ConXtech and Autodesk’s prototype bidding platform uses AI to determine the most cost-efficient structural steel design. At the same time, owners and developers expect quick answers, as they seek a path to a viable and cost-effective solution for their business. In the end, millions of dollars can be spent on unsuccessful projects or unsuccessful bids. This forces companies like ConXtech to go through multiple iterations for projects that may never be built. At that time, the viability of the project is not yet secured, and multiple options are still on the table. Valode and Pistre Architects report that using Spacemaker increased its productivity by 35% in the design phase, resulting in lower project costs and a wider range of design variations.ĬonXtech, a Bay Area–based modular-construction company, is using AI to gain control of one of the most unpredictable steps in construction: the bidding process.ĬonXtech, like many construction companies, is solicited by owners and developers during the project-development phase. Building geometry is one of its design parameters at a granular scale, Spacemaker can, for example, automate the design of floor-plan programs such as apartment layouts. Spacemaker also works for planning landscape elements such as streams and terrain, as well as smaller-scale projects. He adds that workshops conducted by Spacemaker have been a boon to architectural master-plan development, improving both process and outcome. “We can adapt the project with many different parameters, such as noise and daylight, and test different hypotheses by manually changing the design, then view the results in just a few minutes,” says Peter Fossum, a developer at Steen & Strøm. Even with these revisions, the team squeezed out more sellable real estate, a rarity for retroactive regulatory adjustments. After plugging their plan into Spacemaker with architects at A-lab and the city-planner client, they reduced the noisiest residential facades by 10% and decreased low-light residential areas by more than 50%. The platform can suggest alternative compositions to, for example, mitigate noise pollution, an often-overlooked component of environmental health.įor Økern Sentrum, a 1-million-square-foot, mixed-use development containing 1,500 apartments in Oslo, Norway, developer Steen & Strøm and Storebrand refined noise and daylight levels using Spacemaker. Its noise features can predict sound levels from traffic or other sources, then compare that data with local regulations. Its wind-modeling features analyze how buildings channel wind, using computational fluid dynamics to refine designs for human comfort.
Architecture drawing apps software#
This concept is exemplified by Spacemaker, the Norwegian technology company acquired by Autodesk, which offers cloud-based AI and generative-design software that helps planning and design teams make more informed decisions faster and enables improved sustainability opportunities from the start.Īpplied in the early stages of real-estate development, Spacemaker can analyze up to 100 criteria across city blocks: zoning, views, daylight, noise, wind, roads, traffic, heat islands, parking, and more. New AI tools can apply generative and iterative power to urban-scale sites, looking beyond individual building requirements. These tools can make very technical, programming-heavy tasks more accessible to noncoders such as designers or developers.įrom research projects to commercial products, the following examples show how AI in architecture can create opportunities to improve the design process so human creativity can take center stage. Before designers even begin creating iterations, using automated tools to organize site and contextual data can sweep away ambiguity and, hopefully, risk.