AI-generated design sparks debate in Hastings: A double-edged sword for architecture

The design industry is buzzing with talk of AI—but what’s hype, and what’s actually useful? At Re: Design Architects, we’re always exploring new tools that can sharpen our precision and expand what’s possible for clients. AI is one of those tools. But while it holds promise in areas like drafting, data analysis, and visualization, it also has real limits—especially when it comes to the creativity, intuition, and human connection at the heart of great design. In our latest blog post, I break down where AI can add value in architecture and interiors, and where thoughtful, human-led design is irreplaceable. Read the full post here: https://lnkd.in/eGJYtZ2e #Architecture #InteriorDesign #ArtificialIntelligence #AIDesign #FutureOfDesign #InnovationInArchitecture #LuxuryDesign #DesignLeadership #WBE

Happy Friday! Here’s a quick roundup of the news and themes that caught my eye in architecture and design this week; Resilience and Recovery: SCI-Arc opened its new exhibition Architecture After the Fires, exploring the role of design in recovery and resilience following devastating wildfires. The show brings together experimental approaches and urgent questions about how architecture can respond to climate crisis and community rebuilding. AI in Practice: Chaos unveiled a new Image-to-Video tool for architects, one of several AI-driven applications designed to push the boundaries of visualization and creative workflows. Tools like these continue to raise big questions about how AI is shaping both design processes and client engagement. Mergers & Market Moves: Architecture Plus Information (A+I), a global design practice known for blending computational thinking with architectural vision, officially merged with Perkins&Will. This move deepens Perkins&Will’s digital design capabilities and signals continued consolidation around AI and technology-driven practice. Market Rankings: Building Design+Construction Media released its Top 180 Architecture Firms for 2025, offering a snapshot of the firms leading the U.S. market by revenue. The list highlights the continued dominance of large, multidisciplinary players alongside strong showings from specialized practices. Gensler, Perkins&Will, HKS, Inc., Corgan, Populous, and Perkins Eastman secured top rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work. Lifetime Achievement: Christian de Portzamparc will receive the 2026 Créateurs Design Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his decades of influential contributions to cultural, civic, and urban design worldwide. His work continues to shape conversations around architecture’s role in public life. Plenty of threads here — from resilience to AI to market leadership — all shaping how our industry is moving forward. #Architecture #Design #AI #Resilience #Leadership #HealthcareDesign

Sean McNamara Studios Achieves Symbiotic Design: AI Collaboration Creates Architecture That Embraces Connection Latest AI-Prototyped Architecture - Sean McNamara Studios This extraordinary design exemplifies how AI guidance can help architects discover profound metaphors for human connection, creating structures that literally and figuratively embrace collaboration. The towers demonstrate how artificial intelligence can amplify design intuition to create architecture that speaks the universal language of unity and partnership. The design philosophy centers on symbiotic embrace - where twin structures reach toward each other in sculptural dialogue, their curved glass facades creating a protective gesture around the central core. The massive sculptural hands aren't merely decorative but architectural storytelling, representing how design capabilities and vision guidance can hold hands to create something greater than either could achieve alone. The mood is pure aspiration meets protection. The soaring glass towers suggest limitless possibility while the embracing gesture creates intimacy and human scale within the monumental framework. The interplay between vertical ambition and horizontal connection creates architecture that feels both powerful and nurturing. What makes this particularly compelling is the metaphorical approach to AI collaboration. Rather than technology replacing human creativity, this visualizes the handshake between artificial intelligence and architectural vision - two forces working in harmony to discover design languages that resonate with fundamental human needs for connection and shelter. The sculptural elements transform utilitarian towers into emotional architecture, proving that AI can help architects tap into archetypal forms that speak across cultures and generations. This isn't just building but architectural poetry about cooperation and mutual support. This represents design collaboration at its most evolved, proving that when AI guidance holds hands with human vision, architecture can achieve profound symbolic resonance alongside functional excellence. How do you think AI collaboration can help architecture better express human values and connections? #AIArchitecture #SeanMcNamaraStudios #DesignCollaboration #SymbioticDesign #ModernArchitecture #ArchitecturalMetaphor #HumanConnection #VisionaryDesign

