Archinect - Features

Let’s Talk About Architectural Visualization

2024-10-14T08:00:00-04:00

Welcome to Archinect In-Depth: Visualization. Over the coming weeks, Archinect will explore the process of visualizing architectural work and what challenges and opportunities the field presents for the architectural design process. Our journey will include not only tips and advice for designers seeking to improve their own visualization skills in the present day but also reflections on the history of architectural visualization and explorations into the forces shaping its future.

What we will cover in this series:

History of Visualization
Contemporary Questions
External Influences
Tips for Designers
Future Trends

'You Need to Use AI Much More Than You Think to Get Unique Results From It'; A Conversation with Alexis Christodoulou

2023-07-26T08:00:00-04:00

Studying Alexis Christodoulou’s work, including his highly popular Instagram portfolio, one would expect his images to be the product of decades of education, training, and practice at the top of the field. The fact that Christodoulou is a self-taught artist of ten years, preceded by a career in advertising and winemaking, is a testament to the artist’s flair and passion for exploring new frontiers.

That same passion for exploration has allowed Christodoulou’s work to evolve from its simple architectural beginnings to vivid, minimalist experiments in Modernism, Brutalism, and the natural world, to present-day commissions by luxury brands through his company, Color C Design Studio.

In June 2023, Archinect’s Niall Patrick Walsh spoke with Christodoulou about his career in 3D visualization, including his background, process, tools, and thoughts on how artificial intelligence intersects with his field. The discussion, edited slightly for clarity, is published below.

This article is part...

SCI-Arc Student Investigates How Artificial Intelligence Can Assist in 3D Modeling

2023-01-31T14:43:00-05:00

Advances in 3D modeling software continue to develop year after year. An example of this is a new thought-provoking 3D modeling plug-in designed by SCI-Arc EDGE graduate Jimmy Wei-Chun Cheng. His work offers a new way to challenge design "from the perspective of toolmaking and AI technologies [...] The plug-in proposes an alternative model to existing applications of AI and procedural methods."

In our latest Thesis Review installment, the SCI-Arc Architectural Technologies EDGE graduate shares his thesis project, Artificial Imagination Owl. During our interview, Cheng discussed the motivations behind his project and how it can help reshape "real-time ideation feedback" for users. Cheng explained that his project is a "Human x AI cooperation 3D modeling plug-in" that was designed to "awaken our awareness of the cliché in architectural design but also to contemplate how designers can engage with AI Machine Vision/Machine learning differently in the recent AI Architecture proliferation...

Don't Be a Tool: Role of Software vs. Vision in Architectural Employment

2015-06-18T10:39:00-04:00

One must be smarter than the tools one is working with, but what exactly does that mean in a profession that increasingly relies on software initially developed for the aerospace industry? How important is it for a student to master Rhino or REVIT versus the intrinsic philosophy of great design itself? Most importantly, how does a student balance the need to become a high-end CAD monkey while developing creative thought?