g-f(2)1238 The Lighthouse of Architecture in the Age of AI: The Future of the Profession

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The “Positive Disruption: Transformation Revolution” has accelerated

The "Positive Disruption: AI Revolution" has accelerated

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The impact of AI on architecture is still uncertain. However, it is clear that AI has the potential to revolutionize the profession. Architects need to be aware of these changes and to embrace the potential of AI to improve their work.

This lighthouse presents a collection of 10 golden knowledge facts about the future of architecture in the age of artificial intelligence. The facts have been extracted from the golden knowledge article of Oliver Wainwright on The Guardian ‘It’s already way beyond what humans can do’: will AI wipe out architects?

One of the key questions is whether AI will replace architects altogether. Some experts believe that AI is already capable of automating many of the tasks that architects currently perform, such as generating floor plans and renderings. This could lead to a situation where architects are only needed to provide high-level strategic input, while the day-to-day work is done by AI.

Other experts believe that AI will not replace architects, but rather augment their capabilities. AI can be used to help architects to be more creative and efficient, and to produce better designs.

Lighthouse of the Big Picture of the Digital Age

This is the collection of 10 golden knowledge facts:

1. The impact of AI on architecture is uncertain, but it is clear that AI is here to stay. Architects cannot afford to ignore this technology, as it has the potential to revolutionize the profession. As Neil Leach, author of Architecture in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, puts it, architects need to start thinking about the future of their profession, rather than just designing buildings.
2. Architects tend to focus on the aesthetic aspects of their work, but the most revolutionary change in architecture is coming in the area of automation. AI is now being used to automate the entire design process, from developing initial options to construction. This is having a major impact on the way architects work, and it is changing the nature of the profession.
3. AI is already way ahead of human architects in terms of strategic thinking and real-time analysis. This means that AI can quickly and efficiently evaluate a wide range of factors to make informed decisions about the design of a building. This could lead to a situation where AI is able to design buildings more effectively than human architects, which could put the profession at risk.
4. XKool is a leading AI-powered architecture platform that is rapidly growing in popularity. It was founded in 2016 by Wanyu He and others who used to work for OMA, the architecture practice of Rem Koolhaas. XKool offers a wide range of AI-powered tools that can automate the entire design process, from developing initial options to construction. The company has over 50,000 users in China, and an English version of its image-to-image AI tool, LookX, has just been launched.
5. XKool is an AI-powered architecture platform that aims to provide an all-in-one solution for the entire design process. It can automate tasks such as generating masterplan layouts, interiors, and construction details. It can also transform 2D images into 3D models and generate floor plans from a list of room sizes. However, the results are still in their early stages and can be clunky. For example, the Shenzhen hotel designed by XKool looks very much like it was designed by robots for an army of robot guests.
6. Some architects are calling for caution about the use of AI in architecture, not out of fear for their jobs, but because of the potential for data misuse and the implications for data privacy and intellectual property.
7. AI can enable the kind of calculations and predictive modelling that was impossibly time-consuming before.
8. Carl Christiansen, a Norwegian software engineer, co-founded the AI tool Spacemaker in 2016, which was acquired by tech giant Autodesk in 2021 for $240m and rebranded as Forma. Christiansen says that he likes to think of the tool as augmenting, not replacing, architects and refers to it as “AI on the shoulder” to emphasize that the user is still in control. Forma can rapidly evaluate a large range of factors, including sun, wind, noise, and energy needs, to create the perfect site layout. Its interface is also designed to be legible to non-experts.
9. Euan Mills, who used to work in the planning team of the Greater London Authority, believes that AI could help open up the byzantine world of planning. Mills regularly encountered developers who had paid too much for land and were trying to squeeze as many homes on as possible while arguing they couldn’t meet affordable housing requirements. After working for central government on digitizing the planning system, Mills co-founded Blocktype, an AI-powered tool for developers and planners aimed at simplifying the process and reducing land speculation.
10. Some architects believe that architecture can be reduced to code, with each firm having its own generative formula. This is seen as a bad thing by many architects, but it is already happening in some cases. For example, the buildings of the 2012 Olympic village were designed with a standardized "chassis" and a group of architects were invited to add their own style. The result was a dreary swath of housing that some have called "AI urbanism."

