Representing Pasts – Visioning Futures
Abstract
Architects use an arsenal of tools and techniques, such as digital modelling software, sketching, and digital renders, to visualise and examine their design ideas. While the visualisation enables architects to examine their design ideas in detail, the process takes effort and time. The recent emergence of free artificial intelligence (AI) software to almost instantaneously visualise realistic yet artificial places and cities based on keywords have demonstrated the potential to accelerate the architectural design process. While some architects have questioned AI’s potential impact on diminishing their creativity, how can architects purposefully leverage this technology to accelerate their creativity and overall design process? This research through design study explores how visualisations from MidJourney, a text-to-image AI software, can innovate the architectural design process. Prompted by an architectural design brief, I used MidJourney as a mechanism to visualise and develop design ideas over a period of 12 weeks to produce an architectural design. While the AI generated images have accelerated the visualisation process, the images also elicited designer’s preferential bias and that precise selection of words was crucial to use MidJourney effectively in the design process. Based on the findings, I describe the opportunities and challenges, then make recommendations for architects on how to incorporate AI software in the architectural design process.
Max is pursuing his master’s degree in Architecture and Urban Design at Swinburne University of Technology. He concurrently works in practice at Ewert Leaf Architects in South Melbourne and has assisted registered architects in their role since 2019 after five years’ experience in traditional drafting practices. He spent two years teaching design and CAD methodologies for the Advanced Diploma of Building Design at Swinburne. His current design research explores and applies the use of artificial intelligent ‘text to image’ generation in architecture with specific attention to Midjourney AI.
Dr Linus Tan is a studio leader at the School of Design & Architecture, and an innovation research lead at Design Factory Melbourne within Swinburne University of Technology. His research focuses on design behaviour and behavioural design in architecture, design and innovation practice.
8:30 pm - 10:30 pm
Thursday 1st December, 2022