WARMUP FOCUSED TASKS and REFLECTION
Throughout this journey of participating in the AI course, everything has been incredibly fascinating. At the beginning, I felt a bit lost and unsure if these technologies could truly bring substantial benefits to the design process. Although AI technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated, as the course progressed, I gradually discovered its immense potential in rapidly generating concepts, enhancing visual effects, and exploring new forms.
During the creative process, I learned how to use various AI tools, such as Firefly and Stable Diffusion, for text-to-image and image-to-image transformations, asset generation, background removal, and more. Gradually, I developed a landscape design workflow entirely powered by AI. While some parts looked rather odd and lacked precise control over details, tasks like asset generation, background removal, and rendering (a boon for landscape students with less powerful computers) became much more efficient. Additionally, many randomly generated images from AI provided me with inspiration and creative sparks. This made me deeply realize that AI tools are not just "shortcuts" but powerful assistants that can ignite creativity.Of course, this process was not without its challenges. The biggest difficulty was controlling the accuracy of the generated results. However, in some time-consuming and mechanical workflows, AI indeed offered significant help. Whether it was crafting text prompts or fine-tuning model parameters, repeated adjustments were needed to approach the desired outcomes. Moreover, the differences in operational logic among various tools left me feeling confused initially, but through practice, I gradually mastered their use.
After this learning experience, my attitude toward AI has undergone a significant transformation. From initial skepticism to present admiration, I now appreciate that AI can not only assist in the design process but also push the boundaries of creativity. Of course, the use of AI requires the designer's judgment and should not be entirely relied upon.
In a recent landscape design project, I used the AI tool Firefly to assist in the process, which gave me valuable insights into the potential and limitations of AI in design.
On the positive side, Firefly excelled in generating creative concepts and visual outputs. It could quickly produce multiple design options, providing a wealth of inspiration during the conceptual phase. This was particularly helpful in breaking out of conventional thinking patterns. Additionally, its automation capabilities significantly enhanced efficiency, reducing tedious and repetitive tasks and allowing me to focus more on refining the design and overall planning.
However, I also encountered some challenges during its use. For instance, AI-generated designs sometimes lacked a deep understanding of the site's real-world complexities, such as topography, ecology, and cultural context. This often required substantial time for manual adjustments and refinements. Moreover, the quality of AI output heavily depended on the quality of user input, placing higher demands on the designer’s ability to provide clear and effective guidance. Through this experience, I learned how to better collaborate with AI tools. On one hand, it’s important to leverage AI for rapid idea generation; on the other hand, it’s equally critical to evaluate and fine-tune its outputs to ensure they align with actual project needs. This made me realize that AI is not a replacement for designers but a powerful assistant. Its true value is unlocked when combined with human expertise and creativity
FIREFLY 3 text-to-image: Urban park, eco-design addressing climate change, human perspective, landscape architecture, photo-realistic rendering.
FIREFLY 3 text-to-image: Urban park with an urban food farm function, human perspective, landscape architecture, photo-realistic rendering.
FIREFLY 3 text-to-image: Urban park with a playground function in a wetland setting, photo-realistic style, cinematic effect, landscape photography.
FIREFLY 3 text-to-image: Green community site plan sketch, landscape design, photo-realistic style.
Personal Reflection AI (chat gpt) I recently used the AI tool Firefly to assist with landscape design, and I want to write a reflection of about 300 words, including both positive and negative evaluations, as well as lessons learned from the experience.
Personal Reflection
Concept generation
Asset generation
Drawing generation
SD 1.5 landscape design asset,trees for photoshop
PROCESS AND WORKFLOW
Hypothetical Design Task: Urban Green Street Design Plan
I explored the application of AI in the landscape design process, from generating conceptual sketches (concept generation), refining sketches into detailed drawings (image-to-image generation), to final rendering and image filling. Overall, the experience was highly efficient, with a significantly faster output speed compared to traditional design processes, where creating each drawing could take several hours, and the entire process might span several weeks to months. Using AI, I completed the entire workflow, from sketching to final rendering, in just two days.
While the efficiency and speed were impressive, offering inspiration and ideas, the challenges were also evident. AI-generated designs tend to be broad, formulaic, and lack detailed refinement. The control through prompts is limited, and it’s difficult to achieve truly ideal results.
Overall, AI can serve as a valuable tool for designers to spark creativity and handle repetitive mechanical tasks. However, the development of specific solutions still requires the designer’s own judgment and control.
