Andrew Kudless
Bill D. Kendall Professor of Architecture, University of Houston; Principal, Matsys
Public Lecture - Architecture in the Age of Automation
Andrew Kudless will present his professional work and academic research related to the increasing automation of the design and fabrication of architecture. The talk will begin with the role of architectural drawing in relation to computational design and generative AI—the topic of Kudless’ workshop at Syracuse—and will then transition to materiality, performance, and fabrication topics, focusing on the Confluence Park Pavilion’s design and construction.
Graduate Workshop Review - The Exquisite City: Collective Form in the Age of Generative AI
February 10, 5:30 p.m., Slocum Atrium
This workshop explores the combination of two powerful design technologies, parametric modeling and generative AI, to develop and visualize speculative urban forms. Each student will construct a set of rules that parametrically produce urban plans. These rules will first be tested through quick sketches and visualized through the collective encoding of existing urban patterns found within generative AI models. The opportunities and challenges of these models, including cultural, historical, and technological biases will be discussed as students learn to critically engage generative AI in the design process.
Students will then select specific patterns and develop generative logics that can be encoded within a parametric environment. The contrast between the bottom-up emergence of generative AI with the top-down constraints of parametric modeling is a central focus of the workshop. While both allow for exploration, they operate in different design modalities. Generative AI is more like a freehand sketch, quick and loose, able to suggest directions without overly determining the destination. On the other hand, parametric modeling is more like building a machine able to precisely produce an unlimited number of variable but narrowly defined results. By learning to iterate between these technologies, the designer expands their imagination and capabilities.
The workshop is part of the Graduate Program’s Design Research Workshop Series: “Crafting with Machines: Imagery, Coding, and Material as Generative Instruments,” which is a set of inventive and speculative workshops that highlight the increasingly pervasive combination of traditional craftsmanship with modern technology, where machines are not just tools but active participants in the creative process. The aim of the workshops is to see how learning and crafting, in tandem with machines, can enhance the design processes and enable more complex and innovative solutions to architectural problems using imagery, coding, and materials as potential generative instruments for design. By using advanced technologies, architects can explore unconventional design solutions that might not be immediately achievable through traditional methods. Crafting with machines creates a framework for innovative forms, structural components, and representational strategies that integrate emerging technologies, such as AI, robotics, CNC milling, 3D printing, and much more, into the design process to create aesthetically rich and innovative architectural design solutions.
