Brief:

A new era of education in Artificial Intelligence application within architecture design was our primary motivation to develop the current digital curriculum in the College of Architecture, Art, and Design at Ajman University. The adapted method utilizes the powerful integration of the Building Information Modeling platform (represented by Autodesk Revit) with the Computational / Generative design abilities of Autodesk Dynamo. Both are used to generate many design proposals for high-rise buildings, which need to be developed and boosted by using top-of-notch Artificial Intelligence Platforms to allow students to develop and explore multiple design iterations.

Artificial Intelligence, represented by Promeai, was used to develop and enhance Dynamo design proposals on the conceptual and detail levels and generate high-quality rendering images that can save critical time for our students in their design work.

Our work stands as a testament to the efficiency and time-saving benefits of AI in the conceptual design process. By showcasing futuristic and contemporary designs for high-rise buildings, we intrigue our audience with the potential of these technologies to shape the future of cities, particularly in the United Arab Emirates. This vision is made possible by the support of efficient computational design platforms like Dynamo, which enable Revit users to generate a significant number of towers rapidly, and the robust image-to-image AI enhancement process provided by Promeai, which helped students to generate enhanced tower design beside providing a highly realistic rendering.

Objectives:

• Utilize the power of BIM technology to help our students design complex high-rise conceptual proposals; these methods were applied in two main courses (BIM and Generative/Parametric Design) courses.
• Utilize the power of visual script coding and computation design in Autodesk Dynamo to generate multiple design proposals.
• Inspire the conceptual design by leveraging the Artificial Intelligence application of Promeai to elevate the selected proposal on both design and visualization levels.
• AI will develop the work using multiple modes, design criteria, and real-life artistic and image references that allow Promeai to generate different design styles while preserving the essence of Dynamo’s generated designs.
• Generating high-quality design proposals with detailed facades.
• Generating high-quality renders in a short time frame.

Steps to Success:

Step 1: Making a Conceptual Mass Using Autodesk Dynamo Script

A Dynamo script will be generated inside the Autodesk Revit conceptual file, allowing the students to make different design proposals. The designer will select some of these proposals to prepare them for development and then only one (usually) will be chosen to reach the AI enhancement step.

 

Eventually one Revit Conceptual Mass will be chosen to the next AI enhancement step.

Step 2: Enhancing Dynamo Geometry with Artificial Intelligence

An image will be taken directly from the Autodesk Revit conceptual mass screen or Autodesk Dynamo screenshot to “Promeai” to enhance the design, add details, and generate high-quality renderings.

In order to achieve the required AI enhancement inside Promeai, we used two main methods:

• The Sketch Rendering Method relies on precisely detecting and preserving the constructional edges of Dynamo model. Following the precise mode in this method helps explore realistic options that match the building mass while developing its facades mainly by filling the empty regions and preserving the outlines that represent the boundaries or limits that the artificial intelligence should not cross and respect. The method will introduce realistic surroundings and context, which eventually creates highly realistic design renders.
• The Creative Fusion Method relies on precisely detecting the constructional edges of the Dynamo model. Following the Conceptual mode in this method helps explore and develop innovative and different design options by giving AI more freedom to change the original lines gained from the original image while preserving the essence of the original Dynamo design. This method also relies on fusing/merging/blending the design with other artistic and real-life architecture reference images, which allows the development of the project’s conceptuality by adding different layers of creativity similar to those provided in the reference images. The fusion technique supports exploring new ideas in the conceptual phase, providing students with limitless design options, eventually create the required surroundings and context, followed by high-end renderings.

Examples of Dynamo to Promeai Method:

Another Example of Enhancing Dynamo Models with AI using multiple merged reference images:

Promeai will receive one tower design made in Autodesk Dynamo. The designer will then upload reference images and use different modes to create multiple detailed designs and renderings.