Report 2How could Artificial Intelligence affect the creative design process within an architectural practice?

Table of Content

Introduction Context Strategic Design Case Creativity Research Question Report StructureTheoretical approach Foundation Use of Theory Basic Actor-Network Theory Concepts Application to caseMethodology and process reflection Collaborative Design Process Design Thinking Actor-Network Theory Reflection-in-Action Process ConsultationStrategic design Introduction Current Creative Processes at 3XN Motivations Behind the Thought of Implementation ImplicationsofArtificialIntelligence Three Activities AI Empowered Creative Processes Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory Mapping of 3XN Network Technical Tools AI as a Network Technological Development in Architecture Temporary Stability Actor-Network Theory in Architecture Research Network Design Network Knowledge Management Network Moments of Translation Increasing the Mobility Incorporation of Surrounding Enemies & Immutable MobileConclusionReferences

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1

Context

Thefollowingpaperreflectsthesemester-longcasestudyoftheStrategicDesign

and Project Management class, part of the Strategic Design & Entrepreneurship

Master Program taught by KADK and CBS. The class revolves around the

collaboration between companies active in the creative industry and cross-

disciplinary teams of students from the programme, aiming at solving a strategic

design challenge proposed by the company itself, through the application of

strategic, managerial, design theories and methods.

Strategic Design Case

3XN is a Danish architectural practice founded in 1986, now among the most

recognised practices in the country. Aiming at creating humane and innovative

architecture, the daughter company GXN was founded, which focuses on pushing

the boundaries of architecture through research in behaviour, circular and digital

design (3xn.com, 2019; gxn.3xn.com, 2019). In accordance with its core values, 3XN

shareditswilltoexploretheuseofartificialintelligence(AI)withinitscreative

and design processes, expecting a potential implementation within a three to

fiveyearstimeframe.It is importanttomentionthat3XNhasnotundertaken

previous research on this specific topic, allowing the teamof consultants and

3XN’s representatives to develop and acquire knowledge at the same pace. The

overall aim for 3XN is to understand how AI can help practitioners become

better architects, which has been used as the starting point for the research and

development of the strategic design.

Creativity

Asthereisadistinctionbetweenhumanintelligenceandartificialintelligence,it

isimportanttohighlightthedistinctionbetweenhumancreativityandartificial

creativity as creativity according to Prof, Keith Sawyer is “part of what makes us

human” and can also be considered as a core component within an architectural

Introduction

2practice.Inthegeneralsense,creativitycanbedefinedastheabilitytocomeup

with new, novel and valuable ideas in surprising or unfamiliar ways (Kurt, 2018).

Anideacanbeidentifiedasaconcept,theoryoramoretangibleartefactsuchas

a painting, music or architecture which can be represented in many levels (idem).

Research Question

Ensuing from 3XN’s interest in understanding how AI will help its employees to

become better at what they do, the research focused on analysing the current

practiceofarchitectureanditsprocesses,discerningwhatthefieldofAIoffers

today and in the coming years. With a global aim of imagining implementation

strategies of AI in architectural processes, the core research question of this report

wasformulatedaroundthepotentialimpactofAIonthosespecificprocesses:

How could Artificial Intelligence affect the creative design process within

an architectural practice?

Report Structure

The report will start with the theoretical approach of the actor-network theory

(ANT) according to its main theorists, depicting the essential concepts forming

the ideology.

This will be followed by the methodology section, where the strategic design

process of the team will be presented, revolving around design thinking principles

and how the ANT helped to structure the development of the project and Schön’s

reflection-in-action(1992)concept.Thiswillbecombinedwithareflectiononthe

relationship between the team of consultants and the 3XN themselves based on

Schein’s process consultation (1999).

Theanalysiswillbeseparatedintotwoparts.Thefirstwillexplain3XN’scurrent

creative process and delve into the motivations behind the choice of exploring the

topic while discussing the implications of such a decision. Furthermore, the team

willpresentasimplifiedmodelof3XN’screativedesignprocess,restructuredinto

threemainactivities:Research, Design and Knowledge Management. The second

part is an analysis of the effect of implementing AI, based on the actor-network

theory and the concepts of translation, stabilisation and mobility. The analysis

aims at answering questions revolving around the impact of the implementation

of AI, trying to understand how the power structure shifts before and after the

introduction of AI, and whether it allows for a stronger focus on the design phase,

allowing architects do what they do best.

3

Foundation

The scope of this analysis will be directed through the actor-network theory. This

theory has three founding fathers, Bruno Latour, John Law and Michael Callon

but many others have contributed to it. It is a very comprehensive theory as many

concepts are related to it and every phenomena and entity can be analysed with this

tool.

Use of Theory

ANT can be understood as a material-semiotic theory studying the essential relationality

of all types of materials and its association to other entities. It can be applied from a

social point of view on how relations are established and how they might change.

To mention a few of its diverse academic applications, the theory has been used to

analyse how the Portuguese reached India and safely returned back (Law, 1986). It

hasalsobeenusedtostudytheestablishmentofscientificfacts(Latour&Woolgar

1986)alongwithhowtoavoidtheextinctionofaspecifictypeofclams(Callon,1986).

