Using AI as a Design Tool in My Architecture Practice

Unsure of how to incorporate AI tools into your design process? Follow along as I share my experiments using the text-to-image generative AI app, Midjourney, and see how I'm using it in my architecture practice.

It all starts with a sketch and an idea.

While Midjourney produces captivating images of seemingly perfect buildings, it's important not to mistake them for finished work. Instead, we want to direct it like a sculptor shapes raw materials. The key to using Midjourney creatively lies in controlling the output through specific prompt language, rather than treating it as a mere rendering engine. Remember, AI is a mirror for your own creativity, so the quality of input determines the quality of output.

As you experiment you'll start noticing small flaws or peculiarities in the images where things aren't quite right. These imperfections can be harnessed to uncover new solutions and truly leverage AI as a creative tool. Cultivating the ability to identify these deviations and explore their possibilities is an important skill.

Using Midjourney can sometimes feel like a gambling experience, endlessly remixing and upscaling images until you stumble upon something you like. While there is a certain magic to it, it's crucial to step away from the algorithm periodically and process these new ideas using different tools. For me, that means returning to sketching to synthesize and consolidate these learnings.

This process of transitioning from analog to digital and back again - for me - yields unique outcomes. By learning to direct AI toward well-defined goals, the results can be transformative.

▬▬▬▬▬ Resources ▬▬▬▬▬

▬▬▬▬▬ Timestamps ▬▬▬▬▬
00:00 Architectural Sketch in Procreate
00:30 Midjourney for Architecture
00:59 Don't Use Midjourney like this
01:23 My Prompt Recipe
02:55 Blending Images
03:28 Look for Aberrations
04:00 Sketching and Synthesizing Ideas
05:59 Schematic Design Presentation
06:22 Download My Procreate Sketching Pack

▬▬▬▬▬ MUSIC I USE (free 30-day trial) ▬▬▬▬▬

▬▬▬▬▬ GEAR I USE ▬▬▬▬▬

Intern Editor: @hreinholdt04

#architecture #ai #midjourney

[adriancarp]

The way there videos are made, feels like a documentary, very elegant and clean. I admire your work and it inspires me! Keep going and thanks for such great content!

[surasmitameher]

Lately, I have had a very short attention span, but here I couldn't look away. This was a creative marvel to say the least.

[jonatanhulterstrom]

You've done it again! Hands down the most entertaining, informative and impressive showcase of a "typical" architectural task. This is very likely the way the AI workflow will impact architecture in the near future. Not as a substitute of an actual human being, but as a powerful visual idea iterator. Thank you for sharing your knowledge of the promts!

[AP-rtrl]

Your videos are like christmas morning to me Eric. Thanks for sharing unique and actually useful information each and every video. Cheers.

[hamitbalamimarlik]

Although architecture is difficult, this is a channel that can make you love producing.

[GeorgeGarciaobi-gueygarcia]

This is one of smartest and honest ways to use automation. Most people (movie studio VP) think AI can crate this entire process while reality is other. This video shows how the user does the creative thinking and use "AI" to automate the production work at a faster rate.

[VictorPetek]

This video brilliantly showcases the power of AI in architectural design, highlighting its potential to enhance creativity and efficiency in a good way.

[rafiailyas]

Finally! Had been looking forward to this one since you’d mentioned it! What an interesting take on mid journey & how you’re always educating us every step of the way inspiring us to take action!

[chrisnovelli-narchitecture]

I am really liking your approach to using midjourney here, nice work and translation / building on the ideas.

[robthewaywardwoodworker]

Just the artistic elements of your videos make them worth watching. Great content as always. I wish I were at the beginning of my career, with all this new technology, rather than near the end! Very cool stuff.

[ginganinja]

Epic video Henning! Please make House vs. Giant Pit next. 😊

[ARABBF]

30X40 Design Workshop + AI = Unique Futuristic Design . . .

This video is awesome, thank you so much

[christopherstorey]

I've found it's like consulting with a 3 year old designer who is a savant at drawing. It draws you with intriguing imagery and you search for useful concepts, but ultimately it has nothing grounded to say. It does seem to get me unstuck though.

[MrSuperJetski]

Your process for handling MJ is fantastic. Thanks. Been on the MJ wagon for quite some time, in the design world for many decades. I've been enlightened with your design process vs my slice-n-dice, no control, 'unique', but none the less 'pretty pictures' of Archviz

[StephenCoorlas]

This is a really great overview of how to integrate AI tools into the architectural design workflow. Midjourney is excellent for quickly visualizing concepts and analyzing the novel results as you've mentioned. Great work! We're also pursuing similar workflows with our practice 🤘

[Ploy-wtpf]

AI is just a tool to make humans smarter. 👏👏Good job

[tramnguyenpham]

I like the iterative element of the process.

[iammokhethi]

We have a similar workflow. I am also trying out Stable Diffusion, getting somewhat passable results and conversation starters.

[manplatypusfrog]

I have always loved the visual play you can get with thin rectangular slats that are spaced correctly, with the added benefit of creating shading for western sun. I use that as a tool in most of my projects.

[akrammlt]

You're an absolute inspiration, hats off to you sir!