Archinect - News

Architects would do well to apply lessons from philosophy in the age of AI, says Nayef Al-Rodhan

2024-07-01T17:39:00-04:00

New AI architecture tools will, in the short term, make good design affordable and accessible. But AI will still fall short when it comes to understanding human nature as well our emotional and dignity needs. Dignity means much more than just the absence of humiliation. It also requires recognition, manifested through nine critical human needs: reason, security, human rights, accountability, transparency, justice, opportunity, innovation, and inclusiveness.

"Looking to the future, tomorrow’s architects will need to be equipped with transdisciplinary tools such as Neuro-Techno-Philosophy, a framework I have introduced to understand the AI-neuroscience-philosophy nexus underpinning our society today," Oxford University's Nayef Al-Rodhan argues in a new treatise on the uses of academic philosophy in today's AI-driven design field. "Doing so will help ensure that the buildings of the future are in tune with our neurobiological predilections, neurobehavioral needs, aspirations and values for collective peace and prosperity."

Architecture is at a critical juncture as disruptive technology is remaking the industry wholesale. A litany of issues (housing justice, etc.) worldwide nonetheless commands its attention. As Foucault famously said in the 1970s, society "must be defended."

Foster + Partners releases Ellison Institute of Technology campus designs in Oxford

2023-10-16T17:09:00-04:00

Foster + Partners has unveiled renderings for a new scientific research and development facility design located in Oxford, UK.

The project to establish a new home for the eight-year-old Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) comprises a 30,000-square-meter (323,000-square-foot) central research laboratory, oncological wellness institute, and restoration of existing buildings. Its creation positions the institute, which also operates out of Los Angeles, for better collaborations with Oxford University and the city’s biotech and technology industries. The EIT says it will also aid with the launch of its new Ellison Scholars program, which was initiated earlier this year.

Image courtesy Foster + Partners

The scope of its design entails connecting the restored single-volume Littlemore House to new pavilions located at the easternmost edge of the site in order to create a larger C-shape footprint surrounding a landscaped courtyard that’s built over a sunken 200-seat auditorium and culminat...

Plans for a new humanities center and concert hall at Oxford University have been unveiled

2021-07-09T17:37:00-04:00

Designs for a brand new concert hall at Oxford University have been unveiled, adding an elegant new music venue to the centuries-old campus thanks to a £150 million ($209 million) gift.

The proposed new Stephen A. Schwarzman Center for the Humanities has three distinct performance spaces varying in size and is currently undergoing a second public consultation on the new building’s design before plans are formally submitted to Oxford City Council in the fall.

Images courtesy Oxford University public consultation

Hopkins Architects are behind the scheme for the new concert hall, which will have separate 500-, 250-, and 100-seat spaces and will provide a much-needed upgrade to the existing venues on campus, of which some can recall fondly performances from bygone luminaries such as Handel.

The Center will also serve as the new home for Oxford’s history and humanities faculties. Furthermore, it will feature a dedicated humanities library and new Institute for Ethics in AI, forming an ove...