Designing a Dream World: Using Artificial Intelligence in Architecture
Introducing AI tools to non-tech professionals for architecture and interior design.
If you’re reading this article, you’re probably an architect or an interior designer (or maybe you want to make the most perfect artificial intelligence-generated house for your vision board, like me). Well, you’ve come to the right place, because we’re here to show non-tech professionals like you how to use AI to design architecture.
While browsing Instagram content on the search & explore page, I came across a carousel of images that summed up my dream house. Not only was the exterior stunning, but the interior design matched perfectly.
I skipped right to the caption to learn more about the property, and that’s when I noticed the username: @aiforarchitects. AI? Now it all made sense, this house was literally too good to be true.
I clicked the username and discovered a whole world of AI-generated architectural designs. Every detail of every house was perfect. It developed a dream house for any theme you can think of - charming French mansion on the river, Oriental and Moroccan sanctuary, modern mountaintop oasis, cave house in Cappadocia.
You name it - AI made it. You can make it too.
Designing with AI is not limited to houses and mansions, it can be used to create buildings and commercial spaces as well. As long as you have a vision or a theme that can be visually described, AI can help generate images that bring your imagination to life. But AI won’t do all the work for you, it needs your input and your tweaks, and you will be using multiple generative AI platforms to perfect your design.
Here are some AI tools that architects and interior designers can use.
1. Midjourney
The most important AI tool for design right now is Midjourney. When given a written prompt describing a theme and visual goals, Midjourney will develop photorealistic images that can be tweaked, making it a highly useful visual and experimental design tool.
2. Adobe Firefly
A newer image-generating AI tool that you may find useful is Adobe Firefly. This tool also uses text-to-image prompts while promoting workflow through cooperation among colleagues as part of the Adobe suite. This tool may be helpful if you are working on a team, but can also be used by an individual.
3. Interior AI
This AI tool provides inspiration for virtual staging. It can detect a room’s interior details in a design, including walls, ceilings and beams, and creates an interior design following any style from Contemporary to Zen to Minimalist. Once completed, you can create high or low resolution renders.
Once you have your initial design set, if you want to bring it to life, you can continue using AI to target engineering and environmental concerns that may need consideration. AI is already being used in architectural design beyond inspiration purposes.
For example, Narrow AI can be used to shape or fine-tune designs according to a developer’s specifications, which may regard materials or cost efficiency. The initial design is expected to act as an aesthetic or visual target, which can vary as structural and engineering systems are developed.
Additionally, AI can examine how the design might affect energy performance, solar heat gain or shade cast on the street. With this knowledge, the design can be adjusted to accommodate operations.
Here are some AI tools that can help turn your architectural design into a functional reality.
1. Market.AI
Market.AI is a tool that can analyze spatial restrictions and incorporate client requirements in your design. This tool will generate multiple design options, allowing you and your client to explore alternative options throughout the design process.
2. ARCHITEChTURES
This AI tool analyzes site conditions, climate dynamics and budget constraints while matching them to client requirements. It can also select sustainable materials and determine proper room sizes and window sizes.
3. Obayashi
Obayashi and Autodesk Research developed an AI tool for volumetric design and planning. This tool allows architects to input parameters for buildings and it generates volumetric estimates and interior programming layouts.
We believe these AI tools are game-changers for the architectural and interior design worlds, and we’re curious to see if designs will be developed from scratch from AI tools. We hope this helps your creative process (and your functionality process if you bring your design to life). Drop a comment below and let us know if this information is helpful or if there is anything else you want to learn.
Best,
Ariana for the Don’t Count Us Out Yet Team