Tech Connect 2024: Arjun Kaicker, Intl. Assoc. AIA

Tech Connect 2024 was a 1-day event prior to the GENERATE 2024 Practice + Design Conference, held in Keystone, CO, focused specifically on the changing landscapes in artificial intelligence and its rapid impact on our profession.

The three presentations were:

• “How AI changes architecture: the productive, ethical and innovative intersection of technology, computation, robotics and the built environment”
  • Randy Deutsch, FAIA
• “Building an image generator: principles and practices in AI”
  • Matthew Goldsberry, Assoc. AIA
• “Transforming workplace design with AI: insights and innovations”
  • Arjun Kaicker, AIA

Summary thoughts by Craig Lawrence, AIA, Partner/Principal at Rowland+Broughton

Empathy might not be the first thing we think of when we think of AI.  The simple mention of “AI” in the context of architecture very likely conjures feelings of being behind in adoption of this cryptic and seemingly opaque technology, or looming clouds of uncertainty and intimidation.

What if, instead of anxiety, “AI” fostered a sense of empathy: feelings of connection and collaboration, of personalization, flexibility, adaptability, and environmental evolution?

In the thoughtful hands of Arjun Kaicker, AIA, and his team at Zaha Hadid Architects, AI and other forms of computational design are envisioned and practiced as ways to deeply understand the occupant experience and their needs.  

In a case study of workplace design, AI-powered iterative and generative design was demonstrated as a way to solve complex spatial problems and catalyze innovation. In a fascinating example of generative iteration, the ZHA team quickly studied hundreds of office floor layouts to optimize and balance such workplace needs as collaboration, sunlight, and activity.

Using AI’s interpretive capabilities, they next built programmatic profiles of potential users, and plugged that data into predictive simulations via “agents” to demonstrate how occupants may actually use a space over time. The resulting workspaces were less rigid, more adaptable, and more responsive to the needs of the occupants, both now, and in the future.

There is no doubt AI looms large over our industry. Questions of how to adopt, what it can or can’t do, authenticity, and a myriad of other issues, certainly tend to cast long shadows.  

However, the application of the technology demonstrated by Kaicker casts AI in a different light. It has the ability to usher in an era of greater exploration, less rigidity, and more collaboration between designers, stakeholders, occupants, and even the environment.  Rather than a thing fixed in time and space, our built environment has the potential to be predictive, adaptive, and democratic. Our design processes have the potential to be more informed, intentional, and responsive. There is no better time than now to jump in, experiment, and discover how these tools can lead to better architectural practice and more just outcomes for the occupants of our built world.

About Arjun

Arjun Kaicker, AIA, NCARB, ARB, RIBA, LEED AP

Co-Head of Workplace Analytics and Insights, Zaha Hadid Architects

Arjun is an architect with 25 years’ experience in user-centered Workplace Design, from initial office building design to interior and product design. At Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), Arjun has worked on over 100 projects globally, and while a partner at Foster+Partners projects included Hearst Tower and 425 Park Avenue in New York and Apple Park in California. Arjun’s recent work spearheading innovations in design AI and algorithm driven analytics is helping ZHA develop ever more rigorous, user-centered and adaptive architecture and design