How does AI impact upon our process and garden design in general?
At the time of writing this (July 2024) AI garden design is a highly searched term on Google. So, how does Artificial Intelligence (AI) impact upon our process and garden design in general?
How do we design our gardens?
We design gardens in a unique way, we don’t tend to offer drawings / sketches. It’s a fluid design process and we are very plant focused, often using plants to replace the need for hard landscaping elements. Once the plants have been selected we then design and place them in the garden, it gives us and our customers the freedom to input on the final look. It makes us a little less precious and ultimately the garden looks better as it reflects the space, the light and the conditions.
In our opinion, AI reduces the organic experience that our customers enjoy. The sensory contact with our plants, visiting our nursery, being inspired, smelling the scent and getting a feel for the textures, This, to us, is so important in the garden design process.
‘This is the ultimate challenge as a designer.’
Guy Watts
I’m sure AI could support us in our process, perhaps formulating a short list of plants and mocking up a visual for our customers to see prior to our arrival on site. It could help us to articulate a look and feel but it could also lead to the customer being given a false view – especially if smaller plants are being used. It also takes away any fluidity because the customer will have a fixed expectation.
Embracing Technology
We have embraced technology, and during Covid found ourselves designing remotely for more customers. This is the ultimate challenge as a designer – you don’t get the full view, the sense of a space – but that said we have found ourselves to be quite good at it and it works. We do miss the customer interaction though , especially important when you have a long term relationship and work on multiple stages of a gardens development.
I suspect garden design studios who provide detailed drawings and advice on hard landscaping elements, fencing, paving, outdoor kitchens etc have more to fear. Made up of man made, often structured forms, AI should be able to tackle these with ease when designing a space.
We will continue to develop what we do but I for one feel the sense of creativity, the feeling of achievement when you complete a garden and the friendships we have made with our customers must still continue. That said…. Here is to embracing technology and AI (a bit).
We still don’t use AI to write our content, can you tell? Does it matter? It does to me.
Guy
It all begins with a conversation, so contact us by emailing design@architecturalplants.com or complete the design form on our Garden Design page for a chat about how we can help you or arrange a Visit to Our Nursery for further inspiration and a consultation with one of our team.
