In the pursuit of a master’s degree in architecture, whether it is planning a building or working with theoretical frameworks, architects often find themselves navigating a complex landscape that extends beyond their primary area of study. Seeking to gain valuable insights about the impact of technological developments, led to an exploration of the very young field of AI and the historical legacy of architecture enabling new, unforeseen knowledge. Questioning fundamental beliefs in architecture, occasionally one might feel stepped on their toes by some of the arguments or wonder where this work connects to architecture. This is deliberate as this master’s thesis intends to be like an impartial online search, grounded in questioning the general role of future architects. It aims to always consider everything at once, all at the same time, to face today’s rising complexities with adequate methods. Finally resulting in this work, this approach earned an exciting stroll between diverse fields as entering a variety of disciplines, programs, and subjects was necessary to gain a clearer view of observations, including some that are clearly outside of the original expertise itself. Hereby, integrating interdisciplinary knowledge is viewed not as an obstacle but as a source of immense creative potential. Aware of the risks this embodies (experts in each of those fields will find errors) and given the timeframe of this work, I often needed to put up a more holistic point of view, obliged to merge or compress plenty of information to stay within the scope of this work. That is why interactive footnotes throughout the research reference links, concepts and topics that the reader might further explore. Any references to other works aim to create an additional level, representing a possibility for further research potentially stimulating field-related discussions following this work. Rather than providing answers or setting clear goals, the overall approach is about applying constraints to ask the right questions. Formulating a central research question guiding explorations helped to avoid losing direction in the various domains. This work is inspired by the abstraction and speed of today's information technologies. Like all digital information stored, it captures a snapshot of a particular moment in time, illustrating our relations with the world surrounding us. As such, it is biased by my personality, experiences, and interests. Convinced that this is what makes it beautiful, even if it might not represent the typical work of an architecture student writing his master’s thesis and therefore fall short of traditionally impressive drawings or physical models.
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
R. Buckminster Fuller, American Architect (1895-1983)
Navigating through the abundance of information, questions, and possibilities while writing a master’s thesis in architecture was a challenging task, as I was mainly working with practical design projects and hands-on approaches throughout my whole student career. Research strategies, and writing scientific texts were rarely of concern. That is why this approach sometimes leans on architectural procedures, terms and tools. Overall, I believe to be on the right path. Dealing with rapid technological developments and how architects need to become digitally literate to start harvesting the power of limitless online information was already part of my bachelor’s thesis. Besides the studies, I could not let go of opportunities to learn about AI and how architects could play with those technologies to enhance their creativity. Motivated by personal curiosity, one of the main reasons why this research focuses on the ideation phase, is the belief that its impact during decision-making in the early stages of projects and therefore architecture is the greatest.
This is a student of architecture who aims to understand future challenges while exploring potential technological possibilities. Much of what I write about is common sense in the corresponding field or has been established before, as my ambition is to combine the two realms of research to eventually gather new knowledge. Using AI as assistants in finding, communicating, and organizing information already helps me to deliver work of higher quality. Harnessing their power enables me to research, recognize, and understand possible future demands. By formulating a theoretical master’s thesis, critics might argue that I am not doing what an architect should do. However, looking at previous projects during my time as an architecture student, I consider this theoretical work a welcome diversification from the others. Carefully crafted with the same ambition, taking in everything I know, spending hours and hours iterating its core to deliver something I can proudly stand for eventually. Besides addressing a relevant research topic, it represents my passion as I seek to embrace today's challenges. Through my work, I want to showcase the skills I have gained during my experiences at university and in the industry, as it allowed me to build intellectual depth and the skills needed for personal and professional growth, hopefully uplifting the people around me.