In this case, the idea of ANT will be used to speculate how the implementation of AI

in the architectural practice of 3XN is going to change the network. The analysis, will

therefore, be a descriptive, comparative and speculative analysis of the company’s

current network versus a future scenario where AI has been implemented.

Basic Actor-Network Theory Concepts

In the actor-network theory, the human and non-human entities are treated under

the same notion. The perspectives of what of the actors that should take primary

focus, is not how ANT operates as a tool for analysis. This is due to the fact that the

nonhuman actors in ANT also have agency, which mediates the actions of the human

actor through a shared agency (Yaneva, 2009). Therefore, the choice of actors observed

iscompletelyreliantonwhatthespecificanalysisaimstoexamine.Thisisconnected

to the principal of generalised symmetry – meaning that every entity will be analysed

under similar terms and the same concepts will be applied (Law, 1994; Sayes, 2014).

ANT is a tool for analysing the relational aspects between materiality and the social.

Theoreticalapproach

4According to Latour, there is no concrete solution of how to select the relevant

actors. It is possible through the analysis of data to set the scope on a particular

situation,butitcanneverbewholesomeasthereareaninfinitenumberofactors

and relations to examine. This particularity will, therefore, be framed by the

study group. It can be argued that objectivity is not something attainable with the

use of ANT as a tool for analysis. However, this is not something ANT considers,

as there is no fundamental distinction between what is constructed and what is

objective. There is a somewhat constructivist approach in this theory’s method

when studying various phenomena (Jensen, 2005).

Anactorisnotdefinedindependentlybutratherthroughitsconnectionstoother

actors and networks. The actants power is therefore evaluated by the number

of relationships it has to other entities, connecting it to a larger network, which

several actors are relying on. In principle, there are no existing differences

between an actor and a network, as an actor will always be a demarcated

unit consisting of a larger network. Arguably every actant of the network can,

therefore, be interpreted as a black-box (Jensen, 2005; Law, 1992).

As explained above, the actor is a result of the network and the network is the

result of its actors. However, some entities are controlled by others, creating

a power structure in the network due to the existing interdependence. The

associationandreliancearedefinedasthetranslations in actor-network. These

translations,astheyareadefiningfactorforboththeactorsandnetworks,arean

important aspect of the theory (Callon, 1986).

ANT operates under the notion that the network, actors and relations are

constantlychanging,andthatstabilityinaspecificnetworkisonlyatemporary

state (Justesen, 2017).

In the work of an ANT analysis, it is interesting to identify the relations between

actors in one’s empirical work. However, it is of similar importance to analyse

the changes thereof and how these changes affect the network in the case of 3XN.

Application to case

The analysis will be based on the three main authors of actor-network theory.

The most relevant concepts will be chosen and applied to the case. The aim of

theanalysisistohighlightthebenefitsandimplicationsofimplementingAI.The

purpose of using ANT is thereby to present a strategic insight into the implications

and how the relations in the company could change. This means that the analysis

will be speculative, however, based on a long process of data gathering of where

AI is at this point of time, how the relations are in 3XN today, where they will be

5 within the next 3-5 years.

Due to the extensive amount of data gathered in the 3XN network and the

development of AI, an illustrative representation has been made to simplify our

knowledge as much as possible, since there is a lot of information that will be

left out due length-constraints of the paper. Three maps representing different

activities in the current 3XN network, and three maps of the same activities but

depicting how the networks could look in the future with AI. Most of these actors

can be seen as black boxes since they are not outlined further. The black-boxing

of an actor means that the reader can only understand the actor to a certain

depthofunfolding,specificallychosenbytheauthorsofthispaper.

6

Collaborative Design Process

Building onto thefirst semester of the StrategicDesign andEntrepreneurship

programme,andmorespecificallytheCollaborativeDesignProcessesclass,the

group initially decided to set the frame of the upcoming teamwork. Basadur’s

CPSP indicator (2004) and Friis’ 6C Model (2016) were used as a basis to improve

the cross-disciplinary collaboration within the group.

By having a clear overview of the group’s position on the creative problem-solving

profile(Basadur,2004)map,theteamwasabletounderstandeachothers’work

profiles,aswellasthegroup’soverallstrengthsandweaknesses.Moreover,this

allowed for an alignment of process related expectations and building awareness

around personal ways of gaining and using knowledge.

With the 6C Model in mind (Friis, 2016), the group chose to make use of the method

cardsinordertofacilitatetheworkflow.Firstoffacodex was set, with the aim of

having a reliable and approved organisation around the administrative parts of

the project. Part of the codex was the check-in/check-out method, through which

the members were able to share their current state of mind, not only regarding

the project itself but also on a personal level, encouraging a mutual understanding

of surrounding factors and potential consequences. A roadmap (Appendix p01 )

was also set in order to structure the semester-long development of the project.

