AI and Generative Design

Nice piece, an excerpt of article and at the bottom a pointer to a NASA example of its use. 

AI, Architecture, and Generative Design

Algorithmic Brainstorming for Creative Work

Jonathan Follett and Dirk Knemeyer  in TowardsDataScience

Architecture, like many creative professions, spans both the digital and physical world. As technologies such as 3D printing move the discipline forward in remaking the built environment, AI and generative design are having an impact on architecture from a planning and design perspective, where the profession is largely digital and computational. We spoke with Lilli Smith, Senior Product Manager AEC Generative Design at Autodesk, a practitioner in the field of architecture for more than 20 years — the last 18 of which have been making the software that architects use to design their creations.

In architecture, art, and other creative fields, generative design is a methodology that automates the creation of design options that may balance a variety of competing goals. The latest wave of generative design is driven by artificial intelligence. “This is often the case in architectural design problems,” Smith says. “There’s not a single objective that you’re trying to go after — there’s no one answer. But, there’s a lot of different objectives that come into making an architectural project. So, for example, in an urban design workflow, having a nice amount of open space and good views from your property might be important. But return on investment and value generated through more rentable area[s] might also be important.”   .... ...

In a more recent example of AI-driven generative approaches, NASA used programmatic design to create configurations for its satellite antennas. Jason Lohn, the leader of this project at NASA Ames Research Center, described the algorithmic approach to design in a feature article published by the agency in 2006:   .....