A Comparative Study of Two AI-Assisted Architectural Design Studios

This study examines two different educational approaches to integrating generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in design studios, seeking to characterise their educational benefits for design studio education, namely for handling design problem tasks. We compare two studios integrating AI tools throughout the design process and initiated by characterising future scenarios in urban and natural contexts. Comparisons focus on problem definition, synthesis of solutions and evaluation and refinement by analysing outcomes from 10 students, 5 students at each course. Observations demonstrate AI’s support in problem definitions, focusing on back-thinking from altered, future-scenario planning to gain context awareness and explorative, material-based form finding. Insights from this study underscore AI's transformative potential in architectural studio pedagogy and call for further research to enable the beneficial implementation of AI for advancing the design industry and education.