A.I. Research Project | The Universe

“…Negotiating with the ‘Genie’...”🧞‍♀️🧞🧞‍♂️

This piece takes you on an introductory and personal exploration into the evolving dialogue between designers and Artificial Intelligence (AI), focusing on the conceptual design process within the built environment. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining our intrinsic creative and human values throughout this interaction. With the advent of Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, we're prompted to engage more thoughtfully and critically with our language, considering the intent and expected outcomes of our communications.
During a call with old friend and filmmaker Gabe Tolliver, he quipped: "...Open sesame...it's the art of the Prompt...", highlighting the ongoing challenge of crafting prompts to achieve precise results. This pursuit of refinement in our prompts is crucial, as it can lead to vastly different visual interpretations. These outcomes may align with the AI's assumptions (for example, when asked to '...draw an apple...') or emerge from more poetic and illustrative expressions, offering a foundation for further refinement and enhancement.
Remember to revisit this conversation periodically; the dialogue with AI is an ongoing negotiation.
AI in Action — 2025 Case Snippets
At HTDSTUDIO, our AI journey has steadily moved from early experiments into practical use across design and development. In 2025, we focused on applying AI where it adds real value — accelerating research, exploring design directions, prototyping internal tools, and expanding into mobile app development.
Here are a few ways AI has been integrated into our work during 2025 — not as a replacement for design, but as a tool for exploration, research, and collaboration.
Hospitality Concept Studies
AI-generated visualizations supported early-stage explorations for potential hospitality sites, helping us test spatial, material, and experiential directions before entering detailed design.
Workflow Prototyping
We’ve been developing internal workflows that link architectural models with potential material suppliers and craftspeople, aiming to streamline sourcing and enable circular economy practices.
Feasibility & Market Research
AI has assisted with zoning reviews, regulatory frameworks, and market comparables for projects in Portugal and Sweden, providing structured insights at the feasibility stage.
Cultural & Narrative Research
AI has supported work around heritage, cultural narratives, and contextual references that shape hospitality storytelling and design identity.
Circular Economy Mapping
We’ve been using AI to identify local producers, materials, and reuse opportunities, embedding circular economy practices into hospitality and development projects.
Platform Development
A studio-specific AI platform is in prototyping, designed to organize research, support relationship management, and map value chains across hospitality and real estate development.
Mobile App Development
We began designing and building mobile apps using AI-assisted workflows — including travel and culture guides, circular economy tools, and internal studio applications — combining prompt-driven UI design (Swift & Xcode) with iterative iOS prototyping.
Studio Operations
AI has supported internal tasks such as structuring proposals, organizing research, and preparing project deliverables — allowing more focus on design and development.
Agentic Systems
We are currently building agentic systems for ourselves and others in our network. Running local LLMs for increased speed, depth, and scale of workflow.
Boutique APIs
We are creating APIs (Application Programming Interface) to connect various institutions, brands, and companies with data for GHG, supply-chain, and sustainability compliance in the EU and the US.
Together, these steps mark steady progress in making AI a practical part of our design and development process, and lay the groundwork for broader applications ahead.
Client: Experimental | Location: The Universe | Total Floor Area: ♾️ ft2/m2 | Budget: ♾️ | Status: 2023-Ongoing. Software: Apple Simulator / Apple TestFlight / Apple Xcode / ChatGPT5.2 / Claude Sonnet 4.5/ Figma / Fotor Ai extension / Gemini / Google AI Studio / Google Firebase / MidJourney V7.0 / Nano Banana Pro / Notebook LM / Repl.it / Supabase / Veo2 / WAN AI / Windsurf | Hardware: Apple MacBook Pro M2Max 38-core / Apple iMac 2020 27” 80GB / 10TB
Concept Design / Prompt Engineering / Vibe Coding: HTDSTUDIO
Guest Lecturer: “Negotiating with the Genie”, The Hive: "Artificial Intelligence in the Field", Capgemini Applied Innovation Exchange, Malmö, Sweden - November, 2023