Is the Designer Disappearing or Transforming?

AI IN ARCHITECTURE

The first line drawn at an architect’s desk is sometimes the beginning of a building. Sometimes it is a quick sketch on a napkin, sometimes a diagram developed over months. Throughout the history of design, the human being has always been at the centre of the creative process. Decisions, intuitions, hesitations, and sometimes mistakes.

Today, however, a new actor has entered this process.

Artificial intelligence.

But the issue with AI in architecture is not simply the emergence of a new tool. The real question goes much deeper.

Are the tools designers use changing, or are designers themselves transforming?

One of the most significant developments in architecture in recent years has been the integration of artificial intelligence into the early stages of design decision-making. Platforms such as Autodesk Forma (formerly Spacemaker) can analyse a site’s sunlight, wind, density, noise and environmental data to generate numerous layout scenarios. These systems aim to accelerate early decision-making by offering designers dozens, even hundreds, of alternatives.

However, there is an important point that is often overlooked.

Although artificial intelligence may appear to be designing a project, what it actually does is generate possibilities rather than designs.

The designer’s role is increasingly shifting from drawing to making choices.

In the past, an architect would face a blank page and develop a single solution. Now, hundreds of options appear on the screen. A layout that receives more daylight, a building massing arrangement that consumes less energy, or a scenario that offers greater economic returns…

But who decides which of these options is truly worth living in?

This is precisely where the designer does not disappear.

Instead, the designer takes on a less visible but more critical role.

Algorithms can calculate which form receives more sunlight. They can show which building arrangement is more efficient. But they cannot calculate how a neighbourhood will feel, whether a square will bring people together, or how a building will remain in people’s memories.

For now.

AI in architecture is accelerating design processes. There is no doubt about that. But speed and meaning are not the same thing.

Today, similar artificial intelligence tools are being used in many parts of the world. Interestingly, many of the images and forms produced by these tools have begun to look increasingly alike. The same flowing surfaces, the same parametric patterns, the same flawless aesthetic.

Yet the most valuable quality of cities and buildings is not their perfection, but their distinctiveness.

The spirit of a city is not born from optimisation results.The spirit of a city is born from stories.

For this reason, it would be wrong to see artificial intelligence as a rival to design. Perhaps it would be more accurate to consider it a new design partner. But in this partnership, humans still have the final say.

At least for now.