Archinect - News

New reporting offers a snapshot on AI usage within the AEC industry

2024-11-13T14:13:00-05:00

A new survey from Bluebeam has documented the widespread use of AI technology in every facet of the AEC industry.

According to their survey of management employees in seven countries, around three-quarters (74%) of all businesses have implemented AI into their workflows. This is especially true in the design and planning stages of projects. It’s worth noting, however, that only 11% of responses came from architecture firms. Of the others, 71% are construction and 18% are engineering firms.

In the way of a broader adoption of digitalization and AI stands a lack of training amongst staff, which, at 32%, was the highest tallied reason ahead of general resistance to change within organizations (26%), concerns about data privacy (22%), budget constraints (19%), and other issues.

Related on Archinect: AI is Good For Architects (For Now)

Also in terms of budgeting, the highest number of responses (40%) to a query said they are currently allocating between 11% and 25% of their IT resources ...

Google updates Open Buildings data sets using AI

2024-10-28T10:46:00-04:00

In 2021, the Google Research Africa team launched Open Buildings, an open-source dataset of building footprints across the Global South produced using AI and high-resolution satellite imagery. The team had a simple vision: to fill a major gap in data for population and density in the developing world. Now in its third version, their dataset contains polygons for 1.8 billion buildings over an area of 58 million km² in Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

The data is useful in determining population size and other factors to solve urban density problems.

Google's Research product manager Olivia Graham says: "About 2.5 billion more people could move to cities by 2050, most of them in the Global South — this could be a real step change for governments and organizations working through that growth. If a city is planning where to put essential services like healthcare and education, or where to develop infrastructure like water and energy supplies, this dataset shows the areas that are actively growing."

The data can be explored via a searchable map using that's accessed here.

NCARB releases statement on AI and the future of the architectural profession

2024-10-20T09:10:00-04:00

The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) has announced a consensus opinion regarding the regulation of artificial intelligence technology and its future impact on the architectural profession.

This announcement emerged from NCARB's 2024 Annual Business Meeting in June, where 150 licensing board members convened. The meeting built on earlier discussions held during the March 2024 Regional Summit and the inaugural Futures Symposium in December 2023, which explored AI's impact on the profession. NCARB stated, "Going forward, NCARB will continue to monitor the expanding use of AI across practice and its potential interface with the regulatory mission of NCARB and its members. NCARB remains committed to collaborating with its licensing board members to ensure the best interests of the public are served through the effective and reasonable regulation of architectural practice."

NCARB emphasized that while advancements in AI and computational design are providing a...

Construction tech start-up sends AI-powered "micro-factories" to the US to build affordable housing

2024-10-04T17:57:00-04:00

British construction tech start-up Automated Architecture (AUAR) is sending two of its pop-up, robotic micro-factories to the U.S. for the first time in a move to bring automated and affordable house building to North America.

Founded in 2019, AUAR functions by licensing its technology to builders and contractors to build low-energy homes at the price of normal homes, at scale.

Related on Archinect: Where Are All The Affordable Housing Startups?. Image credit: Katerra

The micro-factories will be deployed by real estate development and construction firm Rival Holdings, which aims to address the ongoing housing crisis by building thousands of sustainable, affordable, and high-quality homes across the Midwest. The partnership between Rival Holdings and AUAR was announced in March.

“We are really excited to partner with Rival Holdings to bring our cutting-edge Robotic Micro-factories to the United States,” said Co-Founder and CEO of AUAR, Mollie Claypool. “This partnership is our first ...

Checking in on Jony Ive’s San Francisco plans post-Apple stardom

2024-09-27T15:56:00-04:00

But for Mr. Ive, Jackson Square also represents personal reinvention. Few people walk away from their profession’s premier job. Even fewer start over again. A self-professed control freak, Mr. Ive decided that he had fretted enough over the snugness of each iPhone box, the layout of every Apple Watch component and the curve of every iPad corner. He wanted something new.

The former Chief Design Officer at Apple, Ive, is fresh off a $100 million-plus real estate buying spree in San Francisco’s Jackson Square, where a large-scale redevelopment is now planned for 2025. Clients of LoveFrom are paying up to $200 million for his services, per the Times. Ive formed the company in 2019. Lots of projects are still veiled in secrecy, including the development of an AI-powered computing experience that is "less socially disruptive than the iPhone."

