Captain’s Blog – Design of the Times

The Roman Architect Vitruvius discussed what an Architect needs to be successful. Craftsmanship, theoretical skill, drawing and geometry, the ability to draw on precedents, an awareness of nature, arithmetic skills to cost his buildings, history, philosophy and physics to appreciate good design, and finally medical and legal skills to ensure his buildings are fit  for purpose and that they don’t contravene any laws. Phew!

Today the architect needs IT skills more than any others and you’d be hard pushed to find a drawing board, pencil or ruler anywhere near the office. Increasingly AI is being brought into use so it can dictate what buildings should look like and how they will work. It can also tell us what materials are needed and in what quantities so it can decide how much the building will cost. It will also give us designs for heating, cooling, plumbing and wiring whilst showing with virtual reality what it is like to walk around. Planning Departments now often insist on CGI ‘pictures’ because their staff either don’t want to or can’t read drawings. All of this means that the architect, once he has had his grand vision, is reduced to being the driver of the AI bus and AI will do the rest. However, and with deference to Spectator Magazine here, the one thing artificial intelligence is not is ‘intelligent’. It has no soul, no feeling and no compassion. It merely has trillions of facts and figures which it can use instantly to solve complex problems. But here’s the thing – a building isn’t just a problem to be solved. It’s a book to be written or a piece of music to be composed. It’s a chance to create something beautiful and lasting like a piece of art. It’s the architects chance to impose his own personal style. AI is in danger of scrapping all of that and taking over the design process using precedent and data instead inspiration and art.

I wonder if it would ever have come up with the design for the Musee des Confluences in Lyon – no I thought not.