Design Thinking

Strong heterogeneity within the group members’ study backgrounds helped to

Methodology and process

reflection

7 nourish and push thoughts forward (Brown, 2008). Moreover, the user quickly

became the point of focus in decision making. Taking a human-centered approach

facilitates the understanding of processes, and reveals numerous valuable insights

for the development of the project. This very understanding through observation

thus becomes the enabler for innovation (idem). This was duly put to use when

analysing the creative process at 3XN, and serving as a guideline and point of

reference when working on the design proposal. Interviews with employees

from various departments constituted the data collection, and further served as

the basis for the design proposal as well as the strategic design. As Brown (2008)

definesit,designthinkingwasusedasatoolforimaginingtheexperienceand

giving them a desirable form. This is how design thinking becomes valuable, by

presenting the strategic aspect of creation and applying design values to any form

of the development process, hence its use in the strategic challenge.

At the pinnacle of design thinking practices, Kelly (2001) and Brown (2008)

advocate for the use of prototyping as the strongest problem-solving tool. It is a

stateofmind,favouringactionsandtakingchances,leadingtosolution-finding.

Here, the physical representation of ideas allows for new possibilities and

discoveries, as tangibility offers new perspectives (Kelly, 2001). Furthermore, it is

an iterative process that creates values, starting from a rough representation of

the design, being slowly improved towards a detailed prototype at each iteration

(Binder, 2010). In the 3XN case, development of both the design proposal and

strategic design followed this path. The design process was conducted in multiple

workshops,structured inthreephases,passingthroughthefirst twospacesof

design thinking proposed by Brown (2008), inspiration and ideation, and looping

backasthedesignwasbeingiteratedandrefined.Thethirdspace,implementation,

was not explored as the present study aims to imagine what the future could be,

withouttheobjectiveofmarketimplementation.Thefirstphaseaimsatsettingup

initial ideas of the potential design and how its different elements can be linked

together. This is followed by the actual prototyping of the generated ideas, strongly

relying on the previously gathered research, which helps to outline the relevant

informationtobepresentedandhowthedesigncanbeusedefficiently.During

the third phase, the prototype is being tested through its application to a practical

case. This provides direct feedback, immediately used in the continuous iterative

process. In short, two tasks are being undertaken. First, the design creation, then

practical testing. The designers take different roles in order to complete the tasks.

First, a designing role, focusing on idea generation, then a user-role with an

empathetic approach, challenging the produced design to understand how the

proposal can be improved. As mentioned before, this process constantly loops

back to the beginning, therefore starting a new iterative cycle.

8Actor-Network Theory

The actor-network theory became useful when analysing the wide variety of

actors impacted by the proposed design. The main principles helped to create a

different perspective on the various actors in the network. The visualisation of

the network, therefore, brings attention to some actors that may not have been

considered without it. Furthermore, by comparing the current and potential

future networks, new actors become visible and triggered questions about their

role as part of the newly proposed process. Based on this, the relation between

actors is clearer and allows for a better understanding of the network and

the dynamics within it (Appendix p2-3). Ultimately, it provides designers with

more valuable information and deeper insights into the situation and possibly

produces stronger design proposals.

Reflection-in-Action

Considering the actual creative process taking place between the internal group

work and the collaborationwith 3XN, itwas identified that Schön’s reflective

practice (1992) had been unconsciously applied throughout the development of

theproject.Alsoreferredas“reflection-in-action”,Schöndefinesitasthereflective

form of “knowing-in-action” (Visser, 2011), understood as the practitioner’s

ability to intuitively and correctly respond to a given situation - do the right thing,

however without being able to clearly explain or recreate it when not in situ. Part

of thereflectivepractice includes theconstantproblemsetting,reframingand

solving that the designer goes through; appreciation, action and reappreciation

(Visser, 2011). Furthermore, Schön & Wiggins (1992) introduce the sequential

structure of seeing-moving-seeing as design characteristic path through which

the designer observes his work, transforms it, and observes again the result, and

understands the unintended consequences ensuing from the transformative

move.

Theseseeing-moving-seeingsequenceswereretrospectivelyidentifiedascentral

and a repetitive process part of the project development, articulated around

meetingswith3XN(Appendixp26-27).Themeetingswerethefirstseeingaction.

During which, information about expectations, the next design iterations and the

direction of the project was gathered. The meetings were followed by a group

discussionandreflection.Thesereflectionswerethebasisforthemove,illustrated

throughredefinedobjectivesanddirectionfortheproject.Thelastseeingcloses

the loop a quality judgement or appreciation was provided by 3XN in the form

of feedback on the project advancement. As Schön & Wiggins (1992) explains it,

theintermediatestepofappreciationbenefitstheestablishmentandevolution

9 ofclearintentionsregardingthedesign.Themoverealisesandsolidifiesthose

intentions, transforming them into distinct outputs.

Process Consultation

Following up on the relation with 3XN, it was deliberately chosen to frame it as

a consultation process and thus for the group members to act as consultants.

Outlined by Schein (1999), process consultation strongly relies on the client’s will

to improve a given situation. However, the consultant is the facilitator allowing

theframing,problemdefinitionandsolution-findingtotakeshape.Thisisrelated

to Schein’s Principle 5, stating that it is the client who owns the problem and the

solution. The group was able to understand and structure 3XN’s problem through

multiple interviews with partners, managers and specialists, who are the ones

ultimately framing the research and project development.