Refik Anadol Studio to open DATALAND Museum of AI Arts at The Grand LA in 2025

2024-09-24T16:24:00-04:00

By the end 2025, Refik Anadol will open a new venture called DATALAND at The Grand in downtown LA. The leading name in artificial intelligence and digital art, Anadol, announced the venture via its YouTube account, adding in a press release that Los Angeles was the "perfect city" for his vision of bringing the intelligence of machines and humans together in a museum setting.

Anadol was considered a prominent thinker at intersection of media and design arts well before his recent Machine Hallucinations series and debuts at MoMA, the Las Vegas Sphere, and 2023 Grammy Awards. (You can read Anadol's thoughts on the subject from his 2022 feature conservation here.)

He now returns to the site of his 2018 installation at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, using his hero Frank Gehry’s architecture as the permanent base of which another experiment, this one to "develop a new paradigm"of museums, can be performed.

Anadol and Erkiliç. Image credit: Dustin Downing

The studio’s long-serving partner, ...

Pratt Institute Partners with Creative AI Academy to Revolutionize Corporate Learning with Cutting-Edge Digital Credentials

2024-09-13T08:30:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Pratt, an Archinect Partner School

New York, NY – August 2, 2024 – Pratt Institute’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies has announced an exciting new partnership with Creative AI Academy, a leader in AI-driven design education. This collaboration marks a significant advancement in corporate learning and training by integrating Pratt Institute’s prestigious credentials with Creative AI Academy’s bespoke curriculum development.

Pratt Institute, known for its rigorous academic standards, will issue digital credentials that validate the skills gained, while Creative AI Academy, with its industry-leading expertise in AI and design, will craft the tailored training programs to ensure they meet the specific needs of corporate clients. The innovative AI focused curricula, meticulously developed and delivered by Creative AI Academy, will provide cutting-edge learning experiences that meet the evolving needs of today’s businesses.

Pratt Institute, con...

Payette is recruiting a visualization designer as AI continues to transform architectural imagery

2024-09-04T08:00:00-04:00

Following our previous look at an opening for a Robotics/Prototype Specialist at the University of Redlands School of Architecture, we are using the latest edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an opening on Archinect Jobs for a Visualization Designer at Payette.

The role, based in Boston, calls for an individual who will be responsible for 3D modeling and grasshopper creation within the firm’s Design Visualizations Group, which “works closely with architecture teams to study, develop, and present complex design solutions.” Among the requirements for the role are a Bachelor’s degree in architecture, excellent 3D modeling skills with Rhino, and preferably experience in Revit, Sketchup, and Grasshopper.

Tufts University Science and Engineering Complex by Payette. Photo: Chuck Choi

Why the role interests us

The open role for a visualization designer at Payette offers us the opportunity to review recent innovations and trends within the architectural visualization space. In Ju...

AI has massive potential to aid decarbonization in the building sector, LBNL paper claims

2024-08-09T11:45:00-04:00

AI's capacity to initiate energy use reductions and decarbonization of the building sector was documented recently by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. A new study of medium-sized office buildings in the United States revealed the potential for an 8% emissions reduction by 2050. An up to 20% reduction of annual on-site energy costs can also be achieved through widespread augmentation combined with other emerging technologies such as robotics.

Utility Dive, which first reported on the paper's publication, summarized its findings further: "Adopting AI in [one] scenario can help reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions by roughly 19% in 2050, compared with the policy scenario without AI."

This comes on the heels of the General Service Administration's announcement of $9.6 million in new grant funding to test AI-augmented products and other emerging building technologies as part of its Green Proving Ground program.

AI-induced creativity and the novelty dilemma looming over architectural design

2024-08-08T12:23:00-04:00

The impact of Generative AI on human creativity is one of the most observed and debated knock-on effects of users adapting to ChatGPT, Midjourney, and other large language models (LLMs). Now, a new study has shown a "social dilemma" that occurs when creatives are given a choice between AI-assisted prompts, which resulted in better-scoring work that was nevertheless plagued by the question of novelty.

