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Like most architects I know, I find that running a small business, winning work, and serving clients is more than a full-time job. Finding time to do it all is a constant challenge.
I recently conducted an experiment to see if time and money could be saved by using artificial intelligence to share the load. I entered the following to experiment:
/ Picture this: a house designed by Satish Jassal Architects on a narrow urban site in London.
Two minutes later, four images appeared, none of which looked like the house my firm was designing. I tried again, this time:
/Imagine a house designed by Mies van der Rohe on a narrow urban site in London.
Within 30 seconds, four images of sleek glass-enclosed courtyard homes in the style of Mies van der Rohe appeared. But upon closer inspection, it becomes obvious that they are fake.
I suddenly realized two facts:
1. My online presence could be better, and I should improve the SEO of my website.
2. Artificial intelligence kills the image of architecture.
Artificial intelligence’s ability to produce high-quality architectural renderings in seconds, sometimes surpassing human designs in fluidity and visual impact, demonstrates the need for architecture’s value proposition to continue to evolve.
Architectural images, often computer-generated, have become a major deciding factor in competitions, planning permissions and quality assessments. This often reduces complex and creative design solutions to a single rendering, catering to an image-driven culture where key judgments are based on selling an image rather than analyzing the true value of a design approach.
So, what is the way forward? Maybe it’s time to move away from selling buildings based on a single image, especially when renderings are often inconsistent with final design intent. Perhaps it is time to return to the representation of a more meaningful architecture that is process-driven and underpinned by an understanding of brief, site and impact on people and the environment.
There are many ways to represent the flow and impact of a design solution. Data is increasingly an important way to understand and measure the impact of the buildings we build, including daylighting, overheating, biodiversity and carbon accounting.
More importantly, architects should market themselves based on the true value they add, rather than reducing their value to the singular image of architecture. The value of architects should not be measured by illustrations, but by the multifaceted services they provide, such as reducing risk, adding significant social and monetary value, and creating wonderful buildings and places. This is accomplished through a rigorous process of designing, listening, and redesigning over time that is impossible to replicate in seconds.
Architects can unlock the social, environmental and economic potential of the places they work. They often see, understand, and conceive in ways that others cannot.
Our value often lies in the way we work with clients, project managers, planners and even quantity surveyors alike. Architects do not create in a vacuum; They do it with other people.
Architects have the ability to communicate complex ideas simply, create sustainable spaces, and transform lives. With the right project involvement, architects can ensure that a building is safe for everyone, enjoyable to live in, and profitable on even the most challenging sites.
Once architects start demonstrating their true value, their inventory will increase. They should not devalue themselves by portraying themselves in just one way.
The next generation of architects is advocating for a more inclusive approach to architecture that focuses less on professional image and more on architects’ ability to effect change. At the same time, older generations seem still clinging to the idea that architects themselves can be great again – an outdated vision of the profession that is ill-equipped to meet today’s challenges.
Architects don’t have to be geniuses to demonstrate their value, but they should do so clearly and uniquely
Artificial intelligence will inevitably force architects to demonstrate their value in other ways. After all, when artificial intelligence can generate images and create plans with simple text-based instructions, it’s only a matter of time before clients question the need for an architect.
A recent RIBA report stated that 41% of architects are already using artificial intelligence in their work, and it’s only a matter of time before non-architects do the same. We must remember that artificial intelligence, although efficient, lacks real imagination and is currently just copying.
However, it is a tool that architects must embrace – one that can help architects make informed decisions about sustainability strategies, technical compliance, material selection and budget constraints to transform their workflow. Artificial intelligence may eventually become part of the team, much like the artificially intelligent computers in StarCraft.
When it comes to cost, the value proposition an architect can bring will become even more important. The value of an architect lies not in the expression of architecture created through a single image, but in the creative thinking that supports it.
I recently visited Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan and learned that Leonardo did not paint the Last Supper himself. He led a team of artists to create this masterpiece.
Leonardo was not paid by the hour or as a percentage of the total cost. He gets paid for the creative ideas he brings to the committee, and that’s what he’s worth. Architects don’t have to be geniuses to demonstrate their value, but they should do so clearly and uniquely.
We all have to remember that artificial intelligence cannot replicate the true creativity and empathy that architects can bring to the environments we inhabit. Artificial intelligence must be guided by humans. That is, until artificial intelligence starts thinking about its own existence…
>> Also read: Oki says ‘no going back’ as RIBA report reveals 41% of UK architects are using artificial intelligence
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