We are now living in the age of Artificial Intelligence. AI is playing an increasingly significant role in our lives, but what impact might it have on the design profession? Despite its potential, most architecture schools in Bangladesh, along with many professionals, remain unaware of what AI can offer.
In Studio V, Department of Architecture at AIUB, we explored AI’s radical impact on the design process—one that could open an extraordinary new chapter in the architectural realm. AI-powered platforms like Midjourney and LookX AI are gaining popularity among designers for their ability to enhance creative workflows. Students investigated how these platforms utilize AI to interpret textual prompts, generating unique imagery that challenges conventional design methodologies. Through hands-on demonstrations and guided exercises, they learned to integrate these tools into their creative workflows, from concept ideation to refined design outputs.
Elon Musk has likened AI to nuclear technology, emphasizing both its risks and transformative potential. In a tweet on X, he remarked that AI will augment human intelligence and be used in conjunction with human input—suggesting that, if we can’t beat it, we should embrace it. In our exploration, we sought to use AI as a design tool rather than view it as a replacement for human creativity.
A significant milestone in AI development came in July 2022 when OpenAI made its tools widely accessible. This powerful platform has rapidly become a catalyst for image generation, augmenting our imaginative capabilities and expanding creative possibilities. AI acts as a prosthesis for human imagination, enhancing our ability to generate complex visual ideas and pushing the boundaries of design.
As an avant-garde architectural institution in Bangladesh, we have consistently pushed the boundaries of design education by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the creative process. In alignment with this vision, we recently conducted a 2.5-week intensive design project—Designing the Route Café—where students utilized AI-powered tools to generate architectural forms and explore innovative spatial solutions.
This AI-driven exploration challenged students to conceptualize and design a roadside café that not only met practical requirements but also responded to the cultural and environmental dynamics of its location. Route cafés, as essential landmarks along highways, provide spaces for travelers to pause, refresh, and interact. Throughout the project, students experimented with AI-generated forms, using platforms such as Midjourney, DALL·E, ChatGPT, Fabrie AI, LookX AI, Mnml AI, ReRender AI, and Prime AI to develop and refine their design iterations.
Beyond Form: The Fusion of AI and Functionality
The integration of AI introduced unexpected geometries and novel spatial compositions, expanding traditional architectural thinking. However, beyond form generation, the challenge lay in applying functional intelligence—translating abstract generative outputs into real-world architectural solutions. Students engaged in a process of critical design interrogation, ensuring that their AI-driven forms successfully accommodated the programmatic and operational demands of a fully functional café.
Key Inquiry Issues and Design Challenges
Understanding Prompt Engineering
- Students explored the art of crafting precise prompts to guide AI toward meaningful architectural outputs, testing different parameters to achieve controlled design results.
Navigating Site and Programmatic Constraints
- The café was designed to accommodate dining for 120 people, a fully functional kitchen, restrooms, and a strategically planned parking area for buses, microbuses, and private cars.
- The design responded to site forces, ensuring efficient circulation, accessibility, and contextual integration.
Balancing AI Creativity with Architectural Identity
- Students addressed the challenge of maintaining authenticity, user comfort, and functional efficiency in AI-generated forms.
- AI was utilized to optimize spatial arrangements and simulate environmental impacts, allowing for better-informed early-stage design decisions.
AI-Driven Design Iteration: A Student’s Journey in Crafting the Route Café
Step 1: Conceptualization – From Exploration to Contextualized Design
Initial Experimentation with Prompts: The Early Phase
Anan began by experimenting with broad, unstructured prompts, which led to AI-generated outcomes that were disconnected from the project’s goals.
Example of Random Prompt:
“Design a café by the road using wood, glass, and something like nature. It should be comfortable and nice with big windows. There should be some seating outside, and it must have lights. Make it hot and sunny.”
The unclear prompt resulted in irrelevant and abstract designs, emphasizing the need for more precise instructions.
Refining the Prompts: Structured and Contextualized
Recognizing the need for clarity, Anan refined her prompts, incorporating site-specific details like location, materials, style and goals. This resulted in more relevant and practical outcomes.