In the views of authors Anil R. Doshi and Oliver P. Hauser from the University of Exeter and University College London (UCL), this dilemma "point[s] to an increase in individual creativity at the risk of losing collective novelty."

What can be gleaned from this study in an architectural sense calls into question many of the basic precepts for augmentation, namely that it affords designers a greater range of ingenuity in terms of form, program, scale, and functional spaces without significant drawbacks. Recently there has been a shift in the zeitgeist that had previously considered the ...

Instagrammer creates architectural AI designs inspired by food

2024-07-05T18:23:00-04:00

Fatih Ekşi, the popular Istanbul-based architectural designer, has shared some thoughts on the creative process behind his work, which has garnered over a million combined followers on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

His followers were recently treated to some playful, food-inspired architectural creations made using AI tools by his visualization studio Blick 3D.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Fatih Ekşi (@efatiheksi)

The latest series combines software with the principles of biomimetic architecture to produce designs whose form, structure, and building program utilize the natural geometries found in fruits, vegetables, and meat.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Fatih Ekşi (@efatiheksi)

"I studied Architecture for five years at the Vienna University of Technology, where I was nearing graduation but had to return to my hometown due to family matters," Ekşi tells Archinect of his background. "I have been working in archit...

Architects develop new AI visualization tool for architectural rendering

2024-07-03T06:23:00-04:00

Gendo, a new AI visualization platform, has launched today following a $1.1 million investment into the product created by London-based architectural designer George Proud with the help of his colleague and software engineer Will Jones.

The platform claims to convert 2D drawings, sketches, or text-based inputs into life-like visualizations.

Image courtesy Gendo

Zaha Hadid Architects, David Chipperfield Architects, and Benoy are among the beta testers of the software. It is being promoted as a way for firms to reduce costs and labor and gain an advantage in project and design competitions.

George Proud stated that, unlike mainstream generative image platforms such as Midjourney and DALL-E, Gendo allows generated visualizations to be edited, offering architects greater detail and precision.

The announcement follows closely last week's launch of another AI-driven platform called Treasury.

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."

Digital spatial asset platform Treasury launches in partnership with Zaha Hadid Architects and other creatives

2024-06-25T17:01:00-04:00

A new creative digital suite promising itself as the "Getty Images of premium spatial assets" has just been launched by San Francisco-based design technology startup Treasury Spatial Data in response to the growing influence of spatial computing in nearly every segment of the design industry.

Users of the new platform will have the ability to discover, fingerprint, license, share, and even commission their own spatial assets for licensing while simultaneously ensuring their protection against machine learning software and generative AI.

The platform's founders say: "The Treasury spatial asset platform is the foundation of a new era in design development for spatial assets and their applications."

Image: © Zaha Hadid Architects

Patrik Schumacher, principal of Treasury's early partner company Zaha Hadid Architects, added: "I have believed for many years that the metaverse will become compelling to a large portion of humanity not just when the technology is sufficiently sophisticated —...

Researchers claim to discover flaws in AI-generated images of Islamic architecture using Midjourney

2024-06-20T18:51:00-04:00

Techxplore.com has some interesting insights concerning flaws in the AI-led architectural image generation of historic Islamic architecture after a report about its inaccuracies surfaced in the journal Buildings this March.

"[The] inability to obtain precise visual representations of specific landmarks hinders the meaningful utilization of technology. The underlying reason for this limitation lies partially in the generic training dataset of generative artificial intelligence programs and services like Midjourney, which lacks adequate recognition of regional and cultural variations," researchers from the UAE’s University of Sharjah explain.

The matter touches on the limits of AI’s integration into the design process. The full paper, which focuses on the issues latent in a Midjourney experiment, is accessible here.

Study finds that AI is key to maximizing the benefits of smart buildings

2024-06-20T13:01:00-04:00

The value of smart building deployments is projected to grow by 95 per cent to $14bn by 2026 globally. This growth, up from $7bn in 2024, will be driven by sustainability initiatives and the need for cost reductions in building management, said Juniper Research, which has published the report.

