Will human architects soon be out of a job? According to Jason Ballard, founder and CEO of Icon, the main purpose of AI is to free humans from tedious tasks such as bureaucracy. Architects could also benefit directly from the software by submitting their own designs to the company’s CodeX catalogue of programmes, in return for one percent of the construction cost of each house built to their design:
Every time we build one of your designs, we will send you a check so that people have access to good architecture again without paying $30,000, $60,000, $100,000 or $200,000.
– Jason Ballard
Icon’s CodeX launches with over 60 home designs from star architects such as the Bjarke Ingels Group, ranging from under $99,000 to well over $1 million. But things get complicated when it comes to the environment – conventional concrete is a climate killer – an estimated 8 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions come from concrete production. Concrete is a mixture of cement, water, sand, gravel or lime chippings and various additives. Sand and gravel in particular are becoming increasingly scarce resources worldwide.
Icon currently uses a patented concrete mix called Lavacret, which is applied in layers and has a significantly higher carbon footprint than wood-framed alternatives. However, the company has recently introduced a low-carbon concrete formulation called CarbonX, which is claimed to reduce the emissions of a house by 2-6% compared to a timber-framed building. Hopefully this is a much more climate-friendly solution and not just greenwashing.
