Architect Piers Taylor on what AI means for the architecture profession

Piers Taylor, founder of Invisible Studio, convenor of Studio in the Woods and familiar from BBC shows such as The House that £100k Built, has written an opinion piece for Dezeen about AI. His argument is that architects anxious about machines that can draw, generate options and take on technical production shouldn't retreat into guarding their territory. If AI can do most of what we think an architect does, he suggests, perhaps the profession has defined itself too narrowly.

He is sharp on the culture of the hero architect, trained to imagine themselves as "mini Corbusiers" and to dress up a back extension as if it were Ronchamp, and on the old bargain that trades low pay, long hours and unpaid competitions for recognition. Faster, cheaper production, he warns, will only push fees and salaries down further if nothing else changes.

Instead he proposes the architect as host rather than author: someone who walks into an unresolved situation, works out what the problem really is, connects other people's knowledge and knows when to stay quiet. He would like fees to cover diagnosis and briefing, real community work, testing at full scale, post-occupancy visits and long-term stewardship. His small proof is Studio in the Woods, running for 20 years, where experts and non-experts design and build timber structures together.

A thoughtful read for anyone in or around the profession; nothing to visit, but plenty to chew on.

Our summary of a story from Dezeen, published 29 October 2026. Read the original

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