Just two years ago, AI was more science fiction than reality—something to joke about after making dystopian references to movies like I, Robot. But with OpenAI's release of ChatGPT in 2022, interest in AI is at an all-time high as the technology rapidly reshapes industries from tech and law to healthcare and, yes, AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction).
There's an old saying: "When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" and with AI-driven design tools like Snaptrude, generative automation software like TestFit, and sustainability tools like Cove.tool, it's clear that AI is profoundly impacting the AEC industry in more ways than just one.
Tomás Bravo has been selected to be part of the ArchDaily's 2024 Best New Practices, highlighting his work about the dialogue between architecture and territory, and the use of advanced technologies to analyze nature and heritage through a process that involves a project in itself. Originating from Chile's diverse and complex geography, he proposes using classical architectural representation in combination with technological tools and measurement methodologies to bring the territory and heritage closer to architecture professionals and their clients.
The rise of generative AI has given every design educator sufficient reason to reconsider both what to teach and how to teach it. Training an architect is a long process, and mapping it onto an uncertain future is a daunting task. Researchers at OpenAI, DeepMind, Meta, and similar companies seem constantly surprised by the rapid development and sometimes unforeseen capabilities of their AI creations. If even the creators don’t know how fast the future will arrive, it would be hubristic for any of us to claim that AI will do X or AI won’t be able to do Y in the next decade, which is about how long it takes to really train an architect.
https://www.archdaily.com/1014830/how-ai-can-help-us-end-design-education-anachronismsEric J. Cesal
German-based architecture and design studio Beta Realities has developed the “Collective Parts” initiative, a design and technology platform for enabling the construction of affordable 3D printed housing. The project has been recognized as one of the winners of Inititative99by ICON, a global architecture competition aimed at reimagining affordable housing that can be built for under $99,000. The other winners of the open category are MTspace Studio from New Zealand and For Everyday Life from the United Kingdom. The competition also highlights contributions from students as a separate category, featuring Casa Fami by IAAC from Spain, Juan Felipe Molano from Colombia, and Victoria Roznowski from Germany.
The discipline of architecture has undergone considerable change, primarily driven by advancements in the application of technology. Architects, long viewed as the futurists of the constructed world, are now utilizing progressive techniques and resources and expanding the use cases of technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). This transition extends beyond professional practices into architectural education, bringing opportunities to redefine the approach of architects toward their craft.
pixel application. Image Courtesy of Rieder Group / Florian Voggeneder
Nowadays, the concepts of reducing waste and upcycling have experienced a remarkable expansion in various fields of architecture, driven by the need to change the paradigm of consumption habits in both society and industry. This wave not only responds to sustainable approaches but has also demonstrated significant benefits in economic terms. Today, the transformation of various resources, from excavated earth to agro-waste and plastics, is being carried out to create new materials, thus consolidating the efficiency and feasibility of more environmentally friendly practices.
Within this context, technology and data have contributed significantly to a better understanding of materials and to exploring new processing methods. In this regard, artificial intelligence has become a valuable ally. In addition, innovations in software have made it possible to maximize the potential of what was previously considered waste. Correspondingly, Rieder has introduced a product innovation named pixel, aimed at minimizing waste in the production of facade elements constructed from glass fiber-reinforced concrete.
https://www.archdaily.com/1012597/transforming-waste-into-pixels-of-glassfiber-reinforced-concreteEnrique Tovar
Smartphones and tablets have become so powerful that has abruptly changed the concept of workshops since the introduction of apps into the architecture industry. They have generated a more productive and efficient workflow on-site or on the go, covering different aspects of the field with versatility and variety. While some are specific to professionals, others appeal to every architecture enthusiast, with user-friendly interfaces, simplified navigations, and reachable information.
ArchDaily has selected the best architecture apps in 2023 featuring technical drawing and modeling essentials, sketching canvas for all levels, construction and management platforms, toolbox apps, and interfaces to get inspiration from.
The architecture and construction industry has undergone a transformation with the integration of various digital tools, now indispensable to the design process. The welcoming of technologies has effectively streamlined operations, enhanced efficiency, and elevated design quality. This digital shift, however, has resulted in a digital divide that goes beyond accessibility to tools and software. It also encompasses the crucial aspect of integrating traditional and indigenous communities into the urban development landscape. Can advancing technology support the growth of vernacular architecture? Can indigenous building practices find a place in the vision for a digitalized future?
While it is undeniable that the surrounding environment is changing due to human activity, the effects can be difficult to perceive directly, as they are often illustrated with unrelatable pictures of far-away places or overused graphics and statistics. Danish office Tideland Studio aims to change this. Through their work, they aim to bring forth a new type of sensible understanding of the changes happening around us. They work across disciplines, melding research, art, and architecture while employing the newest survey and fabrication technologies to give presence to the abstract phenomena that shape our planet. Because of their practical approach to research and the new perspectives that they open toward extreme environments affected by climate change, ArchDaily has selected Tideland Studio as one of the 2023 New Practices. The annual survey highlights emerging offices that use innovation and forward-looking processes to rethink the ways in which we practice architecture.
Image created using AI under the prompt: A futuristic architectural landscape exemplifying data-driven architecture. Image via DALL.E 2
Architecture is a multifaceted discipline influenced by diverse sources of data and information, which play a fundamental role in shaping architectural production. In the past, horological instruments like the sundial were used to obtain data, such as time, and gain knowledge of solar incidence at different times of the year and geographical locations. This made it possible to determine the optimal orientation of buildings, resulting in benefits such as better use of sunlight and greater thermal comfort.
