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The development of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) has accelerated the research of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in architecture as a generative tool. However, since their initial invention, many versions have been developed that only focus on 2D image datasets for training and images as output. The current state of 3DGAN research has yielded promising results. However, these contributions focus primarily on building mass, extrusion of 2D plans, or the overall shape of objects. In comparison, our newly developed 3DGAN approach, using fully spatial building datasets, demonstrates that unprecedented interconnections across different scales are possible resulting in unconventional spatial configurations. Unlike a traditional design process, based on analyzing only a few precedents (typology) according to the task, by collaborating with the machine we can draw on a significantly wider variety of buildings across multiple typologies. In addition, the dataset was extended beyond the scale of complete buildings and involved building components that define space. Thus, our results achieve a high spatial diversity. A detailed analysis of the results also revealed new hybrid architectural elements illustrating that the machine continued the interconnections of scale since elements were not explicitly part of the dataset, becoming a true design collaborator.

Understanding the importance of data is crucial for realizing the full potential of AI in architectural design. Satellite images are extremely numerous, continuous, high resolution, and accessible, allowing nuanced experimentation through dataset curation. Combining deep learning with remote-sensing technologies, this study poses the following questions. Do newly available datasets uncover ideas about the city previously hidden because urban theory is predominantly Eurocentric? Do extensive and continuous datasets promise a more refined examination of datasets’ effects on outcomes? Generative adversarial networks can endlessly generate new designs based on a curated dataset, but architectural evaluation has been questionable. We employ quantitative and qualitative assessment metrics to investigate human collaboration with AI, producing results that contribute to understanding AI-based urban design models and the significance of dataset curation.

Assistant Prof. Benjamin Ennemoser investigates in his contribution the potential of generative processes in the field of architecture through the lens of Machine Learning(ML). Moreover, he examines how concepts of style developed by art historian Heinrich Wölfflin demonstrate affinity with emerging ML algorithms. Building on that, the article presents applied research concepts that elaborate on a paradigm shift in the field of architecture by inviting ML into the design process as a new entity with design agency. Furthermore, the research negotiates the role of the architect as a curator of datasets in a collaborative design process between human and machines.

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