08/09/2026
A little experiment with my Bellevue Hill House project.
I started by hand sketching the original architectural render by TF Architects, interpreting the architecture through my own linework and drawing style. From there, I became curious about what AI could bring to the process, using my hand sketch as the foundation.
What I didn’t expect was how time consuming and at times frustrating, SOOO FRUSTRATING the process would be. Developing a style I was happy with was one thing, but trying to communicate very specific architectural details and asking AI to change only one element without altering something else became an exercise in itself.
There was a lot of back and forth. A lot of “no, not that bit!” And probably far more time spent refining it than I anticipated.
But that was also what made the experiment interesting. It reinforced how much intention sits behind the details of a design, and how important the designer’s eye still is in directing, editing and knowing when something isn’t quite right.
I’m still exploring where AI might fit within my creative process, but I loved seeing where a hand sketch of a project I’ve spent so much time designing could be taken even if getting there wasn’t quite as effortless as AI can sometimes make it appear. Hey the architectural sketch is not perfect by any means, some detail I couldn't nail and gave up on punching instructions to a chatbot. I still prefer the looseness of my own hand drawn sketch and certainly won't stop my enjoyment of putting pencil to paper but thought why not share the experiment. (Swipe Left to my hand drawn sketch.)
