The Klein-fitzroy residence

Year 2019

Location Long Beach, California.

Client Julien Klein and Grace Fitzroy

Project Type Residential

Working Team Individual 

Square Footage 2000

Completion Time 10 weeks

Software Procreate, DALL-E

Concept 80s Cocaine Chic 

This project brief was easily the most experimental assignment I received as a student. The exploration of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, can be a daunting task to many industry veterans. My ethos, while working on the Klein-Fitzroy Residence and generally throughout my life, is to embrace and utilize these emerging technologies as a tool to further explore possible design solutions, rather than view them as a threat to my career and livelihood. 

DALL-E, powered by OpenAI, is an example of a visualizing software incorporating artificial intelligence, and it was the program I chose to generate renderings for the Klein-Fitzroy Residence. DALL-E can formulate dozens of random images in minutes if given a prompt, such as, "a studio-quality editorial photograph in one point perspective of a hypermodern chic living room inspired by the design style of T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, with light stone furnishings, pale seafoam green walls lined in artwork, and dark blue and brown avant-garde furniture. Add a film effect"; however, with a bit of luck, only one of those dozens of images will satisfy a designer's vision.

After this project was presented, I concluded that an image generated from a visualizing software program powered by artificial intelligence is akin to a gestural sketch on a paper napkin. It might convey the idea of a style or solution, but these programs can be unreliable and vague. It is a useful tool for designers to adopt and incorporate into their process.