As reported by Smart Cities World, the study found that artificial intelligence-based building management solutions will be key to both achieving sustainability and energy goals and securing a return on investment in smart buildings. Through in-depth data analytics, AI is capable of identifying potentially expensive issues, before they occur, which can increase safety and decrease operational costs. Additionally, the report predicts that through the integration of internet of things (IoT) networks and sensors with AI systems, the automation of building functionality in real-time can result in major savings and emissions reductions.

The study found that buildings, such as warehouses, factories, and agricultural buildings, could benefit the most from AI-based smart building technology as they tend to have high operational costs.

Autodesk donates $5 million to help fund Howard University's Design and Make lab

2024-06-18T12:58:00-04:00

This month, Autodesk announced a record-setting $5 million donation to the College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA) at Howard University, a gift it says is meant to ensure the school's new state-of-the-art Design and Make lab will be operated with the most cutting-edge software and other technology the industry has to offer.

What is now the largest such gift in the CEA's history precedes the launch of a new lab within the CEA this fall. Howard says the lab is intended to encourage K-12 learners towards careers in the STEM fields and will be augmented with the integration of the hands-on A World in Motion® (AWIM) PreK-12 STEM program sponsored by the SAE Foundation.

“Howard is a leader in graduating Black engineers, and this gift will expand our ability to provide our students with the best and latest resources throughout the course of their education here. This is increasingly important to us as competition for entry-level jobs continues to increase and as the need for tech and...

Exploring the Future of AEC Technology in the Age of AI

2024-05-30T08:46:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by
TECH Perspectives New York

The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry is on the cusp of a technological revolution, driven by the advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). On June 20, 2024, Microsol Resources will host the TECH Perspectives New York event, bringing together thought leaders and innovators to discuss the transformative impact of AI on AEC technology.

Event Highlights

The event will take place at the Japan Society in New York, from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM EST. It promises to be an engaging morning filled with insights from industry experts on how AI is reshaping the landscape of AEC technology.

Speakers include:

Phil Bernstein, Associate Dean & Professor Adjunct at Yale School of Architecture
Steve Jones, Senior Director at Dodge Data & Analytics
Robert K. Otani, Chief Technology Officer at Thornton Tomasetti
Ayse Polat, Regional VDC Manager at Turner Construction
Charles Portelli, Associate & ...

62% of A&E firms report using artificial intelligence increased efficiency, according to new Deltek study

2024-05-10T18:28:00-04:00

Statistics revealed in the latest Deltek Clarity Architecture & Engineering Industry Study have indicated wide optimism about the use of AI technology, even as most firms struggle to determine where and how to apply emerging trends in the face of prevailing economic headwinds.

According to the 45th annual report, 62% of all 650 surveyed A&E respondents across the United States and Canada have successfully begun using AI to augment their daily operations. Only 20% of firms now report at least three-quarters of their project leadership teams as possessing the proper project management training to best utilize such tools, with another 44% reporting insufficient time to invest in skill-based learning. Other leading challenges include prioritizing applicable trends and the cost of technology.

The findings add to a body of recent valuable industry trends reporting, including last month’s Autodesk study which stated that 76% of all AEC professionals now feel confident about incorporating ...

Autodesk introduces experimental AI 3D shape generator Project Bernini

2024-05-09T13:53:00-04:00

Autodesk has just announced the development of a new experimental generative AI design tool called Project Bernini, the latest addition to its Autodesk AI inventory for industry professionals and design students in every field.

Project Bernini can reportedly be used to generate complex and unique functional geometric shapes for 3D modeling via text prompts, 2D images, voxels, and point clouds. The model was trained on a range of over ten million different shapes using research from the Autodesk AI Lab in collaboration with the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Its potential will become even more considerable once trained on larger professional datasets after the product is made publicly available.

Demonstration video for Project Bernini. Video courtesy Autodesk/YouTube.

Autodesk says: “If trained on buildings, the models could generate geometrically rigorous creative designs and inspire a new generation of buildings and architects. If trained on video game character models or fanta...