Example of Refined Prompt:
“Design a sustainable, futuristic Route Café along a scenic highway, with a triangular form and large windows for natural light. Use glass and concrete, minimalist architecture with clean lines, Dynamic roof structure, indoor and outdoor seating, large windows for natural light, welcoming to travelers, contemporary yet connected to nature, in the context of highway of Bangladesh.”
The refined prompt produced designs that were visually dynamic and aligned with the project’s functional and environmental needs.
Selection of the Concept: Site-Specific Application & Iteration
After refining the prompts, Anan evaluated the AI-generated designs, considering site context, functional needs, and traveler experience. The selection process involved multiple iterations, where designs were continuously refined and optimized for practicality and aesthetic alignment with the site in guidance of course teachers.
Example of Iteration & Optimization:
In the first iteration, Anan explored various design forms. For instance, one iteration focused on a more geometric, angular design, while another emphasized organic shapes. Through studio guidance and feedback, she iterated on these designs, refining materials, shapes, and site-specific elements to ensure the design responded well to both aesthetic and functional needs.
The final design selected integrated materials like glass, and concrete. It featured large windows for natural light and a layout that harmonized with the surrounding landscape, making the café both visually striking and functional for travelers.
This process showcases the importance of structuring AI prompts to generate relevant, context-aware design solutions that combine creativity with practicality.
Step 2: Design Development – Refining Space with AI Insights
In this phase, Anan advanced from conceptual design to detailed development, using both traditional methods and AI tools. A key element was utilizing AI to refine the interior environment and spatial experience. Anan employed prompts to define “lofty” spaces and optimize views under specific conditions, ensuring the design remained consistent with the overall vision.
Example of AI-Driven Interior Design Prompts:
“Create a lofty interior space with expansive views, ensuring natural light filters in at noon. The space should feel airy with materials like wood and glass, seed 4452.”
These AI-generated insights helped define the space, ensuring natural light and open space layouts. The prompts also guided material choices, optimizing for both aesthetic appeal and creativity.
Through iterative refinement using AI, Anan’s design evolved into a functional and visually appealing Route Café.
Step 3: Presentation – Communicating the Design
In the final phase, Anan leveraged AI to transform her design into realistic visualizations, enabling her to convey the architectural vision more effectively and in less time. The project, completed in 3 weeks, benefitted from the use of AI tools to streamline the rendering process and produce high-quality imagery.
By integrating her raw SketchUp models into AI-powered platforms, Anan was able to generate stunning, lifelike renderings of the café’s interiors and exteriors. These tools allowed her to quickly visualize different spatial conditions, lighting scenarios, and material selections, making the design process more efficient and flexible.
The final presentation included 3D renderings, floor plans, and visualized walkthroughs, showing how the café’s design integrated with the surrounding environment. By using AI for visualization, Anan was able to convey her design intentions clearly and efficiently, demonstrating how AI can enhance the architectural presentation process and reduce the time traditionally spent on rendering.
Project Examples:
i. Project by Sumiya Rahman Anika
ii. Project by Nazneen
Pushing the Frontiers of Architectural Education
Through this AI-powered Route Café project, we redefined design methodologies, enhanced critical thinking skills, and prepared students for a future where human creativity and machine intelligence converge. This initiative served as a steppingstone toward a more dynamic, responsive, and forward-thinking architectural practice.
AI is no longer just a tool; it is becoming an active collaborator in the design process. To arrive at a good design, we must learn to ask the right questions, framing our prompts effectively to harness AI’s full potential. In doing so, AI augments our imagination, allowing us to explore ideas that might have once seemed beyond reach. This intelligent machine expands the boundaries of creativity, serving as a powerful extension of the human mind. For students and designers alike, AI is not a replacement but a remarkable prosthesis—enhancing our creative expertise and transforming the way we conceive and develop architectural designs. As we embrace these advancements, we step into a future where human ingenuity and artificial intelligence work in tandem, pushing the limits of design innovation.
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Co-authors:
Md. Rashed Hasan [ Lecturer], Md. Sarowar Jahan Apu [Adjoint Faculty]
