Type

Theoretical lectures and hands-on knowledge sessions

Workshop objectives

In this Workshop participants will investigate novel potentials for building design and structure-finding that arise at the intersection of computational design and AI-generated 3D geometries.

Participants requirements

Required skills: Advanced Rhinoceros, Advance Grasshopper, Google Collab, programming skills with C# or Python
Required software: Rhinoceros 7, Google Drive, Visual Studio / Visual Studio Code
Required hardware: PC

Workshop description

In this workshop, a selected group of international and interdisciplinary participants will investigate novel potentials for building design and structure-finding that arise at the intersection of computational design and AI-generated 3D geometries. Although the use of AI technologies is exponentially increasing in many fields of research, the effective design of spatial building structures through the use of AI is still limited in its applications and represents an ongoing field of investigation in advanced architectural research.

Participants will learn how to use exploratory AI tools for the tectonic definition of building elements and assemblies, computational design methods and structural topology-optimisation tools for the definition of building design and building structure. The workshop will be split into three parts. Firstly, participants will be introduced to the topic of AI-generated 3D geometries through the use of Text-To-3D / Image-To-3D methodologies leading to the generation of point-cloud data; secondly, the obtained datapoints will be converted into optimised mesh representations using novel neural rendering techniques – such as NeRF; lastly, the obtained mesh representations will be converted into building structures through the use of a voxelised geometry strategy, and then optimised using computational design tools in order to reach a feasible structural configuration.

The workshop will include theoretical lectures in order to give a comprehensive overview of design possibilities and cultural implications that arise from the proposed workflow and the use of AI for the design of the built environment. At the end of the workshop, participants will have a better understanding of emergent technologies and computational design opportunities in an architectural environment characterised by the use of AI and its generative capability.

Target group

Academic students (bachelor or master) with interest in computational design and artificial intelligence applied to the AEC industry.

Number of participatns max.

15

Duration and Procedure

With over ten years of international experience in the construction industry from conceptual design to built realizations, he combines professional work with academic research. He has worked in several countries around the world, and has contributed to lectures and international conferences at a number of important universities. He has published several papers on the relationship between digital technologies and human progress, and he is the author of the book Blue Papers. Studies on Digitational Architecture (Applied Research + Design Publishing, 2022).