AI Art: How Goy Architects used Midjourney to imagine a futuristic world with Asian roots

We ask three Singaporean women to share their take on AI art—in the third story of this series, learn how Goy Zhenru’s passion for Southeast Asian architecture and craft traditions shines through the built projects of Goy Architects and the new visions she has created using AI-generated designs

When the Tatler Homes Singapore team was in the process of shortlisting potential collaborators for this project, Goy Zhenru’s namesake firm quickly sprang to mind. Known for melding historical influences and traditional forms with modern touches, the women-led team behind Goy Architects has realised projects in Southeast Asia that convey a sense of place and their passion for locally crafted details. From a farmstay in Indonesia to the renovation of conservation houses in Singapore, these architects have brought to life various designs that earned them many accolades over the years.

“We always try to respond to our design and architecture relating to the local climate and environment. In this part of the world, we can blur the threshold of external and internal spaces without reducing their usability,” says Goy. “It’s a magical experience when the living space can assimilate symbiotically with the environment, allowing users to experience nature while being in the comfort of [the interior]. It’s the simple pleasures of enjoying a blue sky, the slow movements of the clouds, the swaying of tree foliage and the ambient sounds in nature that truly complete the spaces we design.”

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Above Goy Zhenru, founder of Goy Architects (Photo: Courtesy of Goy Architects)

Above A dining room that references Goy Architects’ focus on natural materials and local craftsmanship (Image: Courtesy of Goy Architects, generated with Midjourney)

Above A tropical villa with Japanese inspired elements (Image: Courtesy of Goy Architects, generated with Midjourney)

Above The interior of this villa opens up to a scenic view of the ocean (Image: Courtesy of Goy Architects, generated with Midjourney)

So, when this opportunity was presented to the 37-year-old architect, she and her team delighted in finding ways to express their creative philosophy through Midjourney. “Learning the new AI software was daunting to start with; we had to comprehend how to define parameters and generate images that are valuable to us,” shares Goy, who has just started to explore the myriad uses of generative design with her team.

For this collaboration, the team considered both their creative philosophy and the overarching “modern Asian” concept of the August issue. “Modernity is a way of thinking, processing and resolving identified issues and problems. ‘Asian’ has geographical, cultural and historical associations [to the word]. Hence, the theme ‘modern Asian’ means addressing the issues in our modern age, while taking vernacular or cultural values into consideration,” says Goy.

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Above Using Midjourney, Goy Architects imagines a hypothetical future where a nomadic lifestyle results from rising sea levels in the tropics (Image: Courtesy of Goy Architects, generated with Midjourney)

Above A view from beneath a glass and wood floating villa (Image: Courtesy of Goy Architects, generated with Midjourney)

The team came up with two primary ideas: first, to generate realistic designs that would appear to be eerily similar to the studio’s work. For the second series, the team aimed to visualise “a hypothetical scenario of addressing rising sea levels due to the environmental changes that would occur in the future”.

“Architecture may have to co-exist with both land and water conditions. It will be interesting to see more learnings from nature, resulting in more biophilic-inspired forms and structures,” comments Goy. “We may expect short-term independent floating structures allowing a nomadic lifestyle.”

Above The team at Goy Architects were inspired by local craft traditions, the use of natural materials and weave panels (Image: Courtesy of Goy Architects, generated with Midjourney)

Above This concept imagines a flooded city with modern houses on stilts (Image: Courtesy of Goy Architects, generated with Midjourney)

When it came to their visual references, the architects took inspiration from tropical flora and fauna, local craft traditions, and the use of natural materials, large roof eaves and weave panels.

True to her company’s creed, Goy also included historical architectural references such as the Kampong Phluk Floating Village in Siem Reap, Cambodia; the Alt-Erlaa public housing complex in Vienna, Austria; and Lunuganga Estate by Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa.

Photo 1 of 3 This concept imagines a courtyard with an elevated take on the scaffolding used during the construction process (Image: Courtesy of Goy Architects, generated with Midjourney)

Photo 2 of 3 This modern structure takes a cue from the Kampong Phluk Floating Village in Siem Reap, Cambodia (Image: Courtesy of Goy Architects, generated with Midjourney)

Photo 3 of 3 This modern Asian villa integrates seamlessly with the outdoors (Image: Courtesy of Goy Architects, generated with Midjourney)

Aside from experimenting with text-based prompts, the Goy Architects team also provided the Midjourney software with photos of their completed projects. The architects admitted feeling “goosebumps” when they looked at the generated designs; some of the outcomes could even potentially have practical applications for the design firm in the future.

“It was a surreal feeling when the AI generated similar styles of work that referenced our use of colours, proportions and materials. It’s pretty surreal to see how the AI could come up with realistic spaces—which look like works we will do—in a matter of seconds.”

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Credits

Images

Courtesy of Goy Architects, generated with Midjourney

Topics

AI Art Artificial Intelligence Design Midjourney Goy Zhenru Goy Architects

Tatler Asia

AI Art: How Goy Architects used Midjourney to imagine a futuristic world with Asian roots