How Will Architectural Engineering Be Impacted by AI? We Asked an Expert Faculty Member in the Field

Is architectural engineering safe from AI?

If you're just skimming, here's what you need to know: AI isn't replacing architectural engineers anytime soon.

While it will change how engineers work and help automate repetitive tasks, architectural engineers will continue to be responsible for the creativity, judgment, and decision-making needed to design buildings that serve people well.

Read on to learn how Professor Kevin Houser believes AI will influence the field and what changes are already underway.

Kevin Houser, associate professor of architectural engineering

Kevin Houser is a professor in the School of Civil and Construction Engineering at OSU. Houser is an expert in lighting and human factors at OSU, where he holds a joint appointment as Chief Engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

He is co-founder of Lyralux, Inc., and former editor-in-chief of LEUKOS, the journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society. His work focuses on human perceptual and biological responses to light and applications of light within the built environment.

Houser's teaching spans graduate courses on research methods, color science, and light sources, as well as undergraduate courses in lighting design and daylighting.

How will AI change architectural engineering?

Question:

Many prospective students worry that artificial intelligence could replace engineering jobs. In your field, how do you see AI changing the role of engineers over the next 10 to 20 years?

Answer:

I’d be a fool to claim to predict what any profession will look like 10 or 20 years from now. But I do not see AI as a replacement for architectural engineers. I see it less as an independent intelligence than as a technology for extending human capability and creativity. The fundamental principles of architecture and engineering are unlikely to change, but the ways we apply them will.

AI could help us design buildings with smaller environmental footprints and better outcomes for human health, well-being, and quality of life. We already use AI in architectural engineering education at Oregon State, preparing our graduates to help lead that transition.

What parts of architectural engineering remain uniquely human?

Question:

What aspects of your engineering discipline do you believe will always require human judgment, creativity or expertise, even as AI becomes more advanced?

Answer:

Buildings are fundamentally for people. The most important thing we put inside most buildings is human beings, so people must remain responsible for deciding what serves them well.

Architectural engineering also depends on open-ended problem solving and divergent thinking. AI may help engineers generate alternatives and expand the possibilities they can explore. But determining which problems matter, balancing competing priorities, and deciding what should ultimately be built will continue to require human creativity, judgment, expertise, and responsibility.

What opportunities will AI create for architectural engineers?

Question:

What exciting opportunities do you think AI will create for future engineers in your field?

Answer:

Architectural engineers currently spend substantial time on repetitive calculations, documentation, coordination, and other necessary but sometimes monotonous tasks.

AI-enabled tools and workflows should allow us to delegate portions of that work, freeing engineers to devote more time to higher-value activities such as creative problem solving, collaboration, design exploration, and decisions that directly affect people and the environment.

One of the most exciting near-term opportunities will be for architectural engineers not simply to use AI tools created by others, but to create new workflows that help reimagine professional practice.

What skills should future architectural engineers learn?

Question:

What skills should engineering students develop today to succeed in an AI-enabled future?

Answer:

Students should be open to AI while maintaining agency over their own learning. They will need curiosity, strong technical foundations, and the judgment to recognize when an AI-generated answer is useful, incomplete, or simply wrong.

AI should support human learning rather than replace it. Students who use it to ask better questions, explore more possibilities, and expand their own intellectual capabilities will be much better prepared than those who use it merely to avoid difficult thinking. AI should allow us to extend our intellect and individual gifts, not offload them.

Will AI reduce demand for architectural engineers?

Question:

Do you expect demand for engineers in your field to increase, decrease, or change significantly because of AI? Why?

Answer:

Again, I do not have a crystal ball, but I do not expect demand for architectural engineers to change substantially because of AI alone.

Our jobs will change as we learn to use AI more effectively, and I expect the quality of our work products to improve. That is the real promise of AI: allowing engineers to deploy their knowledge and skills more effectively and, as a result, create better buildings.

New career opportunities AI is creating

Question:

What new jobs or career paths do you think will emerge in your field because of AI?

Answer:

I expect less the creation of an entirely separate category of AI jobs than a broad evolution in how nearly all architectural engineers work.

Engineering has changed repeatedly as we moved from pencil and ink on linen and vellum to computer-aided drawing, and from hand calculations to calculators, software, and coding. AI follows that tradition of increasingly sophisticated tools that enable greater human ingenuity in solving engineering problems.

Some new specializations will undoubtedly emerge, but the larger change will be AI becoming integrated throughout architectural engineering practice.

Biggest misconceptions about AI and architectural engineering

Question:

What’s the biggest misconception students have about AI and your discipline?

Answer:

Perhaps the biggest misconception is that the implications of AI can be reduced to a simple question of whether it is good or bad, or whether it will replace people.

There are legitimate questions about ethical use, job displacement, reliability, and AI’s substantial energy footprint. I welcome those conversations, but they require nuance. AI is neither a universal solution nor something we should dismiss or fear reflexively. It is a powerful tool whose value will depend largely on how thoughtfully and responsibly people choose to use it.

Advice for students worried about AI

Question:

If a high school student told you they were interested in your discipline, but worried AI would make the degree less valuable, what would you tell them?

Answer:

The design, construction, operation, and maintenance of buildings will remain enduring human needs.

AI may change the tools we use and the ways we perform that work, but it will not eliminate the need to create safe, sustainable, functional, and humane built environments. An architectural engineering degree teaches students to understand physical systems, solve open-ended problems, and make responsible decisions affecting people and the planet.

Those capabilities will become more valuable, not less, in a world where powerful technologies are increasingly available.

Final takeaway

The world is changing because of AI. There's no doubt about that. But when it comes to architectural engineering, the future looks more like evolution than disruption.

AI will likely take on more calculations, documentation, coordination, and other repetitive tasks in the years ahead. Yet the responsibilities that define architectural engineering, creating environments that support people, balancing complex design decisions, and making responsible choices that affect communities and the planet, remain fundamentally human.

The future is promising for engineers who pair strong technical expertise with the ability to use AI thoughtfully and responsibly. For students considering a career in architectural engineering, that's good news. The field isn't becoming obsolete. It's becoming more powerful, more efficient, and full of new opportunities for those ready to embrace change.