L'agenceur Magazine n°84

Creating in the Age of
Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant projection. It is now making its way into agencies, onto workstations, and into the very heart of design processes. In just a few months, it has established itself as a tool capable of generating images, producing renderings, sketching plans, and even proposing design concepts. A rapid, almost brutal evolution that directly challenges the fields of space planning and interior architecture. The figures illustrate the scale of the phenomenon: according to a recent study by Coface and the Observatory of Threatened and Emerging Jobs, up to 5 million jobs could be affected in France. Even more striking, this transformation primarily impacts skilled professions: nearly 27% of tasks in architecture and engineering could potentially be automated. Whereas previous technological revolutions mainly transformed repetitive tasks, AI is now targeting functions that were once considered deeply human: designing, drawing, imagining.

In practice, the transformation is already underway. Some firms are experimenting with these tools to accelerate the sketching phase, test variations, and produce visuals in just a few minutes. AI is becoming an accelerator, a generator of options, and sometimes even a catalyst for ideas. It saves time on time-consuming tasks, broadens the range of possibilities, and enriches reflection in the early stages of a project. But this growing influence also raises deeper questions. If an image can be generated in a matter of seconds, what becomes of the value of craftsmanship? If a plan can be automated, where does expertise lie? And above all, if everything becomes possible, how do we continue making choices? This is perhaps where the true dividing line emerges. AI excels at production, variation, and optimization. It compiles, combines, extrapolates… But it does not contextualize. It does not feel a place, understand a use, or grasp the implicit constraints of a project or the uniqueness of a client. It replaces neither intuition, nor experience, nor the ability to make judgments.

For space planners and interior architects, the challenge is therefore not so much to resist as to reposition their role. As certain tasks become automated, the profession seems to be shifting toward more strategic dimensions: creative direction, project storytelling, a nuanced understanding of uses, and client guidance. These are all skills that are difficult to replicate because they are profoundly human. Then comes the question of creativity. Is AI in the process of standardizing it by relying on existing databases? Or, on the contrary, can it become a tool for exploration, capable of opening up new possibilities? It is likely a bit of both. Everything depends on how it is used: as a substitute or as a partner.

In this context, new skills are emerging. Knowing how to formulate an intention, guide a generation process, sort, select, and refine. Learning how to interact with the machine without losing one’s own voice. But more broadly, it also means strengthening what gives value to the profession: a culture of design, analytical ability, and sensitivity to spaces. Recent history has shown that every technological evolution reshapes professional practices, and artificial intelligence is no exception. What makes it different, however, is the speed of adaptation it demands, while raising an almost fundamental question: what do we want to delegate, and what do we want to continue embodying?

Brice Alexandre Roboam