Firefly 3 text-to-sketch: A green park design in a city that provides food.
SD 1.5 Image-to-image generation: Please help color a landscape plan in a realistic style, focusing on landscape design.
SD 1.5 Image-to-image Landscape Design: A productive landscape park design with many planting
rendered visualization.
image
Sketch generation
Sketch refinement and optimization
2D to 3D Conversion
Rendered image generation with added people
Some time ago, I came across a website about the abandoned water towers in Glasgow. Their shapes resemble spacecraft—novel and intriguing—but these grand structures lack diverse functionality, ultimately becoming architectural relics. I collected hundreds of images of Glasgow's water towers, as well as photos of Glasgow distilleries (inspired by Glasgow's renowned whisky culture). Using STYLE GAN training, I analyzed these images in the hope of combining the features of both to spark new creative ideas.:)))
DESIGN EXPLORATIONS
https://adamfowlerphotography.co.uk/2018/11/water-towers-of-glasgow.html
https://nn.labml.ai/gan/stylegan/experiment.html
Glasgow distillery images
Glasgow water tower images
Filter interesting output images and incorporate new architectural functions.
Image:Guoqichu,A Photoshopped vision of a reimagined water tower.
Image:Guoqichu,A Photoshopped vision of a reimagined water tower.
Site Model And Algorithmic Processes
Site Model Algorithmic Processes
Location: Sheaff Square
Random Scaling of Circles and Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
https://generativelandscapes.wordpress.com/index-of-examples/
image:Guoqichu,general building massings correct.
image:Guoqichu,Terrain and ground plan representation.
image:Guoqichu,Ground material: UV mapping with proper proportions.
image:Guoqichu,Terrain and ground plan representation.
The logic of the above script applies to the "real location" of Sheffield Square. The farther the paving bricks are from the red "X," which represents the point of attraction, the darker their color becomes.
Culling operation – "Dissolve" the rectangles near the edges and project them onto the pool in the square, creating a monolithic landscape.
image:sheaff square in shefield.
Visualize the landscape area
Data Copyright OpenStreetMap and its Users, 2024.
https://www.openstreetmap.org/export#map=14/53.42922/-1.59984&layers=T
image:guoqi chu,2D landscape Visualize.
image:guoqi chu,2D to 3D landscape Visualize.
image:guoqi chu,2D to 3D landscape Visualize.
image:guoqi chu,2D to 3D landscape Visualize.
image:guoqichu,Grasshopper Script.
Algorithm and script visualization for landscape pergola design
During the papercutting activity, I discovered an intriguing arched support structure that could be applied to landscape design.
image:Guoqichu,Control the height variations of the landscape pergola through functions.
Image:Guoqichu,Visualization of irregular structures in Rhino.
Image:Guoqichu,Visualization of irregular structures in Rhino.
Inspiration: Five-Minute Rapid Support Papercutting Activity
3 WEEKS
Exploring Two Different Forms
Image:guoqichu,Editing the Scene in the Sun Jar Using Photoshop.
MONOPRINTS
Exploration of Fire Textures
Inspiration Gained from Forest Exploration Activities
Connections to Course 418b Explorations
DIMENSIONAL RELIEFS MADE FROM CLAY
Starting with Drawing Terrain Contour Lines to Resemble a Mountain
Contour Lines and Clay Sculpting
It looks like an island in the sea, but also like a monster lying on the water's surface.
The branches look like burnt plants. The orange wires represent lava flowing from the volcano crater.
The reflection of the volcano on the sea surface. Distant view.
During my first MySkill selfassessment, I noticed significant deficiencies in areas such as applying knowledge, research and critical thinking, and digital capability. These challenges were primarily due to language barriers and a lack of relevant knowledge and learning in these aspects.
Compared to the MySkill spider chart from several months ago, there is a noticeable improvement in abilities such as applying knowledge, research and critical thinking, digital capability, academic skills, and enterprising. However, the decline in interpersonal skills in the latest assessment, in my opinion, is related to the student holiday period, during which I had fewer opportunities to interact freely with classmates, professors, and employers. I believe this situation will improve once the semester starts.
About a month later, when I conducted the self-assessment again, I observed significant improvements in these abilities. However, this progress was not due to overcoming the language barrier in a short period, but rather because I acquired the necessary knowledge and skills for these areas and learned some practical techniques. As a result, I became more confident in addressing these challenges. The most notable improvement was in my confidence, while language learning is still a longterm process.
First Self-Assessment
Second Self-Assessment
Third Self-Assessment