From the start of the project, both parties knew their limited knowledge in

thefieldofAI.Thiscanbeseenasanissue,butontheotherhand,ithelpedto

generate a “safe environment” where the shared objective was to get familiar

with the topic, achieved through desktop research and interviews with experts

inthefield(Principle 3).

The relationship was built around numerous meetings - both interviews and

project advancement - between the consultants and 3XN, supported by email

conversations with Oahn, Head of Business Development in 3XN. This proactive

engagement throughout the semester helped the team to stay in touch with the

client’s main goal (Principle 2), and therefore being able to assess the current

state of the relationship. However, the team felt that the process could have been

improved in terms of timing (Principle 7). Indeed, the group allocated too much

time to research, delaying the expected feedback from 3XN. This also impacted

the development of the strategic design proposal, postponing the presentation

of tangible assets to the 3XN partners. Going back to Principle 5 of ownership,

it becameclear that 3XNwouldbeable tobenefit from theproducedwork if

theywereabletofigureouttheirownsolutions,fittingtheirprocessesthebest.

Therefore, the objective of the strategic design is to spark interest and initiate a

debate to further build onto.

10

Introduction

The analysis ensues from the previously stated research question:How could

AI affect the creative process within an architectural practice? Because the actor-

network theory seeks to understand the development of networks, how relations

are changing, identifying the actors and the process of destabilization-stabilization

(Justesen, 2017), it is an appropriate tool to build up a case answering this query.

This analysis will initially depict 3XN’s current creative design process, from

the researchphase to thefinal constructionand inaugurationof thebuilding.

This will be followed by a description of AI as a tool for architectural practices,

the motivation behind 3XN’s choice of investigating its implementation, and the

related presumptions and expectations from it. Emphasis will be placed on the

controversies and prospects resulting from the introduction of AI.

The second part of the analysis focuses on describing the same processes in a

future scenario when Ai has been implemented. This part is followed by the

actual analysis through the scope of ANT and how translation takes place as AI

is being implemented. Moreover, aspects like stabilisation, power structure and

mobility will also be discussed with the aim of highlighting the implications of

implementing AI as a part of project management and turning the perspective

from it being a threat to being an ally.

As AI is still a new actor in most networks humans are part of, and considering

its life-altering potential, the meeting with society will potentially result in a

complete destabilisation of any network studied. In this way, AI-scoped ANT

could be applied to any network processing the implementation of AI. However,

this study solely focuses on the smaller network that 3XN englobes while being

an applicable case study for the entire architectural industry. The selected

delimitationofthestudythusallowstheteamtofocusonasimplifiednetwork,

relyingonandillustratedbyspecificactors.

Current Creative Processes at 3XN

3XN’s creative design process resembles the structure behind The RIBA Plan

Strategicdesign

11 of Work, developed by the Royal Institute of British Architects, is a document

that describes the key stages covered when conducting a project. The RIBA plan

dissects the process into 8 different stages (from 0 to 7).

At 3XN, stage 0, Strategic Definition, and stage 1, Preparation and Brief, are

managed by the Business Development team. Here, the overall task is to assess

the viability of the project, the client and the adequatefit into the company’s

business identity and strategy. Moreover, it includes research about the project

itself and determining what pre-required knowledge is needed in order to pursue

a project. This contains information about the site, the country’s local building

regulations, the cultural context, and potential partners. This usually takes a few

months to a year.

Stage 2 to 5, namely Concept Design, Developed Design, Technical Design and

Construction. The construction is also related as it is the natural outcome of the

creative design process. In addition to this, research is still being undertaken,

typically about user behaviour and the condition of the building. The design

proposal varies from quick sketches to high-quality visualisations and detailed

plans as it goes through the hands of the different teams responsible for each

task. Consequently, this part of the process in the lengthiest, considering the large

variety of tasks and expected level of outputs it is constituted of. The concept

design phase usually takes up to 8 weeks, based on the research advancement

and the design options development. Depending on the client’s timeframe, the

developed design phase usually takes 3 to 6 months. The time-consuming part

of developing the design is producing design variations such as floor plans

and façade details. When getting into the technical design, the task of detailing

construction drawings is very time consuming and usually takes a year to

complete. Finally, the construction usually takes 2 to 4 years depending on the

complexity of the project (Henriksen, 2018, personal communication, 12 April).

The last two stages, Handover and Closeout and In-Use aim to facilitate the

handover of the building in line with the Project Programme, as well as assisting

with operation and use of the building. While this last part has no limit in time,

the actual handover is expected to last for a few months.

Motivations Behind the Thought of Implementation

Havingaclearoverviewofthecurrentworkflowof3XNhelpstounderstandthe

underlying motivations leading to their interest in AI.

The exploration of this topic is in line with 3XN’s core values of creating humane,

andinnovativearchitecture.Simplystated,theobjectiveofthisprojectistofind

outwhetherAIcanimprovethecreativedesignprocessesandtheefficiencyof

123XN. Further, 3XN wants it’s employees to spend more of their time on tasks that

are directly related to their main competencies. Undertaking this would, ensure

that the company can become and remain market leaders with referring to

innovation, and decrease the risk of potential competitive disadvantage while

adding to the company’s strong identity and strategic differentiation.

