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The Future of Building Design

The article explores how advances in AI, computational design, and digital fabrication are reshaping building design. It argues that traditional architectural workflows are being replaced by more iterative, data-driven processes that enable greater complexity and customization, potentially making design more accessible and responsive to human needs.

Background

- Ari Porad is a software engineer who has worked at Vercel, Google, and Amazon. His Substack applies software engineering concepts to other domains. - This post argues building design should follow the path of modern software: moving from fully custom, one-off projects toward standardized, modular, prefabricated components assembled cheaply and quickly. - The context is the well-known shortage of affordable housing in the US. Porad claims construction has seen almost no productivity gains in 50 years, unlike most other industries. - Modular/prefab construction has been discussed for decades (Sears Roebuck houses, post-WWII Levittowns) but never scaled for complex buildings. Porad frames it as analogous to the shift from monolithic codebases to reusable libraries and package management.

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