DRAFT has launched a collaboration with HEROZ, Inc., provider of the unique HEROZ Kishin AI technology, on a project to develop an AI automated design service that will improve the efficiency of design work.

Interior and architectural design involves, along with design itself, a vast amount of drafting work such as floor plans, layout plans and interior elevation plans. Although this work is generally done on a PC using computer-aided design (CAD) tools, a reliance on manual drafting continues in a great many cases. Automation and DX are seen as challenges for the entire architectural design industry.
Against this backdrop, DRAFT seeks to improve the efficiency of design work involving 3D modelling, BIM and similar digital technologies.
With this end in mind, we have just partnered up with cutting-edge AI technology firm HEROZ, Inc. (referred to as “HEROZ” below) to develop an automated AI design service that will accelerate DX in construction design work.

The purpose of this initiative is to develop a system that can reverse the usual design process, in which solid images are created from floor plans, in order to generate two-dimensional drawings out of data extracted from 3D models while automating large amounts of interior elevation plan drafting and quantity surveying work. The goal here is not only to prevent human error and produce estimates more efficiently but also to eliminate hours spent on laborious routine office work, freeing up time for the pursuit of design quality, functional enhancement and other creative work instead.

In the initial phase, the DRAFT construction design team will trial the system as one of several measures aimed at streamlining design work, and, as the accuracy of the information plotted on drawings and the system’s usability continually improve, the team will verify the effectiveness of automated AI design. As we look to the future, our goals are to automate quantity surveying work and commercialize a system of great value to the entire construction industry, which employs in excess of some five million workers. Also, with a view to acquiring a market for interior design services estimated at around 12 trillion yen globally (CAGR around 4%) and around 850 billion yen in Japan alone, we are going to explore more closely the possibility of going into business together with our partner. Henceforth, we shall continue to drive DX in the entire construction design industry and add value to design through the synergy of DRAFT’s design quality and special expertise with HEROZ’s AI technology and development capabilities.