.Bamboo: Grows fast, is resilient, and is available in many parts of the world. It can be used as a structural material or finishing material.Cob: A mix of local earth, straw, and water, cob can be sculpted to form walls, benches, and even entire structures.Thatch: In areas where long grasses or palms are abundant, roofs can be constructed using these materials.Recycled Bricks: Bricks from old structures can be cleaned and reused in new constructions.
3. Industrial Utilization of Naturally Growing Fibers:Hempcrete: This is a material derived from the woody core of the hemp plant combined with lime. It provides good insulation and is more eco-friendly than traditional concrete.Mycelium: Fungi-based materials are now being explored as alternatives to conventional building materials. They can be grown into various forms and have a surprisingly robust nature.Flax and Jute: These can be combined with resin to produce natural fiber composites for use in construction.Coconut: The husk fibers from coconuts can be integrated into boards or composites, replacing conventional wood or particle boards. Bio-Plastics: Using plant fibers, one can create bio-composites that serve as a more sustainable replacement for conventional plastics in architectural applications.
4. Other General Considerations:

• Urban Mining: The concept of reclaiming valuable materials from buildings and infrastructure that are set for demolition.
• Modular Design and Construction: Emphasizing reconfigurable structures, so parts can be reused or repurposed in different arrangements.
• Bio-Design: Integrating living organisms, like algae or moss, into structures. They can serve both an aesthetic and functional role, such as filtering air or generating energy.

To truly revolutionize how we think about architecture, we must consider the entire lifecycle of a building, from sourcing its materials, to its construction, its usage, and ultimately, its end of life. Combining innovative material usage with sustainable design principles will be key in creating the architecture of the future.

This provides some terms that I want to employ in my prompting for text-to-image. But, let's not stop with the material, but explore construction techniques and terms advantageous to a more Green Building style.

Designing with both strength and flexibility in mind is crucial for the evolving needs of our society, particularly in the face of challenges like urbanization, natural disasters, and climate change. Here are some forms, structural designs, and modular considerations:

Structural Forms for Rigidity and Flexibility:

1. Geodesic Domes: Inspired by Buckminster Fuller, these structures distribute structural stress across the form, making them incredibly strong. They also offer great flexibility in terms of interior space utilization.
2. Tensegrity Structures: These systems balance tension and compression components, leading to lightweight yet sturdy builds. They can be easily adapted or reconfigured.
3. Honeycomb Structures: Inspired by nature, hexagonal honeycomb designs provide strength and efficiency and can be used in various architectural applications like partition walls, flooring, and facades.
4. Arch and Vaulted Structures: Classic architectural forms, arches and vaults distribute loads efficiently, ensuring rigidity.
5. Folded Plate Structures: These are essentially a series of flat plates (usually made of concrete or steel) joined together at their edges. The folds increase the structural capacity of the plates.

Modular Builds:

1. Standard Shipping Container Dimensions: Given their global abundance, many modular structures are designed around the dimensions of shipping containers. Standard sizes are 20 feet (6.1 m) and 40 feet (12.2 m) in length, which are optimized for transport.
2. Flat Pack Modules: These are designed for efficient transport and quick assembly. Think of IKEA furniture but on a building scale.
3. Pre-fabricated Panels: Panels (whether for walls, roofs, or floors) of standard sizes, often 4x8 feet or 4x12 feet, can be transported easily and assembled on-site.

On-site Builds with Locally Sourced Materials:

1. Rammed Earth: As mentioned earlier, rammed earth uses local materials and is typically built on-site. The width of the walls can vary but usually falls between 18-24 inches, offering both thermal mass and stability.
2. Cob and Adobe: Both of these materials use local earth and are shaped by hand or with simple forms. Wall thicknesses can vary widely, from about 12 inches to several feet, depending on the design and climate.
3. Local Timber: When using timber from local sources, the dimensions can be tailored to the specific needs of the build, but common sizes like 2x4s, 2x6s, and 4x4s (all in inches) are often chosen due to their versatility.
4. Stone: For stone structures, the sizes can vary widely based on the type of construction (e.g., dry-stacked versus mortared) and the local availability of stone sizes.

Other Key Considerations:

1. Joint Design: The way parts are joined together can greatly affect both the rigidity and flexibility of a structure. Innovative joint designs can allow for easy reconfiguration or adaptation of a space.
2. Adaptive Reuse: Instead of designing structures with a single purpose in mind, architects can create spaces that can be easily modified for various uses over the building's lifespan.
3. Open Floor Plans: Designing buildings with open floor plans provides flexibility in space usage and can be adapted for different needs over time.
4. Multi-functional Furniture and Partitions: Especially in smaller spaces, furniture that serves multiple purposes or partitions that can be moved/adjusted can greatly enhance the flexibility of a space.

When considering rigidity and flexibility, as well as transport and local sourcing, it's essential to keep the end goal in mind: creating resilient, sustainable, and adaptable structures that serve the evolving needs of their inhabitants and the environment.

This one took us places... From this I got some great terminology. I bundled my favorite terms from the exploration and crafted the following prompt:

Modern architectural designed home with strength and flexibility in mind. Geodesic Dome, inspired by Buckminster Fuller, with open interior space made of tensegrity and honeycomb structures formed with locally sourced timbers and folded flat steel plates assembled in joint design. Arch and vaulted Entry for load distribution. Rammed earth and locally sourced stone foundations. Open floor plans with multi-functional furniture and partitions with adaptive reuse in mind. Photographs for Architectural Digest. Cinematic lighting, soft illumination, cinematic composition, hyper-realistic, wide-angle, atmospheric --ar 16:9        

I could explore further from this space and get more specific around exacting terms and techniques. For instance, you could pick one of the categories discussed - and begin searching both Google and Chat-GPT for thought leaders, architects, manufactures in that space that could conjure further discovery. In other words - refine the pursuit based on the goal you have in mind. For the prompt above... I wanted to focus it around terminology in the green space to derive a description that Midjourney could visually interpret in a creative manner.

This is how I approach my research for client projects, and only illustrates 3 steps. In my Course / Community launching this week - A.I. Explore: A.I. Lab - LEVELS, I am going to be teaching the Creative Professionals attending how to leverage gen-AI in your creative workflow to revolutionize your thought processes and results in remarkable ways. October's course is open to join until October 8th. Next session to join is for November. The Course is 4 LEVELS with 3 Modules each. Each Module has 1-month of learning and activity to focus around 1 project. Each LEVEL then, has 3 pro-level projects and multiple learning objectives to help Creative Professionals LEVEL up and Future Proof their careers! Click here to join: https://aiexplore.getlearnworlds.com/course/ai-lab

Give the prompting direction a go - and see where it takes you. Here is the link to pick up my prompting in Chat-GPT: https://chat.openai.com/share/2b410cac-399e-4120-8638-ffec04ed8770 ::: Enjoy!

Brian Sykes