OPEN STUDIO AI EXPLORATION: Bridging the Gap Between Imagination and Reality

At KMH, our recent collaboration with Open Studios led to a truly innovative exploration of the intersection between creativity and technology. We delved into the world of artificial intelligence and its potential to transform the traditional architectural design process. Our Open Studio event served as a platform to showcase our findings and share the valuable lessons we learned.??

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Concepts and Materiality: The Building Blocks of Design??

Our journey began by emphasising the importance of concepts and materiality in architectural design. Concepts serve as the visionary ideas that guide a structure's purpose and meaning, while materiality represents the tangible elements that bring these concepts to life. These two aspects collaborate to create the physical and emotional experiences that define a building. We focused on two main approaches to conceptualising a design: starting with materiality and sensory exploration, or beginning with a concept that guides material choices and modelling. Our experiment aimed to bridge the gap between these approaches.??

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A Hands-On Experiment in Creativity??

To kickstart our exploration, we organised a maquette building session. Staff members were provided with a limited set of materials, including plastic mesh, card, a dowel, a sticker, and clear glue, with no cutting tools allowed. This limitation encouraged our team to think creatively and be resourceful. They twisted, tore, and bent materials to achieve their desired forms, resulting in a variety of intriguing maquettes. From this collection, we selected the three most interesting forms.??

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The Marriage of Human Imagination and AI??

Our next step involved three design architects, each given one of these selected maquettes. Their task was to draw inspiration from the form and transform it into a realistic building design, complete with a render. Simultaneously, photographs of these maquettes were fed into MidJourney 5, an AI tool, and subjected to a series of prompts to generate a building design resembling the form.??

At our Open Studio event, we proudly displayed the maquettes alongside prints of both the AI-generated iteration and the architect's iteration. This unique process allowed us to assess the value of AI in the traditional architectural design process at the concept stage.??

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Key Takeaways and Lessons Learned??

Our experiment yielded several valuable insights:??

1. AI can generate multiple design options within seconds, offering an array of possibilities: One of the most significant advantages of using AI in the architectural design process is its ability to rapidly generate a multitude of design options. This capability allows architects to consider a wide range of possibilities and experiment with different ideas quickly, which can be a valuable aid in the early stages of a project when exploring design alternatives.??
2. AI still requires human input to define the building typology and aesthetic, emphasising the need for creative direction: While AI can generate design options and produce stunning visuals, it lacks the ability to establish the fundamental conceptual framework of a project. Architects play a critical role in defining the building typology and aesthetic based on their creative vision and understanding of the project's objectives. AI serves as a powerful tool to execute the architect's vision but relies on human guidance to set the direction and overarching concepts for a design.??
3. AI-generated designs often lack engineering considerations, underlining the importance of the human touch: AI's primary strength lies in its capacity to generate design concepts based on provided data and prompts. However, these designs may not inherently consider the practical and engineering aspects that are vital for constructing a functional and safe building. Architects, in collaboration with engineers, play an essential role in ensuring designs are feasible, structurally sound, and compliant with building codes and regulations. This "human touch" is crucial to make a design reality.??
4. Architectural iterations, while taking longer to create, often appear more buildable, demonstrating the role of practicality: Architectural iterations produced by human designers take more time to develop compared to AI-generated options. However, these iterations tend to be more grounded in practicality. Architects draw on their expertise to consider construction methods, materials, and engineering constraints, resulting in designs that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also buildable within the real-world context.???
5. Powerful computers are essential to effectively harness both AI and architect-generated processes: The effective use of AI tools and architectural software requires robust computational resources. AI algorithms often demand significant computational power to process large datasets, generate complex designs, and produce high-quality visualisations. Architects need access to powerful computers and graphics processing units (GPUs) to be able to design and render without interruptions or lengthy rendering periods. Additionally, for both processes it's crucial to have the right software and infrastructure in place to generate work effectively.??

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Embracing AI: A Path to Efficiency??

While AI offers substantial benefits in architectural design, it is most effective when working in synergy with human architects. AI can expedite the generation of ideas and provide captivating visualisations, but architects remain central in providing creative direction, ensuring practicality, and addressing engineering considerations. The future of architectural design likely lies in this hybrid approach, where AI augment human creativity and expertise, ultimately leading to more innovative and efficient design processes. ?

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