Given the recent surge in adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technology across various industries, The Construction Specifier interviewed senior professionals at the Portland, Oregon, architecture firm, Ankrom Moisan, to learn more about its current use and future application within the built environment.
In response to a question on what software the firm has used so far, Michael Great, director of design strategy at the firm, explained the firm has been beta testing a software called “Midjourney” to explore the potential of the technology in the design process. So far, the software has allowed the firm to expedite the conceptual design phase by presenting project-specific design precedents, well-aligned with the client requirements, their visions, and aesthetic preferences.
Ramin Rezvani, a senior associate at the firm, spoke about his own experience using Midjourney to create imagery without backgrounds, which involves a lot of trial and error according to him. He explained the need to tweak the prompts slightly and adopt a scientific approach to reduce the variables to get different visual outputs. Since the software is rapidly evolving, he says it is likely the interface and prompt-writing methods will change with each new version, therefore, it is not a program one can fully master at any given time.
Sharing more of the way the firm has been trying out the software, Great added:
“What we’ve initially tried is to take the project guiding design principles established as a basis for the design concepts and feed a collection of descriptive words into Midjourney AI to see what kind of visual representation it will create with those thoughts. So again, trying to accelerate the process and get to some visuals that represent the design vocabulary that we’ve already discussed to align in a design direction. As technology evolves, there will be other ways for us to utilize it. Maybe in final renderings, for instance, but right now, I think coming up with precedent imagery is the best use case.”
Great says in order to gain valuable results, giving the right prompts is important. The team at the firm involved in working with the software attempts to input carefully crafted prompts, using language closely referring to a client’s project vision. However, it is challenging, given that it is a learning process for the team to find out which queries will get the best results.
Great expressed hope in the presence of a prompt editing software which crafts queries from user-provided keywords, in a way which the AI software understands. According to him, one of the main challenges is to adopt a mode of thinking where one has to be precise with the number of words used in a prompt—simply put, being brief while conveying the complete meaning of what is required to the software. Great feels the concept of relying on language to get relevant outputs will “only gain momentum” going into the future.
In speaking to the future of AI in architecture, Great said:
“Apart from Midjourney, there are numerous AI overlays available for the software tools we use, aiming to expedite the production of construction sets. I believe that’s the direction architecture has always moved towards. For example, 100 years ago, it took a large team to hand-draw a construction set for an urban tower, whereas in the future, high-rise towers could be designed and drawn by a small team utilizing AI and other tools.”
Great further says, “In my opinion, designers currently spend insufficient time understanding the places and people who will occupy the spaces they create. We often rush through important analysis. Incorporating AI can lead to more thoughtful buildings, allowing us to dedicate more time to considering the impact of our designs on the community, occupants, and the environment, rather than solely focusing on modeling or drawing. This prospect is quite exciting, as it ensures continuous improvement in architecture. I am optimistic that nothing gets worse; it only gets better through this process.”
Rezvani also presented his take on the future of the technology in architecture:
“Without a doubt, AI will resolve inefficiencies in the architectural process. It will amplify an individual’s productivity, leading to fewer people required to accomplish the same amount of work. AI enables us to quickly study numerous aspects of a project, ultimately enhancing the quality by understanding the site’s parameters more comprehensively. Currently, it feels like an amplification, but the future is uncertain. In six months, we may witness further advancements.”
HAL has opened to pod door to architecture’s future. On time and at the right price has just replaced utilitatis, firmitatis and venustatis.
Sell your soul to get a faster rendering? Typical narrrow-minded, short focus of modern architects, extending the 100-yr giveaway of most architectural thought to engineers, contractors and consultants.
A report on something that has already been deemed an existential threat (by the creators themselves) should be more factual not promotional. There is much more to this than printing an opinion.