Over the past few decades, the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO) industry has been undergoing an unprecedented digital transformation. Since the days when designs were drawn exclusively on paper—a reality that lasted until the early 1980s—the field has passed significant milestones, first with the adoption of CAD (Computer-Aided Design) and, more recently, BIM (Building Information Modeling). Now, a new transition is underway, promising to be even more profound. Artificial Intelligence (AI), which until recently seemed confined to laboratories or futuristic concepts, is beginning to play a practical and strategic role in how we design, build, and manage our buildings and cities.
What sets this new stage apart from previous ones goes beyond mere digitization to encompass the intelligence embedded within processes. According to architect and researcher Ítalo Guedes, director of the new Master's in Artificial Intelligence for Architecture and Construction at the ZIGURAT Institute of Technology, AI represents a paradigm shift. "While BIM taught us to design with more information, AI empowers professionals to design with greater automation and precision across understanding, evaluation, simulation, and generation," he explains, referencing the four core AI capabilities described by Bernstein P. (2022).
