AI Architecture: How Architects Are Designing the Future with Digital Twins

That's not really the right time, I would say. It was spelled. It was now or never. Finding clients.

Francesco Selby and Mattia Santi are the co-founders of Sassi Studio, an architecture and design firm. We are a very multidisciplinary company. We work with all latest technologies. Digital twins are a virtual replica of a physical asset.

We really hope that our project can have a positive impact on society, communities and cities here. Hi, everyone. Today's guests are reshipping architecture with algorithms, AI, and aesthetics. Francesca Silvi and Mattia Santee are the co-founders of Sassy Studio, an architecture and design firm bringing together cutting-edge technology and human-centered design.

From award-winning museum proposals to smart residential buildings wired with prop tech and digital twins, their work spans London, Dubai, the U.S., and guess what? Now expanding into China and India.

In this episode, we talk about building at the intersection of art and algorithms, the cultural pressure on design, and how to scale a creative business in a noisy world. Welcome both, Francesca and Mathieu. Welcome. Thank you, Osamak.

Thank you, Osamak. Thank you. Let's start off. You know, you both left high-profile roles to launch Sassy Studio in 2020.

Why then? I think it was just the right time. I mean, there's never really a right time, I would say. When you launch a business, after many years of experiences, we just felt it was now or never.

So then we jumped into it and then we started setting up the business. I would say that we had a lot of years of experience working on a lot of projects internationally, working all the stages from concept until construction stages. So we had a kind of broad experience. And then we felt that was the right time for us to start our own practice.

Got it. And it's scary. So what's been the biggest surprise since you all went independent, right? Away from the setups you all had working before?

Finding clients. Tell me more. How did you acquire your first client? I think it was a personal introduction.

Word of mouth was very, very exciting. You know, like it was a residential project. Also working for previous firms, we have been sometimes interfacing with clients. But when everything is new, of course, like you feel much more pressure.

It's also interesting because you get to learn a lot about the clients. You know, like you really need to understand their lifestyle, their needs, and you need to use your skills to do something that is going to affect their life in the long term. And I think it's one of the most beautiful parts of our work, right? I love it.

First of all, I want to ask you, how do you explain what Sassy Studio actually does? We're a very multidisciplinary company. Our expertise spans across different sectors, ranging from residential, commercial, mixed use, cultural projects. Infrastructure projects are also our previous experience and something we'd like to do in the future as well.

So it a very broad range of programs I would say as well as cultural contexts where we work on As you mentioned we are working in different countries so we try to embed the culture and local culture in each project that we do so every project is very unique and specific. You work obviously at the edge of architecture and prop tech. How do you balance beauty and functionality and also the culture part of it? We don't approach form as just a superimposition.

We approach form as a result of a dialogue about multiple needs. So we see the project as a multi-objective optimization problem. So we try always to take in account all the boundary conditions and we explore different design solutions that help the client to achieve a certain result and have a certain aesthetic. So we have a design language that adapts to the cultural context, to the environment, to the local condition.

And we never start with an idea, okay, this is the project, I need to do this. The design emerged from the iterative work with the client, the iterative work with the consultant, and the iterative work with the environment and the context. Got it. And what's your USP in all this, your unique selling point?

Technology is an important part of what we do. We work with all latest technologies, and we have a team of people that are all knowledgeable about all the latest softwares as well as us. So we can propose future-proof design, taking advantage of all latest trends, in technology. For us, we're not like the standard architect pen and paper.

We have those skills, we know how to do that, but that's, let's say, we take advantage of our latest tools, especially now, virtual reality, augmented reality, beam, AI, we embed all of this in our process. We, as a person, are an important part of the unique selling point. You know, a chef is going to prepare a recipe, and this recipe maybe is common to everyone, then the chef puts his own character in that recipe. And this is what makes that plate unique.

As architects, we have a strong artistic component in our work. And I believe that the combination of technologies, Francesca was saying, plus the combination of our experience, but also our personal sensibility, our artistic touch on the project, gives a unique product to the client that probably would be different from what another architect will do. And you spoke about AI, and I'm keen because AI seems to be the hot and trending topic nowadays. So how does AI play in your designs today?

Another important point of AI for us is research, because we treat AI like a laboratory, okay? Like a very expensive laboratory in which you could test how your material could bend into certain geometries and how material could look like if you apply in a certain way. Clearly, this current stage of AI, you cannot embed a lot of physics behavior. We do that using simulation algorithm, and then we combine that with AI.