Although cultural, social, and even religious factors can influence architectural design, quantitative factors are especially relevant when making decisions in the early stages of the creative process, during construction, and throughout the life cycle of a building. Therefore, it is important to collect and process relevant information, such as location, solar incidence, occupancy capacity, occupant interactions, energy performance, and carbon emissions, among other aspects.
https://www.archdaily.com/1003902/data-driven-architecture-delving-into-4-building-information-toolsEnrique Tovar
Today, working outside the office has become the norm across industries, changing the way we work and how we interact with team members and clients. Given the potential challenges of working remotely (internet connection and stability, for example), organizations need to build the right systems to maintain productivity and foster the same sense of teamwork and culture found in traditional office spaces. As architects, engineers and construction (AEC) teams know, collaboration is key to driving creativity, and is essential to the successful completion of any design project.
For many years, often spoken in tones of anticipation and excitement, we have heard that 3D printing will revolutionize the architecture industry as we know it. But if we stop for a moment, reflect on the present and look back at the past, it becomes evident that the technology has long been reshaping the field, continuously undergoing profound transformations and ushering in new eras of design, construction and spatial creativity. Operating as a layer-by-layer additive manufacturing process, 3D printing uses digital models to create customized three-dimensional objects with a remarkable level of precision and efficiency, saving time, generating zero waste, reducing labor costs and opening avenues for rapid prototyping and iterative design. It enables architects to explore creative opportunities and regain autonomy by designing complex, non-standardized elements within an industrial and mass-customized process.
Lo-tech Augmented Reality. Image Courtesy of James Corbett
Augmented reality (AR) software has been a common feature in professional design toolkits for a while. But the recent release of Apple’s Vision Pro glasses shows the mixed-reality wearables sector is making serious inroads in consumer markets too, as one of the world’s biggest names in consumer design and technology enters the market.
A major reason for the immense hype surrounding Apple’s foray into AR/VR hardware, however, is the decision to position it as ‘spatial computing.’ By taking the complexity of augmented reality, and using it to heighten a familiar consumer sector – personal computing – the Cupertino-based brand has simplified the whole experience, widening its understanding and appeal.
The United Nations estimates that the world population will reach 10.4 billion by 2100. Already by 2050, 2 out of 3 people will call cities home, coming in search of the opportunities, services and amenities on offer. That puts even more pressure on urban areas given all these people will need access to water, food, public space, good infrastructure and, above all, housing. In fact, estimates suggest more than two billion homes will need to be built by the end of the 21st century to accommodate this population explosion. As cities grow, so does urban sprawl, which brings its own set of environmental and social challenges. In the face of climate change, sustainable urban development must ensure that future housing solutions –new and renovated– are built to support healthy communities, prioritizing both human and environmental well-being. In turn, cities will need to be built denser and faster, but not without meeting a long list of stringent criteria. Only this way can we avoid the negative, often overlooked, effects of uncontrolled hyper densification that give urban development a bad name.
As the world slowly adjusts to the "new normal," so too does the architecture industry. Data related to market size and workloads shows that the profession continued to grow even after the pandemic struck. Other statistics show how architects are starting to be hit by the present crisis – such as the fall in full-time work and rising unemployment. While these statistics could take one down a road of despair (or enthusiasm), there is more to the numbers: Mobility, digital and managerial competencies are framing the profession in the 2020's. Not only as data for the sector to approach the market and retain talent but also as strategies in the face of crises and technologies to come.
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Photo-realistic luminance rendering from VELUX Daylight Visualizer (left) compared with photo from built project (right). Image Courtesy of VELUX Group
Daylight is core to realizing healthy and sustainable buildings, but its dynamic nature and the complex ways in which it interacts with its environment make it a difficult discipline to master. The new version of VELUX Daylight Visualizer makes climate-based daylight modeling more accessible than ever, empowering architects to make the best use of daylight anywhere in the world.
“Understanding precedes action.” That is the motto of the Urban Observatory, an interactive installation and web app created by TED founder Richard Saul Wurman that compiled a wide range of urban data for over 150 cities, allowing users to compare various characteristics of those cities – from population density to traffic speed limits – side-by-side. Urban Observatory was first created in 2013, a banner year for news about urban big data; later that same year, Waag made headlines with its interactive map visualising the age of every building in the Netherlands. The emergence of such platforms allowed people to see the world around them in new ways.
With the rise of Google Earth and other GIS tools, and platforms like envelope.city, or environmental simulations based on digital twin models of cities, urban big data has quietly come to underpin a wide range of tools used by professionals who shape our cities, with both the amount of data collected and the influence it has over decision-making expanding dramatically. However, these advances typically happen behind closed doors and in undemocratic spaces. How long must we wait for software that has all the user-friendliness, accessibility, and appeal of those older platforms, but which provides the average person with the tools to shape their city? In other words, if “understanding precedes action”, then why after almost a decade are we not seeing big-data-driven apps that encourage the public to actually do something?
From smartphones to space rockets and self-driving cars, the power of technology in this modern digital era is enormous (and practically limitless). It has impacted every aspect of our lives and will continue to open up endless possibilities that today we cannot even begin to fathom. When applied in a socially and environmentally responsible way, technology has the power to enhance productivity, communication and sustainability, enabling global communities to function efficiently, addressing people’s everyday needs and improving their quality of life. Simply put, good technology serves humanity. And just as the healthcare or manufacturing industries have taken advantage of this, the architecture, design and construction world cannot fall behind.
