Given the recent rise in the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in various industries, The construction specifier interviewed senior professionals from Portland, Oregon architecture firm Ankrom Moisan to learn more about the current and potential future applications of technology in architecture.
In response to a question about what software the company has used so far, Michael Great, the company’s director of design strategy, explained that the company has been beta testing a software called “Midjourney” to explore the potential of technology in the design process. . So far, the software has enabled the company to accelerate the conceptual design phase by presenting project-specific design precedents that are well aligned with the client’s requirements, visions and aesthetic preferences.
Ramin Rezvani, a senior associate at the company, talked about his own experience using Midjourney to create backgroundless images, which he says involves a lot of trial and error. He explained the need to slightly modify the prompts and take a scientific approach to reducing the variables to get different visual outputs. Because the software is evolving rapidly, he says the interface and rapid typing methods are likely to change with each new version, so it’s not a program that can be completely mastered at any given time.
Sharing more about how the company has been testing the software, Great added:
“What we’ve tried initially is to take the project’s established guiding design principles as a basis for design concepts and feed a collection of descriptive words to Midjourney AI to see what kind of visual representation it will create with those thoughts. So again, trying to speed up the process and come up with some visual elements that represent the design vocabulary we’ve already discussed to align them in a design direction.As the technology evolves, there will be other ways to use it. Maybe in final renderings, for example, but right now, I think finding precedent images is the best use case.”
Great says to get valuable results, giving the right directions is important. The company’s team working with the software tries to enter carefully crafted directions, using language that closely references a client’s project vision. However, it is challenging as it is a learning process for the team to figure out which queries will get the best results.
Great hope expressed in the presence of quick editing software that builds queries from user-supplied keywords in a way that AI software understands. According to him, one of the main challenges is to adopt a way of thinking where you have to be precise with the number of words that are used in an indication; in a nutshell, be brief while conveying the full meaning of what is required in the software. Great believes that the concept of relying on language for relevant results “will only gain momentum” in the future.
Speaking about the future of AI in architecture, Great said:
“Besides Midjourney, there are numerous AI overlays available to the software tools we use, with the goal of streamlining the production of build sets. I think that’s the direction it’s always been going. architecture 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 using AI and other tools.”
Great further says, “In my opinion, designers today spend little time understanding the places and people who will occupy the spaces they create. We often rush to make important analyses. The incorporation of AI can lead to buildings more thoughtful, allowing us to spend more time considering the impact of our designs on the community, occupants and environment, rather than just focusing on modeling or drawing. This prospect is quite exciting, already which ensures the continuous improvement of the architecture. I’m optimistic that nothing gets worse, it only gets better with this process.”
Rezvani also presented his vision for the future of technology in architecture:
“Without a doubt, AI will solve inefficiencies in the architectural process. It will increase an individual’s productivity, resulting in fewer people needed to perform the same amount of work. AI allows us to quickly study numerous aspects of a project, ultimately improving quality by understanding site parameters more thoroughly. Currently, it looks like amplification, but the future is uncertain. In six months, we will be able to witness new developments.”