3XN’s representatives strongly underlined the idea that knowledge is valuable,

explaining that the more knowledge they have about a project, the better the

outcome will be (Clausen, 2019, personal communication, March 12). In this

context, knowledge not only means desktop research, but also knowledge gained

from experience, making knowledge sharing within the company essential in

order not to lose it as employees move along. AI would serve as an enabler of

gathering and sharing knowledge. 3XN also states very clearly that there is no

intention of replacing the human element in the design process. In such a way, AI

can be used as a supporting tool for the architect to work in a more meaningful

way.ThisargumentisalsobackedbyAndrewWitt,FounderofCertainMeasures:

“I think there’s a way to think about these new kinds of tools as a method for creating

more holistic designs and some which allow us to take more factors into account

simultaneously. (...) I think that has the potential to be really powerful when we

curators and conductors of a certain process as opposed to drawing explicitly every

line in the building for example.” (Appendix p32).

Altogether, this shows that the motivation behind the implementation of AI seeks

to impact 3XN on a company-wide level, affecting both processes and strategy.

Implications of Artificial Intelligence

However, the discussion of AI appears to be more than a simple estimation of

how it could be used within any form of a professional organisation but raises

a number of questions about the impact of its introduction within society. As

mentionedbefore,AIisexpectedtomakesignificantchangessuchasautomated

labour causing unemployment, inequalities in related wealth distribution,

misalignment between human and AI goals or population control (Omohundro,

2014). Nevertheless, even though those concerns are valid and worth highlighting,

they arenot all applicable to the architecturefield. Similar to the installation

of the CAD systems in the 1960s, the introduction of a revolutionising tool will

naturally be met with scepticism. The underlying reason is the reassessment

of the very nature of the architect’s role, core work and new position within a

fundamentally altered environment. According to Andrew Witt, the role of the

architectwillbedrasticallydifferent,becauseoftheintroductionofAI:“I think

one of the things that are becoming more and more clear is the role of the architect

as a curator of certain kinds of information and that curation becomes important

13 because it’s the way that treats these kinds of machines and it’s important because

it communicates a certain kind of ethos. It’s important because it shows you that

it defines explicitly what kinds of problems are taken into account in the design.”

(Appendix p31) This reconsideration and a possible shift in power-centres will

further be addressed with the use of ANT in the analysis.

Three Activities

With the RIBA framework as the genesis of the conceptualised implementation

of AI, the very essence of each underlying task became the point of focus. Rather

than depicting every single one of the eight phases, it seemed more purposeful

to narrow them down to three main activities, namely Research, Design and

Knowledge Management. This model is a way to simplify the picture and

disseminate informationwhichcanotherwisebequitedifficult tomakesense

of. Therefore, the use of AI within 3XN was investigated accordingly, clustering

phases into activities. In this case, the three activities should not be understood as

an execution of the creative process following a chronological path, but rather as

an iterative process, with the three activities, embedded and intertwined within

all of the phases. This clustering allows the application of the further presented

proposals to be applied to the associated activity without consideration of the

actual task it serves, simplifying its understanding and implementation.

AI Empowered Creative Processes

As initially agreed with 3XN the implementation of Ai is estimated to happen

within 3 to 5 years. This leaves room for exploration and speculation. The

presented suggestions are thus based on researched technologies and tools and

the expectations of future innovations.

Introducing a mindmap software as a monitoring tool for the research would

be an adequate solution to the current issues practitioners are facing. The

mindmap will collect and organise relevant research, relying on a large database

being furnished from previous 3XN projects as well as from publicly accessible

databasesincludingscientificresearch,IoTandbehaviouralstudies.Considering

that this process is now time-consuming, this tool will help overcome the issue

by automating the presentation of important information based on little input

data. The AI will then be able to go through a high volume of data quickly, make

connections between the different documents and organise information for their

best use and propose a condensed summary outlining the most important points.

In order to allow architects to take their designs further in a narrow time frame,

leveraging the power of generative design can help to fulfil this goal. The AI

14will create multiple design options, enhancing human creativity and limiting

time consumption. This solution is already available to some extent through

CAD software, indicating that the development of such tools will take place in

the coming years (Spacemaker.ai, Certainmeasures.com, Autodesk.com, 2019).

Generative design can also help with the technical aspects of the design process.

Taskssuchasfloorplanningandfacadedetailingcouldbeautomated,aswellas

checking plans in accordance with local regulations.

Finally, knowledge management activity is to be fully introduced as part of the

projects. Based on information directly drawn from the buildings through e.g. IoT

equipment, the information gathered will be used to learn from the project to see

if it is used as intended. The aggregation and analysis of data will provide more

knowledge to the internal database, closing the knowledge management.