Carlo Ratti presents theme and title for 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale

2024-05-07T14:38:00-04:00

Curator Carlo Ratti has announced the title and theme for next year’s Venice Architecture Biennale. The 19th International Architectural Exhibition will advance under the banner Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective., a portmanteau title representing different forms of intelligence supported by four pillars: Transdisciplinarity, Living Lab, Space For Ideas, and Circularity Protocol.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and director of Carlo Ratti Associati says he wishes for curators of individual National Pavillions to consider his prompt “One place, one solution,” which asks for an attempt at coherence between theirs and the International Exhibition. He added: “Showcasing how local ingenuity can address our time’s existential challenge that can only be tackled in a cooperative manner, reflecting a multiplicity of approaches. If every country brings one success to the table, together we can assemble a global kit for adapting to the future.”

“The 19th Internat...

SOM's new Schwarzman College of Computing opens at MIT

2024-05-01T14:02:00-04:00

The new home for the recently established MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been completed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

What will be a research hub for AI and other disciplines in the computing sciences offers 185,000 square feet of labs, collaborative spaces, classrooms, and faculty areas inside a shingled profile that defines two eight-story pavilions.

The structure's design was limited by an existing railroad track running along the site’s north axis, creating the need for a 44-foot bridge that connects to either volume across three levels. After entering its oak-finished triple-height lobby from a central plaza area, engineers and researchers have space to explore flexible arrangements in the offices along its perimeter on Vassar Street.

The building includes social kitchens, a large 250-seat lecture ...

Major uptake in artificial intelligence use across creative industries, Autodesk survey finds

2024-04-10T11:53:00-04:00

Autodesk has released a report on the state of digitization and technological adoption across creative industries. The 2024 State of Design & Make Report found that companies see artificial intelligence “as a current tool rather than a futuristic pipe dream.”

The report’s findings were derived from survey results of 5,400 industry companies and figures across architecture, engineering, construction, design, manufacturing, media, and entertainment. Among the findings was a high level of optimism, with 73% of companies believing they were prepared to handle unforeseen economic or geopolitical changes.

76% of professionals said they trust AI in their industry, with application areas including productivity and sustainability. “More than half of companies say they are approaching or have already achieved their goal of incorporating AI,” Autodesk said about the report findings. “While AI adoption is high, we still have a long way to go to maximize AI’s potential.”

Related on Archinect: Au...

Autodesk develops AI-powered embodied carbon tool for early-stage design

2024-04-03T11:39:00-04:00

Autodesk has developed an embodied carbon analysis tool to be integrated into the software maker’s AI-driven Forma application.

Powered by the C.Scale data model developed by U.S.-based architecture firm EHDD, the tool “enables designers to better understand the carbon impacts from primary material choices and building form during site feasibility and massing studies at the beginning of a project planning process,” Autodesk says.

Image credit: Autodesk

The tool allows architects working in Forma to subject their early design concept to an AI-powered analysis that can evaluate design concepts and iterate toward reducing carbon emissions.

Located in the ‘analysis’ tab in the Forma web application, the analysis allows users to define site-wide analytical properties as well as those specific to individual buildings. Parameters that can be specified include building function, structural system, and envelope factors such as cladding and window-to-wall ratio.

Image credit: Autodesk

Accordi...

AI designer and multi-story 3D printer among ICON technologies unveiled at SXSW

2024-03-12T16:00:00-04:00

Construction technologies company ICON has unveiled a suite of new technologies at SXSW, including a multi-story robotic construction system and an AI-powered design system.

At a SXSW event dubbed ‘Domus Ex Machina,’ the company also presented a new low-carbon building material for 3D printing alongside a digital catalog for residential 3D printed architecture containing more than 60 designs.

Phoenix multi-story printer. Image credit: ICON

“In the future, I believe nearly all construction will be done by robots, and nearly all construction-related information will be processed and managed by AI systems,” said Jason Ballard, ICON Co-Founder and CEO, announcing the new systems. “It is clear to me that this is the way to cut the cost and time of construction in half while making homes that are twice as good and more faithfully express the values and hopes of the people who live in them.”

Phoenix multi-story printer. Image credit: ICON

Among the new technologies unveiled is Phoenix, ICON...

