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Generative design – what architects need to know

Generative design allows architects to explore multiple design spaces in seconds

Generative design is already the buzz word in America, Canada and Australia, and making its way over here.

Combining Big Data and artificial intelligence to define conceptual goals and constraints to produce high quality images and concepts is now a reality.

In a nutshell, generative design software allows you to:

  • Input your concept space dimensions
  • Create a number of goals and constraints for that space
  • Watch as the software creates potentially hundreds of design options
  • Choose the designs that best meet your goals
  • Present high-quality designs to developers

Creating concepts is time heavy. Generative design software, like the Archistar platform, promise to take the laborious effort out of your work.

  • Each design offers a different way of using the space
  • You are using a system where the most up-to-date information is available
  • You can be confident each design meets the current regulations in any given location
  • Information relating to costs is included for each design
  • Due Diligence becomes easy – Get hyperlinks to government planning information

Design Brief: An office for multiple collaborative teams

You can visually check the proposed area to work within physical constraints, such working on an existing building, or within a finite space.

Design objectives might include:

  • Minimising distances between teams who work closely
  • Desk positioning to minimise distraction and increase productivity
  • Maximising available daylight
  • Allowing views to green spaces outside

Enter your requirements, inputting a variety of parameters to generate the greatest number of designs.

You might choose to include access to an outside area to meet the requirements for a health-living initiative. You might consider footfall potential through shared spaces to aid collaboration. Play with your metrics.

The most exciting benefits

With almost unlimited power at your fingertips, you will have access to designs that go beyond human boundaries. This tech has no preconceived ideas about how things should be, how space should be designed, look or feel. It’s almost innocent in its ability to be open to the best solutions.

Here are some of the most exciting benefits:

  • The potential to save time is huge. Present multiple concepts that were generated in seconds, rather than weeks of manual labour
  • The ability to recompute the data as the space evolves and changes
  • The chances of winning work increases. If you can send 100 designs to a developer, rather than one, chances are they will like and accept one of them. You get the work and move on the next phase
  • Unlink yourself from the human tendency to work with a set pattern of linear thinking

Designing the Future

The architectural landscape is changing. Automation is going to infuse digital workflows in every industry. Generative design may be the future for the architect. The future promises to be a very different place.

Co-create truly ground-breaking designs by combining your expertise, creativity and “human eye” with tech that moves effortlessly through boundaries to provide thousands of conceptual options.

Learn more in our Promap v2 Webinar – Special Architects Edition.

You’ll discover how simple and easy it can be to get hold of all the data you need for your site, from historical maps to flooding and reports.

Watch the webinar on demand now.