I asked AI to Design a New Urbanist Seaside Town
TLDRIn this engaging transcript, the speaker explores the capabilities of mid-journey AI in designing a new urbanist town, taking inspiration from Seaside, Florida. The experiment begins with an initial design that, while interesting and detailed, has some questionable elements. Through a series of iterations, the AI's design evolves, with each version showing improvements in layout and functionality. The speaker is particularly fascinated by the AI's ability to generate diverse concepts quickly, which could be useful in the early stages of a project for generating ideas and presenting them to clients. However, there are still uncertainties about the AI's understanding of different building uses and the distinction between public spaces and natural features like oceans. The speaker expresses hope that future iterations of AI will be able to interpret parameters and codes, potentially automating the design process. The transcript concludes with anticipation for the next phase of the experiment, which will delve into creating more detailed urban planning elements such as street sections and aerial renderings.
Takeaways
- 🎨 The AI was used to design a new urbanist town similar to Seaside, Florida from the 1980s, resulting in varied and intriguing designs.
- 🤔 The initial results were interesting but also raised questions about the AI's understanding of urban planning elements.
- 🏙 The AI's designs referenced real-life scenarios, including a large parking area, which was a notable feature in the plans.
- 🏡 There was a clear attempt to separate residential and commercial areas in the AI's subsequent designs.
- 🌊 The AI's models initially lacked direct engagement with water features, which are significant in Seaside's design.
- 🅿️ Parking lots were a recurring element in the AI's designs, sometimes excessively large and prominently featured.
- 🏞️ The AI struggled to incorporate a clear town center or central gathering space in its early iterations.
- 🌈 After several iterations, the AI began to produce designs that were closer to the real-life layout and aesthetic of Seaside.
- 📈 The AI's designs improved when provided with the actual plan of Seaside, suggesting that it can learn from existing plans.
- 🚧 The technology is not yet ready to produce final architectural plans but is useful for generating initial ideas and concepts.
- 🤖 There is potential for the AI to learn and incorporate more detailed parameters in future iterations, possibly even coding for urban planning.
- 🌟 The process highlights the value of AI in inspiring new ideas and concepts in urban design, although human oversight and refinement are still necessary.
Q & A
What was the main goal of the AI experiment described in the transcript?
-The main goal was to use mid-journey AI to help design a new urbanist town similar to Seaside, Florida from the 1980s.
Where is the town of Seaside located?
-Seaside is located in the panhandle of Florida.
What was the initial reaction to the AI's design results?
-The initial reaction was that the results were interesting, quite great, and also questionable at the same time.
What was one of the notable features of the AI's design?
-One notable feature was the massive stadium-sized parking situation and the detailed public space in the center with buildings that enveloped it.
How did the AI's design evolve after running the model again with more specific parameters?
-The design evolved to have a more clear separation of residential and commercial areas, and a more defined central area with pedestrian walks and parking arrangements.
What was the purpose of providing the AI with the actual plan of Seaside?
-The purpose was to give the AI a reference to better understand the layout and design principles of an actual new urbanist town and to see how it would apply this knowledge.
What was the final assessment of the AI's capability to generate a final product?
-The final assessment was that the technology is not yet ready to unleash for a final product but is good for generating lots of ideas at the beginning phase of a project.
What potential use was identified for the AI's generated designs?
-The AI's designs can be used as inspiration for further developments or to create a variety of concepts overnight to present to a client.
What was the speaker's hope for the future of AI in design?
-The speaker hopes that in the future, AI can be fed parameters and code, and have it write code for creating more realistic and true-to-intention designs.
What is the next step in the Seaside AI design experiment?
-The next step is to generate different kinds of drawings such as street sections and aerial renderings, to see if the AI understands the principles of new urbanism and can apply them to site plans.
What was the speaker's observation about the AI's understanding of different building uses and public spaces?
-The speaker was unsure if the AI could recognize the difference between different uses and buildings, such as residential and commercial, or understand public space versus streets, and ground versus ocean.
Outlines
🏙️ Mid-Journey AI and Urban Design: Seaside Florida
The speaker discusses the use of mid-journey AI in designing a new urbanist town similar to Seaside, Florida from the 1980s. The AI experiment's results were surprising and both impressive and questionable. The AI's output referenced real-life scenarios, including a large parking area and detailed public spaces. However, the speaker was not fully satisfied and ran the model again with more specific instructions, leading to a variety of outcomes. The AI's designs showed potential but lacked clarity in some areas, such as the separation of residential and commercial zones. The speaker concludes that while the technology is not yet ready for final product design, it is excellent for generating initial ideas and concepts.
📈 AI's Evolution in Design: Insights and Iterations
The speaker provides a follow-up analysis after feeding the AI the original plan of Seaside. The AI's subsequent designs showed a more structured approach, with a rectilinear pattern and clear pathways to the beach. The designs evolved from residential lock sorts of buildings to a suburban country golf club vibe, indicating a range of possibilities. The speaker suggests that AI is not yet ready for final design output but is useful for generating numerous ideas at the project's early stages. The speaker expresses hope that future iterations of AI could understand and apply new urbanist principles, potentially even writing code for urban planning. The conclusion is that AI can be a powerful tool for inspiration and concept generation in the early phases of urban design.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡New Urbanist Town
💡Mid-Journey AI
💡Seaside Florida
💡Public Space
💡Mixed-Use Development
💡Parking Situation
💡Central District
💡Pedestrian Walk
💡Boardwalk
💡Variations
💡AI-Generated Ideas
Highlights
AI was used to design a new urbanist town similar to Seaside, Florida from the 1980s.
The original new urbanist town of Seaside is located in the panhandle of Florida.
The AI's initial results were interesting, great, and also questionable.
A mix of uses and connectivity of streets in the AI's design was wonky but referenced real-life scenarios.
A massive stadium-sized parking situation was included in the AI's plan.
The AI's attention to detail in public spaces and building design was impressive.
The AI's design lacked clear delineation between residential and commercial areas initially.
Running the model again with more specificity improved the configuration of buildings and spaces.
The AI's later models began to show a more realistic separation of uses and a clearer town center.
The final AI model incorporated elements of suburban contemporary modernism and garden city concepts.
AI's designs were not far off from preliminary sketches made during a charette.
The AI struggled to address water directly in its initial designs.
Feeding the AI the actual plan of Seaside led to a more rectilinear and organized town plan.
The technology is not yet ready for final product design but is useful for generating initial ideas.
AI can be used to create a variety of concepts overnight for client presentations.
The AI's ability to recognize different building uses and understand public space versus streets is unclear.
The potential for AI to generate figure grounds or land use maps is being explored.
The experiment aims to determine if AI can understand and apply new urbanism principles in site plans.
The future potential for AI to write code for new urbanist town planning is discussed.
