AI + DESIGN THINKING SYMPOSIUM

Organized by:

AI in Architecture Research Group (Britt Williams, Lindsey May, and Michael Ezban)

Date:

Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Time + Location:

Symposium: 2:00-5:20pm in Auditorium, UMD School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation

Reception and poster session: 5:20-6:00pm, Great Space, UMD School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation

AIA CES Learning Units:
AIA Members and Registered Architects will receive 1.0 LU for attending this event.

The emergence of generative artificial intelligence is invigorating and challenging the practice of design thinking. In the field of Architecture, the ever-expanding array of AI tools being developed and applied to every phase of the design process—from initial ideation to performance optimization to rendering production—are rapidly being adopted into both architecture practice and education.

How is AI changing the professional practice of architecture? How is AI invigorating and informing design pedagogies in the academy? Can AI be used to tell and amplify stories, including those of underrepresented populations? What do we gain—and what do we lose—when AI augments design thinking?

The AI + Design Thinking Symposium looks toward the futures we can design when we think with AI. The Symposium convenes two thought leaders on AI and architecture, Curry J. Hackett and Cas Esbach, for a moderated discussion on AI in practice and the academy. The event also hosts a curated exhibition of recent student work produced through AI-infused pedagogies developed by UMD Architecture faculty.

This Symposium is made possible through the support of a University of Maryland Teaching and Learning Transformation Center Teaching Innovation Grant, the UMD Architecture Program, and the School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation.

This event is free and open to the public.

Featured participants:

Curry J. Hackett

Curry J. Hackett is an multimedia artist, designer, and educator. His practice, Wayside, looks to under-told histories to inspire meaningful public works and critical research. Recently, Curry has been experimenting with artificial intelligence tools, with which he braids Black aesthetics, kinships with nature, and pop culture to imagine surreal scenes of Black joy. This work has been featured widely, most notably Bloomberg, Oculus, and Architect Magazine, and exhibited at the University of Tennessee–Knoxville and in downtown Brooklyn. His ongoing research and exhibition series, titled Drylongso, explores relationships between Blackness, "Southerness", geography, and land. This project has received funding the Graham Foundation, Journal of Architectural Education, Washington Project for the Arts, and Harvard GSD's Druker Prize Traveling Fellowship.

Cas Esbach

Cas Esbach, project leader and licensed architect in MVRDV’s Rotterdam office, has been a part of the firm since 2018, spearheading a diverse array of projects all across the globe. Most notably he has worked on the Shenzhen Terraces in Shenzhen, Tripolis Park in Amsterdam, and Valley in Amsterdam. Ranging from city block development and large-scale cultural campuses to university buildings, high-rise towers, and housing, the designs exemplify a concept-driven and vision-focused approach. Cas prioritizes efficiency, pushing boundaries, forward-thinking methods, and research-driven conceptual thinking in his work, while actively integrating AI workflows into the design process to enhance creativity and efficiency.

Cas Esbach is a licensed architect. He holds a Bachelor and Master degree from TU Delft. Prior to joining MVRDV, he worked at Derksen|Windt, Civic Projects, and Bjarke Ingels Group, and he has taught at TU Delft.

Host or Publisher Kibel Gallery