One of our industry partners, David Thorson of Nordic Sound, gave the presentation “Introduction to Microgrids,” which introduced us to the main components and functionality of a microgrid. His presentation reviewed the critical data required to initiate a microgrid design and identified the value of microgrids in our evolving energy landscape. Greg Lindsay was our final speaker on Friday, presenting “Exploring Generative AI in Architecture.” His talk was sponsored by the Wyoming State Board of Architects and Landscape Architects and was open to the public. Greg gave us an overview of how AI was developed and furthermore exploded in development in recent years. The content of Greg’s presentation came from the January 2024 report he co-authored titled “The Future of Generative AI in Architecture, Design and Engineering.” His presentation included the following topics: advances in AI from leading technology companies and their applicability to the architecture/engineering/construction field, using human knowledge and expertise to go beyond a generic AI, digital twins of people and firms such as the Serpentine Galleries’ AI digital twin of curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, Palazzo — an AI interior design tool co-founded by Venus Williams, Test Fit — a program that allows users to test different building layouts on a site, UrbanistAI in Finland — which facilitates AI in community engagement design for group collaboration, MRO.AIR — an artificial intelligent reality that works like an digital aura to help mechanics during maintenance and repair, using AI to evaluate RFPs to find the right architect for the job, and how generative AI can extract latent value from firms’ IP. The outcome of the presentation was a new understanding of how AI technology is impacting how we design our built environment. Saturday morning brought some light snow as we toured two projects. First, Chet Lockard, AIA, and Dave Kuhn of WyoTech led the tour of the WyoTech classroom additions. The tour took a route through the existing automotive tech school’s facility and then through the new 94,000-square-foot addition of shop labs, classrooms and administrative offices. Our final tour was the West Stadium remodel at War Memorial Stadium, led by Dale Buckingham, AIA, and Andy Sandoval of GE Johnson. This was a unique opportunity for our members to tour the stadium while under construction. The tour included information on structural considerations of the renovation, code considerations, and a CMAR delivery method. Unique aspects of this project included conformance with UW design standards, NCAA Division 1/ Mountain West Conference requirements, space constraints, and fan security and amenities. We want to thank our conference sponsors and exhibitors: ASSA ABLOY, Atlas Roofing Company, Dembergh Construction, Foster Architectural Products, IMEG, J+J Flooring, Nordic Sound, Omega II Fence Systems, Prairie Pella Wyoming, Powers Products Co., Sampson Construction, Siplast, Syverson Tile & Stone, Tremco/ Nudura/Dryvit, Wasatch Architectural Solutions, and West Plains Engineering. 24 WYOMING ARCHITECTURE .24 | www.aia-wyoming.org
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