REFERENCES

Oliver Wainwright, ‘It’s already way beyond what humans can do’: will AI wipe out architects?, The Guardian, August 7, 2023.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Oliver Wainwright

Oliver Wainwright is the Guardian's architecture and design critic. Trained as an architect, he has worked for a number of practices, both in the UK and overseas, and written extensively on architecture and design for many international publications. He is also a visiting critic at several architecture schools

Extra-condensed knowledge

Lighthouse of the Big Picture of the Digital Age

The Guardian Facts:

• Some architects are calling for caution – not out of fear for their jobs, but because of what the tech could spawn, and the potential for data being misused. “We have to be careful,” says MarthaTsigkari, head of applied research and development at Foster + Partners in London. “It can be dangerous if you don’t know what data was used to train the model, or if you haven’t classified it properly. Data is everything: if you put garbage in, you’ll get garbage out. The implications for data privacy and intellectual property are huge – is our data secured from other users? Is it being used to retrain these models in the background?”
• Tsigkari and her team have been probing the possibilities of machine learning for the last five years, on their own secure servers, using data from the extensive library of Foster projects. One of their first experiments used AI to explore how thermally responsive laminate materials could be used in facades, changing their shape to respond to temperature. “Depending on the layering of the laminate, you could have a different deformation under different heat conditions,” says Sherif Tarabishy, Foster + Partners’ head of machine learning and AI. “Imagine a facade that could passively deform, creating louvres or overhangs to shade different parts of a building according to the temperature.”

Condensed knowledge

Lighthouse of the Big Picture of the Digital Age

The Guardian Facts:

• “I like to think we are augmenting, not replacing, architects,” says Carl Christiansen, a Norwegian software engineer who in 2016 co-founded AI tool Spacemaker, which was acquired by tech giant Autodesk in 2021 for $240m, and then rebranded as Forma. “I call it ‘AI on the shoulder’ to emphasise that you’re still in control.” Forma can rapidly evaluate a large range of factors – from sun and wind to noise and energy needs – and create the perfect site layout. What’s more, its interface is designed to be legible to non-experts. Christiansen sees this as a key benefit, enabling all parties to participate in an open, collaborative conversation. “It’s a shareable, cloud-based tool open to everyone,” he says. “So municipalities and members of the public can be invited to engage with a project, see the trade-offs and even experiment with alternative options themselves. That level of transparency builds trust.”
• Beyond automating tedious tasks, could AI help to open up the byzantine world of planning? Euan Mills thinks so. He used to work in the planning team of the Greater London Authority, where he assessed two major applications a day for six years. He regularly encountered developers who had paid far too much for land, and were therefore trying to squeeze as many homes on as possible to “make it viable”, while arguing they couldn’t meet the affordable housing requirements. Having since worked for central government on digitising the planning system, Mills has now co-founded Blocktype, an AI-powered tool for developers and planners, aimed at simplifying the process and ultimately reducing land speculation.
• “The thing developers hate most is uncertainty,” says Mills. “The idea behind Blocktype is that it can give you a ballpark sense of what’s possible on a site, providing sketch layouts and viability appraisals.” Mills stresses it is not a replacement for architects, but a tool to help developers think spatially when trying to determine what to pay for land. It could also be used by local authorities to show what kinds of developments are permissible, reducing the guesswork.

g-f(2)1238: The Juice of Golden Knowledge

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• BOMBSHELL KNOWLEDGE
• Category 2: The Big Picture of the Digital Age
• The Lighthouse of the Big Picture of the Digital Age
• The "Positive Disruption: AI Revolution" has accelerated
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• The Lighthouse of Architecture in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: The Need to Design the Future of the Profession 
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• Authors of the genioux fact
• Fernando Machuca

References

“genioux facts”: The online programme on "MASTERING THE BIG PICTURE OF THE DIGITAL AGE”, g-f(2)1238, Fernando Machuca, August 7, 2023, Genioux.com Corporation.

Lighthouse of the Big Picture of the Digital Age

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Fernando Machuca

CEO ‎Genioux.com Corporation

PhD with awarded honors in computer science in France

Fernando is the director of "genioux facts". He is the entrepreneur, researcher and professor who has a nondisruptive proposal in The Digital Age to improve the world and reduce poverty + ignorance + violence. A critical piece of the solution puzzle is "genioux facts". The Innovation Value of "genioux facts" is exceptional for individuals, companies and any kind of organization.