Introduction to Actor-Network Theory

“Society, organizations, agents and machines are all effects generated in patterned

networks of diverse materials.” (Law, 1992, p. 380) The choice of using ANT as a tool

for this analysis is a strategic way of understanding how things are interrelated

in a specific environment. ANT enables the opportunity of anticipation and

speculationabouttheimplicationsandbenefitsofenrollingAIinthearchitectural

process. In this case, ANT can be seen as a potential strategic decision-making/

advising tool which can be used for 3XN in the assessment of the implementation

of AI.

Mapping of 3XN Network

Inordertocomprehendanddefinetheprocesses,avisualrepresentationofthe

network has been made. This model illustrates the human and nonhuman actors

in a generalised symmetry, where the existing relations/translations between the

actors are outlined, eventually forming the heterogeneous environment of 3XN’s

architectural workspace (see p15-17). As stated in the theoretical framework,

the selection of actors, appearing in themodel, has been simplified and can,

therefore, be seen as black boxes. These could potentially be studied even further.

The reasons why these black boxes are not unfolded is due to a large network in

which these actors are part of.

Technical Tools

Hence, the technical tools box includes a great number of inscription devices,

making it possible to transform the substance into inscriptions which are an

15 important aspect of the architectural practice (Latour & Woolgar, 1979). Due to

the length of this paper, some limitations are necessary to make. The choice of

notunfoldingthisfieldis,therefore,adeliberatedecision.Thiscouldpotentially

beafieldofstudybyitselfasLatourandWoolgar’sdointhebookLaboratory

Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts (1979).

Instead, AI will be treated as an inscription device enabling other actors through

a new network, which will be the aim of this second part of the analysis.

AI is a black-box by which the endeavour of this analysis is to outline the

complexity in relation to the architectural practice.

AI as a Network

AI is a large network. However, it will be treated under the notion of the

delimitation thereof for this particular scope and purpose of the analysis. For the

analysis,itisacceptedthatthisdefinednetworkofAIwillbethepointofdeparture

and that the future practice of architecture will have a mandatory passage point

through AI in the processes. This mandatory passage point denotes that the

processes taking place and the actors involved are mutually interdependent of

this entity and the competencies it facilitates in order to make a project evolve

from immaterial to the material (Callon, 1986).

Technological Development in Architecture

When CAD was introduced in the 1960s. These computer-aided design softwares

were scripted through its design and thereby also its agency of mediating the

human actors’ (architects) actions through the capabilities of these tools. The

purpose of their construction was intentionally incorporated to enhance and

assist in the process. These tools, therefore, became an obligatory passage point

in the network and thereby also the process of designing buildings. (Callon, 1986)

This interdependency from each actor in the current practice of architecture

creates a state of temporary stability in the network. This is achievable if accepted

by every actor involved in the network. These CAD systems, therefore, serve as

powerful actors in the current network of 3XN, as the actors involved have been

mutually reluctant of each other for many years.

Temporary Stability

Disruption of the harmony between actors will cause a network to collapse/

destabilise. Therefore, It is important to make sure that incentives are set for the

actors’ participation so they accept the future circumstances. This is a process of

16negotiation, where a convincing of the actors has to be made, in order to ensure

that they will follow (Callon, 1980). Thus, to implement AI into the network,

a process of re-stabilisation has to take place. This process of reaching a new

temporary state of stabilisation is likely to induce controversies from destabilising

the current network, where some of the actors from the present network are

discarded (Law, 1992).

Actor-Network Theory in Architecture

Theaimofthenextpartoftheanalysisistoprovideamorespecificanddescriptive

exposition of the changing relations and power struggles when implementing

AI. This will be achieved by a comparison of the different activities. These three

activities (research, design and knowledge management) have been mapped out

both with and without AI implemented in the network and their processes. The

maps will, therefore, function as a foundation for these speculations.

In order to illustrate the most prominent actors, it is necessary to examine the

number of translations in which they connect to other actors. These actors will

be selected, and the changes studied from the perspectives of 3XN’s network with

AI and without. This will also show where some of the controversies are likely to

arise between actors due to the power struggles and negotiations.

Subsequently, to studying the shifting translations and powers, Callon’s (1986)

four moments of translation taking place in a changing network; problematisation,

interessement, enrolment and mobilisation will be applied to the case. The purpose

thereof is to show the considerations which would be necessary to make when

implementing AI.

Finally, the incorporation of AI will be related to ANT concepts introduced by

Law (1986) in his paper on colonisation and long-distance control.

17

Research Network without AI

Research Network with AI

Research Network

An actor worth examining is the technical tools, which will be exposed to change

and even discarding to some extent in the future network where AI has been

implemented. Based on the different network mappings, it is possible to derive

that the technical tools have a high level of power as it connects many actors

throughout the different activities.

With a point of departure from the future network, it is visible that technical tools

have been placed as a box connecting to the nonhuman actors AI and workspace

for the research and design phase. This is due to the physical surroundings in

which the technical tools are bounded. In a similar way, the technical tools are

the actor enabling AI.

