As artificial intelligence continues to dominate the conversation in nearly every industry, in ways both good and bad, the AEC industry is wrestling with impacts made in their own sector. This is an industry that is currently dealing with surging demand between aging infrastructure that needs maintenance – and in some cases, replacement – and ever-increasing urbanization. However, it’s also a space that has traditionally been averse to technological adoption, and AI is not without its concerns. Today, in our look around the AEC industry, we will look at some of these pressing issues, including how AI could potentially serve this industry, as well as the other pressing issue facing the entire industry: Sustainability.
Find links to the full articles below.
Integration, AI, and What Comes Next for Our Infrastructure
Connected World
This first article looks at the potential benefits for embracing the current AI boom, with a specific lens toward infrastructure. As noted above, infrastructure both here in the US and around the globe is starting to age around the same time, creating potential safety issues for local citizens. There’s little disagreement about the fact that this is an issue which needs addressing, but that proves to be easier said than done given small margins and shrinking staffs. If used correctly, AI, as well as integrations, is the only path forward.
Generative AI for Urban Simulation
Federico Fernandez | AEC Magazine
Cities all around the world, of all sizes, are dealing with increasing populations that are in turn leading to housing crises of various scope. Every city has different ways of dealing with this, but ultimately building housing is the way out of the problem. It becomes more difficult figuring out where this housing can go to maintain the quality of life of existing citizens. This article highlights the work of Urbaly, who specializes in urban simulation. Recently, they’ve started to incorporate generative AI into this work for household location choice.
Why Sustainability in Design can Become Standard Practice
Marc Nezet | pbc today
Sustainability is front of mind for every industry around the globe, but it’s particularly pertinent in the AEC sector, which is one of the largest contributors to harmful emissions across the globe. Simply put: The industry is reckoning with their practices, figuring out how to continue to meet the aforementioned growing demand while also shifting their workflows significantly to meet sustainability goals. While much of the focus for the industry’s harm to the environment is focused on the construction phase, this article looks at how design workflows can help everything else downstream.
