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Designing with Midjourney:
Architectural Competitions with AI
Join us for a two-day workshop that invites architects, designers, and creatives to explore the revolutionary integration of AI in architectural design.
This immersive experience will demonstrate how Midjourney, can act as a powerful partner in the creative process, pushing the boundaries of innovation and imagination. Participants will engage in a competition to design a pavilion for a unique Expo, where values, beliefs and objectives are represented rather than Nations. You’ll learn how AI can enhance design exploration, expand one’s vision, and streamline productivity.
Through lectures, case studies from MVRDV and with Competition.archi collaboration, attendees will delve into new methodologies for interpreting briefs and expanding creative visions. This workshop is more than a learning opportunity; it’s a chance to get a new take on architecture and to reimagine the future unleashing the power of AI.
Discover how to harness AI’s potential to redefine competition strategies and elevate your design practice.
Workshop overview
Architectural Design with Midjourney: A New Era for Competitions
Is it possible to conduct an architectural competition entirely using AI tools?
This is the question we will answer during this dynamic two-day workshop, which focuses on intensive learning and hands-on experience, aimed at revolutionizing strategies for architectural competitions through AI. Participants will explore how AI, particularly Midjourney, can act as a powerful tool in the creative process.
The workshop will feature lectures on the impact of AI on architecture, practical exercises to simulate real-world competitions, and collaborative sessions to master new design methodologies. By the conclusion of the workshop, attendees will have designed a pavilion for an international expo, challenging traditional approaches and embracing innovative solutions.
What will you learn
AI Integration
- Techniques for incorporating AI tools like Midjourney into the architectural design process.
AI assistants
- Using AI assistants to free up time for what truly calls your attention.
Competition Strategy
- How to approach architectural competitions with innovative ideas and a winning mindset.
Collaborative Skills
- Working with AI as a design partner, enhancing productivity and creativity.
Design Thinking
- Rethinking the design toolkit to include vocabulary, metaphors, storytelling, and emotional resonance in architectural projects.
AI-Driven Design and Reverse Engineering
- Learn how to leverage AI during the initial phases of architectural sketching to craft innovative proposals.
NORDFY & MVRDV Internal Competition
Design a pavilion for an international Expo
Assignment:
Over the 8-hour workshop, participants will simulate a competition to design a pavilion for an international Expo. Attendees will be given a project brief to challenge their creativity, a template to guide their designs, and specific submission details to follow. This practical exercise is designed to mirror real-world competition scenarios, providing participants with an understanding of how to critically engage with and challenge the brief through AI.
As part of this immersive experience, we will incorporate the use of GPT to extrapolate information from the brief, focusing on key aspects such as Designer Vocabulary, the creation of a Words Matrix, and Prompt Engineering. The initial exploration done with Midjourney will guide participants through the innovative process of utilizing AI in design thinking and execution. This inclusion aims to enhance participants’ ability to decode and enrich the brief, leveraging AI’s capabilities to expand their creative and analytical skills in a competitive setting.
Jury:
Cosimo Scotucci, Senior Lead Architect at MVRDV
Riccardo Piazzai, Architect and Co-Founder of NORDFY
Tiago Pereira, Co-Founder of NORDFY and Former Partner at SHL & Design Principal at Perkins&Will
Ismail Seleit, Architect and AI Specialist at Foster & Partners
Eliana Nigro, Head of Computational Design at Cobe
Matteo Pavanello, Design Least at BIG
Marcin Husarz, Architect, Founder at Competitions.archi / Editor-in-Chief at Architecture Competitions Yearbook
Prize Award:
The fortunate winner will be awarded with:
– 30% discount for any upcoming NORDFY workshop
– One year of free access to our NORDFY Networking Membership plan with access to all our Monthly Community Meetings
– A copy of the Architecture Competitions Yearbook 2023
– The exclusive opportunity to do an internship with one of our partners.
Mentors
Cosimo Scotucci
Cosimo Scotucci is an architect and innovator. Through his works, he reflects an ideology that focuses on people, envisioning the world of tomorrow. He defines himself as an optimistic idealist.
Cosimo studied in Rome, where he graduated with a master’s degree in architecture. He first founded Rublic, a startup with the aim of upgrading urban furniture into infrastructural pieces capable of helping mitigate the urban heat island effect. In 2016, he joined MVRDV Architects in Rotterdam, where he is currently a senior project leader. Within MVRDV, Cosimo oversees projects in the Asia Studio, with a specific focus on people-centered design, sustainability, and circular design. Since he joined MVRDV in late 2016, he has successfully contributed to realizing projects in mainland China and Taiwan. He always strives for the most visionary and sustainable solutions; his work is an investigation into radical design.
In 2019, he founded Cosimo Scotucci Studio, where he works together with a multidisciplinary team on speculative design, tackling the biggest issues in society.
The office is conceived as a design laboratory where they experiment with pioneering ideas to create a more democratic and resilient future. Through functional scientific fictional stories, the office aims to create a better tomorrow, triggering the imagination of a new world. At the lab, Cosimo and his team collaborate with scientists, engineers, and specialists from every field to outsmart the threats to humankind. Cosimo believes that sustainability can be beautiful, entertaining, and engaging, and that, with his science-based art, he can contribute to creating awareness, mitigating, and resolving the most pressing issues for contemporary society: from climate change to social justice, from technological developments to human well-being.
His work has been widely published and awarded across the world.
Programme
Day 1
- Course Intro, overview, learning goals
- Lecture 1: “Bending the rules”. Lecture on successful (and not) competitions in MVRDV and Cosimo Scotucci
- Presentation of the workshop theme.
- Lecture 2: The use of Midjourney and reverse-engineering architecture.
- Activity: Metaprogram and AI generated sketches
- Outlining the objectives, transforming brief loopholes into design possibilities.
- AI generated sketches
- Q&A
Day 2
- Lecture 1: How to present your project
- Activity: Reverse engineering the AI generated images (from image to 3d)
- Activity: Storyboard your design argument & present
- Feedback on presentations
Important info
Midjourney: No prior experience needed. Subscription required.
Chat GPT is recommended.
Indesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator knowledge will be an asset.
Important Info:
- It is advisable to have active plans for the following tools: Midjourney, Prome AI, Krea AI and Runway. This tools covered have free versions, except for Midjourney.
- Basic knowledge of interior design and architecture is recommended.