“The architecture industry may soon be unrecognizable. And that’s not a threat - it’s the reset button we’ve been waiting for.” Fast Company predicts a wave of AI-driven change across design https://lnkd.in/epZmyVHz Too many voices frame this as a problem: AI will undercut fees, clients will expect more for less, the race to the bottom will accelerate. Here’s my take: that’s the wrong lens. Look at management consultants or lawyers. Both are embracing AI aggressively - but not to make themselves cheaper. They’re using it to deepen insight, broaden perspective, and increase speed…all while defending, even elevating, their charge-out rates. That’s exactly the path I see for design. At I/O Atelier, we’re deliberately building a team more comparable to McKinsey than to a traditional studio: masters-level talent in architecture, interior design, physics, machine learning, business analysis & economics, and data science. Our strength lies in the diversity of disciplines -and in the way AI ties them together to create strategy-led, intelligence-driven outcomes. This is what clients truly value: not drawings, not hours billed, but solutions that de-risk decisions, shape strategy, and create meaningful places. That deserves premium positioning. The real question is: will the wider industry use AI to elevate its value, or waste the opportunity by clinging to old models? My bet is on waste - I’m not optimistic about many of my peers. But at I/O Atelier, we’re committed to proving that design can and should sit at the same table as the world’s top consultancies. #InteriorDesign #DesignStrategy #GenerativeAI #FutureOfWork #Innovation #ValueNotCost

AI is reshaping architecture — from futuristic facades to sustainable smart designs. 🏙️✨ Algorithms now help architects generate bold structures, optimize energy use, and bring visionary ideas to life faster than ever before. 🚀💡 The future of buildings isn’t just designed… it’s intelligently created. 🤖🏗️ ⚠No ©Copyright infringement intended ❌ #AIArchitecture #FutureDesign #SmartArchitecture #ArchitecturalInnovation #AIinDesign #DigitalArchitecture #ParametricDesign #GenerativeDesign #SustainableArchitecture #FutureOfBuildings #AIandCreativity #ArchitecturalTech #DesignInnovation #SmartCities #AIConstruction

Will AI replace architects?!! AI is shaking things up in architecture—from smart design suggestions to generative tools that imagine entire buildings. But here’s the big question: will AI take over, or will it help architects push the boundaries of creativity? Check out the full article to dive deeper: https://lnkd.in/ebu4hGxD #Architecture #ArtificialIntelligence #AIFuture #ArchitectureDesign #InnovationInArchitecture #AIEthics #FutureOfWork #Architects

AI in Sustainable Architecture: Transforming Design Through Environmental Modeling 1. AI in Environmental Modeling 2. Generative Design and AI-Driven Digital Twins 3. Predictive Analytics in Architecture and Urban Planning 4. Real-World Applications 5. Comparing AI-Driven Modeling with Traditional Methods 6. Best Practices and Future Outlook 7. Conclusion #AI #SustainableArchitecture #EnvironmentalModeling #GenerativeDesign #DigitalTwins #GreenCities #SmartBuildings #PredictiveAnalytics #UrbanPlanning #EnergyEfficiency #CarbonFootprint #SmartConstruction #EcoFriendlyDesign #AutodeskGenerativeDesign #SidewalkLabs #BuildingSustainability #FutureOfArchitecture #SmartBuildingManagement #AIinDesign #ClimateTech

Can a machine sketch? Not exactly. But it can push our thinking. AI is long past becoming more than a buzzword in architecture; it’s a creative partner. From drafting iterations to refining sustainable systems, tools like Midjourney and Finch 3D are changing how we design. Tim Fu’s practical insights show what happens when architects lean in rather than resist. Read more from Wallpaper* on how AI fits into the industry. #MichaelGraves #AIInArchitecture #DesignTech #AIFuture

Architecture has evolved over millennia from craft to science, with increasingly creative tools and materials. The latest breakthrough, "artificial architecture", could reinvent the profession. https://lnkd.in/e77NBdXX

TOMORROW (Wednesday) 6pm at the AIA New York | Center for Architecture: Part 3 of our Future of Practice Committee series on AI + architecture. Our previous events this year have largely focused on workflows and impacts on practice, so this time we've assembled an amazing panel to examine the emergence of new formal and visual languages, new aesthetic and spatial possibilities, and more. 👉 Register here: https://lnkd.in/e_URXvjn The AI Salon is a four-part series bringing together voices from architecture, engineering, construction, operations (AECO), and AI research to spark dialogue and co-create new possibilities. Our third session dives into design creativity: ✨ How might AI expand architectural imagination? ✨ What new paradigms of authorship, aesthetics, and ethics could emerge? ✨ Can we design with intelligent systems—not just through them? This session—Dreaming With AI—invites architects, designers, and artists to explore AI not just as a tool, but as a collaborator in shaping the future of our built environment. Panelists: Sebastian Marino – Chief Technology Officer, Monumental Labs Andrew Witt – Associate Professor, Harvard University Graduate School of Design Snoweria Zhang, AIA – Google 📍 Hosted by the AIA Future of Practice Committee, co-chaired by Jacob Reidel and Andre Soluri. 🤝 This salon series is co-organized by Xinru Liu, John Mikesh, and Dennis Shelden with the aim of bridging practice and research, and ultimately producing whitepapers to help advance AI adoption across the AECO industry. #AIinArchitecture #Architecture #CreativeAI #DesignInnovation #FutureOfDesign #AEC #BuiltEnvironment #futureofpractice