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BEYOND FORM AND STRUCTURE: Generative and AI in AEC

hen Computer Aided Design THE GENERATIVE CHALLENGE sociological and environmental metrics, (CAD) went mainstream Without generative design, many of or simply how to make the best use of in the 1980s, it simply the iconic, free-flowing buildings of within a building. replaced the act of manual the 21st Century would not have been Autodesk®, for example, used generative Wdrafting; it did not actually ‘aid’ the design cost effective to design and build. Some design to plan its new office space in of buildings. Now with advances in local would have even been impossible to Toronto, taking into account several computing power, 3D graphics and an envision or communicate to fabricators. differing goals including work styles, acceptance of a 3D modeling paradigm, we It was Robert McNeel & Associates’ location preferences, daylight and are finally at a point where CAD can live Rhino® Grasshopper® that helped global outside views. up to its name. firm Gensler resolve the split- Generative design software is extremely Generative Design and Artificial parabolic curve of the Shanghai tower. powerful as it can be fully customized Intelligence (AI) are two key technologies Buro Happold’s team used to help solve many different design now taking CAD way beyond the the same algorithmic modeling software challenges. But this has also been one of capabilities of its 1980s predecessors. to rapidly generate design alternatives for the barriers to wider adoption, particularly Rather than using the computer to the complex gridshell roof of Singapore’s for smaller AEC firms. “Many generative document , it is the computer itself Jewel Changi Airport. design tools out there can be really hard to that is doing the heavy lifting, generating It is only through custom scripts that leverage because they typically require you hundreds or thousands of design options, efficiently generate many alternative to know how to code or understand special which all meet pre-defined goals. The building forms that incredibly complex terminology, or how a genetic then chooses the ones that best buildings like these have been able to be works,” said Autodesk AI development meet the project’s objectives, then refines realized. Such is the complexity of the manager Racel Williams, speaking at them to create the best functional solutions. geometry, that modeling each scenario Autodesk University 2019. In contrast, with a traditional design manually simply wouldn’t be possible To this end, Autodesk is looking to workflow, time and cost constraints often or the project team would be limited to democratize the technology. Building lead to playing safe and following what’s developing one or two options. For each on the foundations of Project Refinery, been done before. But this means the iteration, powerful PCs are needed to Autodesk recently introduced Generative optimal design may never even be explored. handle the regeneration of surfaces and Design for Revit® 2021 that allows users The benefits to the industry can be huge. elements in a model that results from every to select a templated design study, define Generative design and AI can improve change to the underlying control points. goals, and then use the computational quality, reduce waste and lower costs While early applications of generative power of a high-performance PC to return across the industry. These technologies can design focused largely on form and a range of options. also de-risk the design and fabrication of structure, the focus is now shifting to It is important to note that generative complex buildings, by giving Architecture, other design goals and project-specific design does not do all of the work for Engineering and Construction (AEC) firms metrics. The technology is being used to the designer. While the software can much more certainty that project and client optimize for multiple, often competing generate hundreds or thousands of design demands will be met and delivered on time. criteria, such as cost, performance, alternatives, and structure the data to help IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

organize and prioritize each one, only the designer can decide which ones are important and worth refining further. The intention is not to replace the with a computer, but to free up a designer’s time for more strategic work.

THE AI FUTURE Computers are now starting to take a more proactive role. AI will offer the AEC industry a huge number of new

possibilities at nearly every stage in the OF EXCITECH IMAGE COURTESY PROJECT REFINERY lifecycle of a building or infrastructure. At the moment, the use of AI is at an embryonic stage, but there are a handful of software developers exploring its potential. AI is having a big impact at the feasibility or early stages of design, where it can be used to maximize site usage, residential capacity, daylighting or access to premium views. Architects are also using AI for the more mundane tasks, such as checking if a building meets local codes. It can together in closer harmony, enabling also be used to optimize construction further processes such as digital twins and scheduling and management or give all the benefits that big data brings. Z by HP recommends construction planners advanced warnings While it took decades for the industry of project delays. to move from drawing board and pencil Digital Blue Foam is developing a tool to digital 2D drawings on personal to help address the risks of COVID-19, computers, the move to 3D modeling optimizing interior building layouts, while has been rapid within the leading design meeting social distancing rules. The aim is practices. By creating a digital prototype, to identify high-risk zones by simulating the industry is now open to the benefits of the flow of people and air. next generation . TestFit is an AI-enhanced site feasibility On one hand, there are generative design study and building configuration software. tools that enable to advance For generative design tools like Rhino The designer creates a site boundary and the architectural vocabulary of modern Grasshopper, Project Refinery or the software uses a proprietary algorithm buildings, through the creation of complex Generative Design for Revit, Z by HP to generate a building given the user’s forms. On the other, there will be AI recommends its Z4 Desktop and ZBook specifications. assistants and expert agents analyzing and Studio with high-frequency Intel® Core™ AI is also being applied to visual advising everywhere. This could be from or Xeon® processors, high-end NVIDIA® computing to bring game changing the early design brief, all the way through Quadro® RTX graphics, 64 GB memory technology to construction sites for to the lifecycle of a building, where data and 1 TB NVMe storage. health and safety, materials tracing and from smart sensors is continually analyzed inspection using just dumb images or so environments can be optimized, and video. This will bring the digital model failures predicted. We are finally in the era hp.com/aec and the analog construction process of true Computer Aided Design. IMAGES COURTESY OF TESTFIT IMAGES COURTESY 4AA7-7946ENW