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Artificial intelligence and architecture

Unlocking your phone with Face ID, a quick ‘Google’ search, daily new personalized recommendations on the websites you visit—our daily lives, sometimes without us even realizing it, are already permeated with Artificial Intelligence (AI). In the workplace as well, artificial intelligence has made significant strides in recent years. ChatGPT has become the most beloved digital assistant, and in architecture, the possibilities also seem promising. As an architectural firm with an inventor's mentality and always curious about new possibilities and technologies, this was the topic of ZJA’s second AI lunch.

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Amy Sterrenberg on AI

Amy Sterrenberg: "The possibilities of AI seem endless. Especially for an innovative organization like ZJA Architects & Engineers. The firm has never known drawing boards, has worked with computational design from the beginning, and has always continued to develop in this area. We now hope to take it a step further and, with the help of AI, create better-informed, integrated, and sustainable designs. From the initial sketch to the execution phase. The only question is, how far have we come, and can AI already help us in designing?"

Sharing knowledge

ZJA organizes bi-weekly breakfast presentations and regular special lunch meetings to stay informed about ongoing projects, share knowledge, and delve into specific topics. For instance, a year ago, our ZJA office was already the setting for an office lunch about AI.

 

During this initial exploration, we shared knowledge and opinions in various short pitches about Artificial Intelligence, and we discussed practical applications, and philosophical and ethical considerations in the broadest sense of the word. A year later, AI development certainly hasn't stood still, and it was high time for a follow-up.

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Designing with the help of AI

It was another interesting meeting! From a surprising and completely AI-assembled presentation to stunning images generated with Midjourney, Veras, and Krea. You can also create renders with Stable Diffusion, learn to program with Chat GPT, and write your own AI models. Some tools turn out to be very accessible, others are a bit more complicated to grasp. The results are sometimes impressive but often still fall short and certainly aren't flawless.

In short, AI can assist us well in various facets of the design process, and the possibilities for the future seem promising. But everything stands or falls with providing the right input and good communication with your digital partner. We will continue to research and test and look forward to where we stand next year!

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