Monash Faculty of IT to officially lead its first Building 4.0 CRC project
Monash University’s Faculty of Information Technology has been approved to lead its first project funded by the Building 4.0 Cooperative Research Centre (CRC).
Combining computational generative systems for creative applications with state-of-the-art machine learning and AI techniques for pattern recognition and computer vision, researchers will develop a computational design method capable of generating digital representations of buildings with performance-based and human-based data.
‘Generative architectural design engine’ aims to embed AI in the architectural design process to support the creation of residential buildings capable of responding to the technical, social and cultural requirements of their time.
Currently, the automated design processes only incorporate performance-based data – such as size, form and budget – which has improved environmental and structural performance.
However, since the introduction of computational tools into building design practice, researchers have yet to successfully approximate the ability of humans to develop creative solutions to multiple issues – such as the socio-cultural, political and historical impacts of a building – in an integrated manner.
‘This project has the potential to transform the way we approach architectural design. By introducing AI-driven methods, we can enable designers to efficiently explore vast landscapes of highly-performative design alternatives – in search of innovative and sensible responses to the intangible demands that contemporary built environments pose,’ said project lead Dr Camilo Cruz Gambardella.
The CRC’s first three-year project, this $988K initiative will be executed in partnership with Lendlease and Monash Art, Design and Architecture (MADA).
The project will be divided across three 12-month phases, with the first stage focusing on producing a working prototype, the second for refinement and the final year for applying the tool in real life.
Building 4.0 CRC is an industry-led research initiative co-funded by the Australian Government that aims to develop an internationally competitive Australian advanced manufacturing sector.