In the knowledge management phase, the technical tools no longer connect to

the physical environment. This choice has been made because the physical

surroundings are not considered as a relevant actor for the knowledge

management. The technical tools, therefore, only work as a physical enabler,

18which is why it has been moved in front of the AI. What should be deduced from

this is the number of actors the AI connects to, thereby showing the importance

and power of this actor in the future network. The point is that the translation

from the current network changes into an obligatory passage point which

goes through the implemented AI in the new network. This would also result

in enhanced mobility of actors and processes as the translations will go both

back and forth (Law, 1986). The AI can therefore easily communicate with many

different actors resulting in the AI becoming an immutable mobile (Latour, 1990),

however, both the concept of mobility and immutable mobiles will be elaborated

upon later in the analysis. Whereas, the technical tools, in the current network,

consists of both concrete designing tools along with the physical hardware which

enables the design software to be used; The physical computers and printers that

help the architects in their process, will, therefore, still be valuable in the new

network, however, the overall agency from the actor technical tools will change

profoundly.

The agency of the technical tools changes from a facilitator to an enabler where

the AI works as the facilitator/mediator. The fact that it mediates the humans

actions means that the human’s actor and the nonhuman actor has a shared

agency (Yaneva, 2009). The technical tools are therefore not as powerful but

nonetheless crucial for the AI to exist in the network.

This change will resolve in a power struggle between some of the actors, leading

to the rise of controversies as the network, actors and translations shift.

Examining the research activity, it shows that business development has a major

influenceinthecurrentnetworkconnectingtoallthenonhumanactorsinthis

specificprocess.Basedontheempiricaldata,thesetranslationswouldchangeso

that the AI would be facilitating the research, thereby, providing the right data

attherighttime.Thiswouldenhancethetimeefficiencyandreducethelevelof

complexity of acquiring the right information.

19

Design Network without AI

Research Network with AI

Design Network

Looking at the design activity, the strongest human actors are the architects.

When implementing AI, new processes, translations and ways of inscribing will

change the network. The architects (along with the other human actors involved)

will, therefore, have to mobilise and learn to share their agency with this new

technology in order for the network to reach a temporary state of stability.

Whereas, some of the human actors working in e.g. the visualisations department

are likely to be discarded or their roles and responsibilities changed. Given that

this, in the future, will be facilitated by the AI software as it will be able to produce

these tasks in a matter of moments.

20

Knowledge Management Network without AI

Knowledge Management Network with AI

Knowledge Management Network

In the knowledge management activity, the actor finished projects is the most substantial. As there is

norealmanagementofknowledgetakingplaceinthecurrentnetwork,besidesfilingofdocuments

and experience gained from doing the projects, the knowledge management is mostly related to the

implementation of AI. With AI incorporated in the network, the new technologies of smart sensors

and IoT enable knowledge management to an extent, where continuous improvement of processes

is attainable. The knowledge management activity will, therefore, be automated and able to provide

dataonbehaviouraluseof thebuildings.Thus, thevitalactor for thisprocesswillbe thefinished

project and its incorporated smart devices.

21 Moments of Translation

With the strongest actors of the different phases outlined, Callon’s concepts of

problematisation, interessement, enrolment and mobilisation will now be applied

from the perspective of the management of 3XN. The choice of analysing it from

this point of origin is due to the pivotal decision from the 3XN management of

studying the effects of implementing AI.

Imagining that a destabilisation of the current network was to take place with the

goal of re-stabilising it with AI incorporated. The incentives which form the basis

of doing so needs to be analysed.

As an architectural company, there are some very time-consuming processes

which need to take place to develop. These incentives for change in the network are

the motivators for a problematisation. This is based on a managerial speculation/

assumption that the processes, the business and the projects can be optimised

through future technology. Some of the potential points needing enhancement

canbethefollowing:

-Insufficientcommunication

- Waste of material

- Time management

-Increaseofprofits/diminutionofexpendituresandoverheads

- Enhancement of knowledge gathering

- Stronger company identity

Some of the current obligatory passage points could potentially be enhanced in

the future. The trigger behind this problematisation from the principal actor (in

this case the 3XN management) is the possibility of optimising the very diverse

practice making it a more homogenous process with fewer discrepancies and

deviations from the designing. The problematisation is based on the identity of

the different actors, however, as the times and technologies change, so will the

needs of change for 3XN in order to stay innovative (Callon, 1986). The process

of working with AI needs to become standardised and every actor should feel

familiar with the technology. To achieve this, Callon’s concept of construction of

interessement should be considered. This takes for delimitation of the connections

tootheractors.Thiswill,asexplainedabove,beaconflictingpointforsomeofthe

actors and will, , therefore,, be a consequence of these new translation processes.

On the other hand, it should also be of interest of the actors which would continue

to be a part of the new network. This should also be an assumption from the

principal actor, the 3XN management. If the subordinate actors wish to be a

22part of the change in the translation, they must, , therefore,, accept the principal

actor’s proposition.

With the relevant actors’ construction of interessement in place, the point of

enrolment would take place. In order to achieve this, new actors would need

to be adapted to the new network and become a part of the translations taking

place. This is what Law (1986) refers to as including drilled people to connect

with the black-boxed actors which e.g. the architects will not be able to facilitate/

communicate with. This would take many iterations and it would be a complicated

process facilitated by the principal actor and the drilled people teaching the

other actors how to participate and cooperate with the AI. This is a process of

negotiation where the desirable outcome thereof should be an acceptance of the

new responsibilities and roles assigned to the actors.

