AI image generators

Architectural visualization has always been about storytelling. Helping see what doesn’t exist yet. Traditionally, this meant hand-drawn renderings that took days or weeks to complete. Then came 3D modeling and rendering software, which made images more precise but still demanded countless hours of modeling, material tweaking, and Photoshop post-processing. More recently, real-time rendering engines from gaming brought unprecedented speed and interactivity to BIM models.

Now AI image generation is here and it's getting real. I took a rendering of a proposed building and asked ChatGPT’s image tool and Nano Banana to place it into a site photo where an existing building is slated for demolition.

First round. Upload two images and ask AI to combine.

Results:

Scale is off. The number of stories isn’t correct.

Second round. Same prompt with a street view that matches the rendering and scale the images:

Surprisingly good. Is this the future of architectural visualization? No more rendering or photoshop. Just screen grabs and prompts.

Sound Football Club Indoor

Congratulations to the USWNT!!! Such an inspiration to the next generation of world champs. 

Check out Sound Football Club if your kids want to play. 

LEV is proud to help Sound Football Club with a new indoor facility in Woodinville. Currently under construction. Special thanks to Shawn Roten at SCR Construction for making this happen!

Archicad + Grasshopper

Generative algorithms are now well established as architectural design tools. At the very least scripting and algorithmic modeling promotes the realization that the built environment is heavily influenced by the tools being used to create design. In that way Grasshopper is more than just another software design too- it is a way to deliberately create form that is stripped from the assumptions and biases that traditional design methods will always have.

One of the big issues when utilizing Grasshopper, or other scripting methods, is how to translate the intricate geometry from Rhino 3d/Grasshopper, to the software that is being used to create construction documents. Archicad has slowly been trying to bridge this gap with a plugin that allows synchronization between Archicad and Grasshopper. The latest release supports Archicad 22 build 5009 and continues to develop into a tool that integrates with BIM.

Grasshopper Script

Rhino 3d Viewport

As a really quick test of the Grasshopper Archicad Live Connection, I built a Grasshopper script utilizing point clouds. Sliders control the number of columns and height. The points between the top cloud and the bottom cloud are connected by columns. The Live Connection tool then syncs to Archicad and generates the columns. I added a shed roof, curtain walls and some entourage and tried a few rendering styles (another upcoming blog post).

Plan in Archicad

Computer Aided Design: Parametric Randomization

Often the application of a cementitious panel cladding system is an afterthought- an exercise of efficiently tiling a standard panel size between floors and fenestration. Utilizing the Grasshopper plugin for Rhinoceros 3d, it is possible to parametrically explore tiling options using various sizes and colors. Because cementitious panel can be cut easily in the field, a cementitious cladding system with differing lengths can be a beautifully complex design element that mimics some of the complexity found in natural systems.

The final design iteration utilized 3 standard panel size heights with 3 available shades of grey. The algorithm then randomly generates a length in 1 ft increments while randomly stackings the 3 different panel heights. Lastly, the 3 shades of grey were added in a gradient from light to dark.