The Bartlett International Lectures: Machine Intelligence and Practice Futures

About

This event will be a discussion between speaker Phil Bernstein and host Prof Frederic Migayrou, and forms part of The Bartlett International Lectures Autumn 2022. This year, the International Lectures return to an in-person format, with lectures taking place at the school's Bloomsbury campus, in the Christopher Ingold Auditorium, 22 Gordon Street, at 18:30 GMT on Wednesdays throughout the autumn and spring terms. 

Abstract

Machine Intelligence and Practice Futures: Architects, AI, and Agency

Computation in the building industry has largely been deployed in the service of automation, precision, and higher resolution representation. Computer-aided drafting/design, BIM, and now parametric option generation have enhanced the virtuosity, precision, and resolution of design representation. The next wave – artificial intelligence – promises to delivery design decision-making without human intervention. Advances in natural language processing, image generation, and combination of the two suggest new opportunities for creativity. But is an aesthetic agenda most important for the architectural profession? This talk will propose that the best opportunities of machine intelligence lie in enhancing the agency of architects, empowering designers to face the most critical challenges of today’s built environment.

Biography

Phil Bernstein, FAIA, is an Associate Dean and Professor Adjunct at the Yale School of Architecture, where he has taught since 1988. He is a former vice president at Autodesk, where he was responsible for the company’s Building Information Modeling strategy that included the development of the Revit platform. Prior to Autodesk Phil was an associate principal at Pelli Clarke + Partners where he managed many of the firm’s most complex commissions including projects for the Mayo Clinic, Washington National Airport, and Goldman Sachs. He is the author of Architecture Design Data: Practice Competency in the Era of Computation published by Birkhauser in 2018, and Machine Learning: Architecture in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by the RIBA Publishing in 2022. He is a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council and former Chair of the AIA Contracts Documents Committee. He received his B.A. (Hon) and M.Arch from Yale University.

Image: 'SpaceMakerAI Site Noise Analysis' - Courtesy of Autodesk Inc.