JCB and Monash Architecture have partnered to offer a PhD Scholarship that will explore the future of architecture through an industry-embedded research position. Working at the intersection of AI, architectural design, and professional practice, the successful candidate will work between JCB and Monash University's Future Building Initiative, a research group that explores the development and impacts of technology on design for the built environment.

Led by Associate Professor Duncan Maxwell, director of the Future Building Initiative, and Dr Camilo Cruz, the Scholarship will involve a PhD researcher working with the JCB team to identify opportunities to introduce emerging AI technologies to practice. The researcher will observe JCB’s current workflows and test the application of digital tools within the practice environment.

“It is crucial that these emerging technologies improve, rather than compromise, architecture’s human-centered approach,” Maxwell says. “AI has an important role in Australian architectural practice and the broader construction sector, particularly in addressing unprecedented challenges to decarbonise while responding to the housing crisis in a resource-constrained world.”

The Future Building Initiative is currently conducting three projects that explore AI methods for different applications, including design coordination using traditional optimisation methods, spatial planning using novel machine learning techniques and an architectural design automation tool that uses a combination of parametric and AI methods.

Cruz says preliminary findings show AI has the potential to transform the architectural profession by streamlining design processes, making them more efficient, and enabling deeper analysis of spatial, environmental and material factors.

Director of JCB Jon Clements says: “There is obviously great potential in the technology, however, we are also keen to understand the role of design in the future and the way in which AI might support or potentially compromise creative processes.”

“We are hoping to establish a better understanding of the potential advantages for architecture through AI technologies and how we can support practices to improve their workflows and efficiency through the use of AI,” Clements said.

Applications close May 15. Visit here.