This would be an iterative and complicated process which should lead to a point

of mobilisation.

The mobilisation is the decisive point where the new network is fully (but

temporarily) accepted and adopted by each actor involved thereby achieving a

temporary restabilising of the network. This is a securing of the linkages between

the spokesmen and their entities of which they represent. This harmony between

actors is only durable to the point where an actor decides to be at variance

with the new network or its spokesperson. If the consensus is broken a new

problematisationwillbeneeded.Thisiswhyitisdefinedasaniterativeprocess.

Callon (1986) argues that the negotiation process only involves a few numbers

of actors. However, in this case, the entire network is dependent on the overall

acceptance. The implementation is, , therefore,, relying on every actor involved.

Increasing the Mobility

In Law’s paper on methods of long-distance control (1986), he includes concepts

which are relatable to this case as well. As 3XN is working in many different

countries with various cultures, regulations, people etc., the mobility is highly

important. He argues that the importance of the ability to move from the centre

to the periphery and back without losing shape, durability, power or loyalty is

crucial. This is the vital capability of implementing AI. The AI would be the vessel

facilitating and enhancing the mobility of their projects.

Incorporation of Surrounding Enemies & Immutable Mobile

The enemies of 3XN, which were partly listed above in the problematisation, are

what should be incorporated into the AI. It is, , therefore,, AI’s relation to the

23 strategicnetworkwhichcreatesitstechnicalefficiencyandenhancesmobility.It

should compensate for a project’s challenges, as they are in the current network

and the lack of knowledge which is a barrier in the process. When the AI is made

possible to act on the other actors’ behalf and provide a tailored and specialised

knowledge, it excludes many of the lengthy time-consuming processes of gaining

the knowledge from external sources. This would, therefore, be a radical and

practical innovation to their practice. With this paper’s proposal of how AI would

serve 3XN, it would become their delegate or immutable mobile as Law (1990)

defines it. Something which can travel over long distances without the form

changing. To be able to transport without transform would result in a strong

identity and an enhancement of the distinct design of 3XN. The enhancement of

the mobility of a project’s development which the AI enables is, therefore, a result

of its relations.

24

To conclude, our approach to this research paper and the strategic design case

presentedby3XNisheavilyinfluencedbytheframeworktheysetforthestudy.

Their expectations of understanding how AI can help practitioners become

better architectswithin three tofiveyearsoriented the group into examining

their current design processes. The timeframe provided a clear basis for the

research about AI, in order to gain insight into the development of AI over the last

few years and where it is likely to be in the near future. To gain an understanding

of the current processes in 3XN several interviews were set up. This provided an

understanding of their previous projects and the processes which took place. This

ledus to theresearchquestionfor thispaper:How could AI affect the creative

process within an architectural practice?

The purpose of this research question is to gain a strategic insight into the

potential implementation of AI in the near future. Therefore, the research paper

is speculative, with the sole purpose of generating a discussion amongst 3XN’s

management and employees, leading them towards potential strategic solutions

for the implementation.

Understanding the processes within 3XN also meant identifying how the

individual coworkers contribute to the processes and the tools that they use. This

highlights the importance of the relations between the designer and the tools

utilised in the process. This relational aspect directed the group’s choice of theory

towards ANT, which was used to analyse the relations, actors and the network

itself. Acquiring a deep insight into the technologies provided the group with a

secure basis for interpreting and speculating about future development.

Through the understanding of the level of complexity of an architectural project

and how developing technologies are likely to impact it, the focus was brought

to thethreemainactivitiesshapingthecreativeprocess:Research, Design and

Knowledge Management.

The ANT provided a perspective on mutual interdependence between the human

and nonhuman entities, thereby showing their relational properties, forming the

network. This was illustrated through the mapping of the different actors and

Conclusion

25 their relations, for each of the three activities.

The ANT analysis suggests that the network will have to re-stabilise with the

implementation of AI. This means a change of actors involved and a fundamental

change of the processes taking place. With the adoption of AI in the practice, it

indicates that the network and the processes will be more streamlined. However,

this might be on the expense of demarcation of the number of human actors

involved in the processes. Resulting in an ethical implication of whether AI should

take over human tasks or only be used for collaboration which might resolve in

controversies amongst the human actors in 3XN. Nonetheless, the capabilities

of implementing AI to the practice show, that there are less diverging and time-

consumingphasesaffectingthedevelopmentofaproject.Thisisdefinedasan

enhanced level of mobility within the company, likely to result in an increased

distinctiveness of the 3XN’s design and identity.

This report has been produced on the basis of speculation regarding the

potential implementation of AI within an architectural practice. Because of its

speculative nature, the report invites for debate around further implications

of such a revolutionary technological development, likely to impact society in

a fundamental way. Thus, is it possible to avoid an AI take over human jobs?

Can it be framed as a tool only to assist humans in their daily tasks? Will the

development of AI come as far within the next 3-5 years as imagined in the

analysis? Will the AI-activated network have a stronger foundation, or be too

reliant on a few actors, making it more fragile?

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