AI models predict the 2024 Pritzker Winner

2024-03-04T08:10:00-05:00

As the architecture community anticipates the official Pritzker Prize announcement this Tuesday, our team at Archinect has been fully immersed in the whirlwind of predictions and speculations. A few days ago we published a roundup of forecasts from the Archinect community, highlighting potential winners such as Moshe Safdie, Barclay Crousse, Eyal Weizman/Forensic Architecture, Thomas Heatherwick, H arquitectes, and Johnston Marklee, to name just a few. This curiosity led to an idea for a fun experiment: consult with various Artificial Intelligence models to gauge their insights on the prestigious award's 2024 recipient. Initiating conversations with four leading LLM models—ChatGPT 4, Google Gemini, Anthropic's Claude 2, and Perplexity—I navigated the sometimes hilariously clumsy, but mostly very interesting "thoughts" from our AI frenemies. Each of the models ended up predicting different winners, but there's a common theme with all of the selections that you'll notice.

I conducted...

RIBA's new Artificial Intelligence Report features revelatory findings about AI within architectural practice

2024-02-29T18:56:00-05:00

The newly published RIBA Artificial Intelligence Report has revealed statistics detailing the architecture industry’s turn towards AI within professional practice using findings from a recent survey of 500+ members. The study also gives clues about the technology’s future and feedback on how new software tools have impacted the design process.

According to the report, 41% of architects in the UK have begun using AI software at least occasionally, with another 43% stating their opinions that it has made the design process "more efficient."

"Our findings show architects are curious and open-minded about AI, and some of us are true pioneers," RIBA President Muyiwa Oki summarized. "By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and a culture of responsible innovation, we can harness the power of AI to create a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable built environment. There’s no turning back."

New AI resource guide details tech solutions for building contractors

2024-02-15T20:36:00-05:00

The industry group Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has just published a new guide to AI resources for contractors working closely with architects on building projects across the U.S.

“The possibilities of AI technology may sound endless, but we must first educate ourselves on the basics, and this resource is a starting point to understand AI and its potential impact on the construction industry,” said ABC Director of Construction Technology and Innovation Patrick Scarpati, who authored the guide. “The industry has immense opportunities to evaluate how we can better deliver projects, and we can lean on AI in achieving essential goals like upskilling, workforce development, knowledge transfer, supply chain optimization, enhanced safety design and planning and much more.”

Among the tools ABC says are supposed to make the building trade more efficient, safer, and productive are Autodesk’s new Construction IQ risk analysis software, the Hypar building modeling program that let...

The Motorist Won: Envisioning a vehicle-centric UK with Archinect Generative Futures finalist Kyle Branchesi

2024-02-13T19:32:00-05:00

Designer Kyle Branchesi has shared images from his latest creative experimentation with generative AI tools, a visual commentary touching on the debate over pedestrianism and motor vehicles happening currently within the UK.

For 'The Motorist Won,' Branchesi imagined a far-off dystopia plagued by vehicle traffic where historic streets and all visible landmarks are besieged by the hum of engines and blur of lights, making cities like London or Edinburgh the all-too-unfortunate casualties of what PM Rishi Sunak says is a "war" against cars.

The Motorist Won by Kyle Branchesi

Branchesi describes: "Amidst a political landscape where the 'war on motorists' is wielded as a populist tool, this series captures a future where this rhetoric has prevailed. The transformation of UK landmarks like Stonehenge into vast vehicular realms underscores the absurdity and danger of prioritizing short-term political gains over sustainable urban planning. These images mirror the contentious debates in the ...

Drexel University researchers develop AI-guided robotic structural inspection system

2024-02-12T08:00:00-05:00

Researchers based at the Drexel University College of Engineering have devised a new method for performing structural safety inspections using autonomous robots aided by machine learning technology.

The article they published recently in the Elsevier journal Automation in Construction presented the potential for a new multi-scale monitoring system informed by deep-learning algorithms that work to find cracks and other damage to buildings before using LiDAR to produce three-dimensional images for inspectors to aid in their documentation.

The development could potentially work to benefit the enormous task of maintaining the health of structures that are increasingly being reused or restored in cities large and small across the country. Despite the relative age of America’s built environment, roughly two-thirds of today’s existing buildings will be in use in the year 2050, according to Gensler’s predictions.