But let say in the first instance we use it to experiment and do combination of material and forms that then we can simulate with algorithmic tools to see if the physical once you add physics constraints once you add material behavior what we been experimenting with AI actually follows what we manage to visualize through AI. But let's say for us it's a research tool. And what's your top AI go-to tool that you use? We use Me Journey a lot.

We work here of course also with ChatGPT. We work a lot with ConfiUI as well, because it allows us to have this algorithmic approach to AI, in which we have an additional level of control. Talk to me about the next thing I want to speak about. What are digital twins, and how will they transform real estate?

So digital twins are, let's say, a virtual replica of a physical asset that exchange in real-time data with a physical asset. So they've been widely applied in history, like, you know, Apollo 13 was probably one of the first example of application of digital twins. But digital twins have the possibility to go one step forward. So not only to send information in one direction, but actually to have data that go in two directions.

So architects and, let's say, clients can actually monitor the building after it's completed. And a building can start to speak. building can start to share data about their performance. And, you know, if properly designed, properly integrated with the building automation system, it can allow also to adjust the real time certain parameters that control the behavior of the building to improve the performance and especially, let's say, improve the energy consumption and also pass from like a responsive maintenance to a predictive maintenance.

So you're going to be able to understand when, for example, like a component is going to fail in the near time, preventing resolving the issue before it happens. And therefore, like avoiding expensive costs that are associated when a system in a building fails and, you know, can create damages to some parts of the building or can create a disease to the user of the building. Digital twins have this power of bringing tech into real estate, embed the tech into real estate, and can be a game changer in the way we manage the building, for sure.

And they are also becoming necessary because of a lot of regulations that are coming in effect, especially in the UK. But also there are several regulations coming in place that require the monitoring and demonstrating certain performance of the building. and digital twins are the natural answer to it. I think this is an amazing application even at the K-Home side, on the healthcare sector side too.

Absolutely. One of our unique selling points is that we are always creating assets that are innovative, unique and push boundary of, you know, the state of the art of architecture. Trust is given to you just because of your previous experience. Like every project you need to start from scratch.

Every project clients need to understand that you are really there You really care about the project you really care about them and you really care about the local culture Because a client is going to be your first interface but then the project is going to stay there with the local community So trust is not only about between you and the client, but it's also the client that needs to believe in you and needs to know that what you build will be also for the local community. So I think trust is something you build step by step.

Let's talk about your business, right? What was the hardest part from going from zero to 1 million? What was that? What is the hardest part through that journey?

Yeah, I think getting, obviously, a pipeline, you know, of clients that allow you to expand more and more. It's a balance between, you know, having a team that is obviously efficient and, you know, proportional to the client pool you have. So if you're planning like we are to expand as a business and don't remain just, you know, a local atelier. These, you know, help you maybe winning larger projects.

And then from there, you know, you can scale up more quickly. And what's kind of the one book you will ask you recommend in a podcast or anything that you recommend founders starting off, architects who are starting off in this journey of this, starting off at zero? From a cultural point of view, I would say from finding from Freiotto, but this is from a pure design point of view, to really shift from this sort of superimposing shape to pass to a process in which the form emerged from the research process.

And from a business point of view, I think zero to one. So the suggestion is to really adopt this approach of focusing on one thing. So having like, let's say this sort of larger company with a multi-specialized team. I think, you know, like, the ideal scenario would be to grow like in size, like a corporate, but design as an atelier.

So, you know, always maintain the sensibility toward craftsmanship, toward, let's say, artistic approach, creative problem solving. And what would you want Stassi to be remembered for? What would you all want to be remembered for? I mean, our aim is to design projects that are future-proof.

So they will obviously be iconic for a very long term, because obviously once you develop a project, you go through a very long process. The whole design process is very long. Construction process is also very long. So after many years of investing, mind, knowledge and expertise in a project, we like, I think, our projects to be landmarks over time.

Yeah, we would definitely like to have our company be remembered for good landmarks that, make people feel architecture as an important part of society, as an important contribution to the public realm. We hope that we will have several projects built around the world. So we really hope that our project can have a positive impact on society, communities, and cities. And the environment, of course, because that's the most important thing.

Love it. Francesca, thank you so much. Matteo, thank you so much for coming on to this show. That's a wrap for today.

Thank you. Thank you, Zaymak. Thank you, Zaymak. Thank you, it was a pleasure.