Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has unveiled the West Bund Convention Center in Shanghai, a diamond-shaped glass structure along the Huangpu River that incorporates artificial intelligence in its design process, marking a milestone in AI-assisted architecture. Located in the burgeoning West Bund district home to AI Tower and a vast 'AI Valley' for tech firms the venue hosted its first World Artificial Intelligence Conference in July while under construction and completed in October.
SOM tasked AI with generating thousands of facade variations using multi-objective optimization algorithms, balancing goals like views, floor area, sunlight, and efficiency within strict parameters. The team selected the most elegant design from over 800 options after overnight processing, crediting AI for accelerating the process by weeks, enhancing precision, and reducing material waste without replacing human creativity.
This parametric approach highlights AI's role in tackling complex trade-offs, though architects remain cautious about job impacts, biases, and authenticity, with only 6% regularly using it per AIA surveys. SOM's in-house tool Natalie now aids further projects, signaling broader adoption in the field.