AI Interludes - Embracing the evolution of the Architectural drawing
This journal piece dwells into the evolution of the Architectural drawing: from stereotomy to generative AI, from sketching to prompting. Throughout this journey of change, emotions stand as a central focus.
This conversation started when conceiving a concept for the Buildner’s Museum of Emotions (MoE) series competition. The MoE illustration crafting process serves as a testament to the transformative journey of architectural visualization. This journey from tactile sketching to advanced digital prompting underscores a narrative where emotion remains a central, enduring theme.
At the inception of an artistic process, the sketch represents the foundational expression of initial ideas and spontaneous creativity. These sketches, often crafted in moments of intense inspiration using only pen and paper, embody the direct emotional conduit between the architect's initial thinking and the physical medium. The onset of AI has dramatically transformed this process, shifting from intuitive, freehand sketches to the structured precision of digital prompts. Each word in a prompt is meticulously chosen, steering the AI to generate a diverse array of visual responses, each initiating a creative spark, bringing forth in the architect’s mind not merely images, but visions of potential realities.
Philibert de Lorme and Palladio - Stereotomy and Descriptive Geometry
A crucial role in the world of architectural drawing - before Cad and BIM technologies developed – was covered by Stereotomy. This art once required a deep understanding of depicting architectural details from multiple perspectives within a single drawing, a technique mastered by only an elite few. This method intricately detailed the origin and three-dimensional journey of architectural forms, providing a rich narrative that was both complex and exclusive to skilled artisans. The emergence of computer software for modelling and drawing has upended this traditional practice, transforming architectural visualization into a more democratic and accessible endeavour. Now, more than ever, anyone can harness the power of generative AI to create comprehensive, realistic images that were once the domain of the few, thereby democratizing the ability to envisage and design spaces tailored to diverse needs and imaginations.
Monge’s descriptive geometry - Mathematical basis for architectural representation
The meticulousness and technical skill once required to design harmonious and aesthetically pleasing spaces have evolved into a new form of artistic expression. Generative AI enables the creation of spaces that are not only realistic but also evocative and imaginative, blurring the lines between the feasible and the fantastical. This shift introduces a fresh dynamic to architectural creation, where the challenge is no longer just about achieving technical accuracy but also about harnessing Generative AI to expand the bounds of architectural creativity. However, what we aim to discuss and explore here is that the integration of AI into architectural practice does much more than simply make visualization easier and more creative; Rather it redefines the creative process itself.
Descriptive geometry principles evolving through prompted generative AI
We can explore this through the crafting of our Museum of Emotions proposal: The creative process is a testing ground to understand how to work on a specific brief by using AI as an aid and medium rather than a quick and final solution.
The image
The described emotional journey utilizes architecture and nature to evoke a range of emotions in a fictional setting. Visitors start by seeing the whole landscape but, as they enter specific architectural spaces, only selected elements are visible, enhancing other senses with sounds and smells, such as the ocean waves and rocky textures. The journey becomes more immersive as visitors proceed through an underwater tunnel leading to a structure akin to a lighthouse. The path induces feelings of loneliness and solitude, with the museum's design limiting complete visibility, fostering curiosity and frustration. Ascending the vertical structure, visitors experience restricted views through narrow openings, with glimpses of the ocean and mainland. This ascent builds anticipation, culminating in a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment upon reaching the top, where they can fully appreciate the site. This complex emotional journey is accentuated on the return trip, reinforcing the deep emotional and sensory experiences encountered.
Explorations and experiments with generative AI illustrations of our ideas and sketches
The process
The design of the museum and its contrast of emotions is illustrated in a journey where each spatial configuration allows for a specific strong feeling. The starting ingredients are very simple - the contrast of shapes: a circle and a square. The previous conversation around sketching and generative AI informs the way of production of the A2 sheet, which was the defined format for submission. First starting with a hand sketch and defining a possible concept, then using Generative AI as a way to tweak the idea and visualize it, then going back to analogue production by translating the produced image into 3d models, and finally illustrating on paper the results using old school architectural drawing techniques and again Generative AI, to target a chosen illustration style.
NAME – MoE Submission
As we reflect on this transformative journey, we aim to celebrate the technological advancements that have reshaped the field. We are challenged to consider how we value the blend of technical skill and artistic vision in a world where the tools at our disposal are reshaping the very fabric of creativity, offering endless possibilities that could redefine the generation of the built environment.
If you’d like to know more about this subject, listen to our podcast Designing Futures,