Artificial intelligence in design, broadly speaking interiors and architecture, is transforming how creative studios work, though not always in the ways people might imagine. Across the Middle East, architects and interior designers are finding practical, often restrained, ways to integrate new technologies into their creative processes. For some, AI has become a rapid ideation partner; for others, it remains a cautious experiment in efficiency and research.
ChatGPT has already proven itself a friend, not a foe, for interior designers, at least for those who know the prompts that work. And while AI might now be recommending lighting layouts or rethinking living rooms, it is also becoming an unexpected ally in the professional studio. Used well, it is less about replacing human creativity and more about refining it.
Some believe it is not your enemy at all, as explored in our pieces on utilising AI to renovate homes and gardens. Across the Gulf, where governments and design economies continue to prioritise innovation and digital investment, studios are learning to navigate AI’s potential with equal measures of curiosity and scepticism. From streamlining workflows to testing ideas faster, these are the ways real studios are engaging with AI today.
“At Astet Studio, we view AI as a tool to make our design process more agile and to help us visualise ideas more quickly and clearly,” say founders Oscar Engroba and Ala Zreigat. “It is particularly useful in the early concept stages, allowing us to explore and refine options rapidly while keeping creativity and craft firmly at the core.”
One of the biggest changes, they note, has been in client communication. “Early on, some were sceptical because they thought our AI visuals came from other projects. Once we explained that they were created specifically for their brief, the reaction completely changed. Presentations felt more dynamic, and conversations more focused.”
Their advice to others: “Treat AI as an extension of your toolkit, not a replacement for human vision. Transparency builds trust. Used thoughtfully, it can streamline workflows, enhance communication and make the early stages of a project more fluid without ever compromising the integrity of the design.”
About a year ago, Roar partnered with a Chicago-based tech firm to train a language model to “space-plan like Roar.” Pallavi Dean recalls, “We fed it fifteen years of project data, plans, sketches, even competition entries we did not win, to see if it could understand how we balance openness with privacy, flow and adjacencies. The results were fascinating but not perfect. AI could replicate patterns but not intuition. It did not understand why a line of sight matters or how light changes the feel of a room. Human spatial thinking still wins.”
Roar continues to use AI tools throughout its workflow. “We use Sora and Lumion to bring our designs to life through fast, realistic video animations that clients love,” says Dean. “Midjourney and DALL·E 3 help us generate early concept imagery that becomes the foundation for the final design. ChatGPT has also become part of the process, especially in refining communication and tone, helping us respond to clients with greater clarity and empathy.”
“AI helps us think faster, not design for us,” she adds. “Clients appreciate the speed and flexibility it brings, but the final presentations are always human-rendered. AI is great, but human-generated visuals are next level.”
Fadi Sarieddine is among the more outspoken critics of AI’s creative potential. “When used creatively, AI is essentially performing a form of masked plagiarism by scanning precedents and generating variants,” he says. “I strongly believe in human creative input. It is more authentic, personal and real. By definition, AI is artificial, and no matter how advanced it becomes, it will always lack real understanding.”
Still, his team has found practical value in using AI for factual research and technical checks. “We use it to gather information about people’s habits and for efficiency verification, such as checking parking layouts. It is a support tool, not a source of inspiration. I look forward to the time when AI complements creativity technically through better planning, coordination and research rather than trying to replace it.”
“In Dubai’s fast-paced environment, clients expect quick responses,” says Omar Al Gurg. “When we need to create a proposal quickly, we use AI to build an initial framework. It gives us a base we can refine, but never something we copy and paste. We always analyse, edit and fact-check.”
For Modu Method, AI’s role is strictly functional. “We mostly use ChatGPT. It is effective for text and structure, but everything still goes through a human lens. There has to be human judgment. We cannot rely on AI for the creative side, but it is a useful starting point.”
“At Boo Boo, we use AI as a facilitator,” says Joe Bou Abboud. “It helps us with research, gathering information and polishing visuals, but we do not rely on it for creative thinking. It still lacks emotional depth and human sensitivity, which are central to our work.”
The studio uses ChatGPT and Google AI for research and concept refinement, and Adobe’s AI integrations to enhance imagery and renders. “It is mostly behind the scenes,” Bou Abboud explains. “These tools help us gather references faster and fine-tune visuals so our presentations feel cohesive. AI supports the work, but it is not driving it.”
He laughs when describing AI’s current status in the studio. “Think of it as our intern: eager, helpful, but not part of the creative team yet. Maybe we will promote it one day, but for now, it is assisting from the sidelines.”
For Agata Kurzela, AI’s role is “auxiliary, not definitive.” Her studio uses sandboxed, project-specific tools such as Google’s Notebook LM for document cross-checking and technical verification. “It can halve the time we spend reviewing, but understanding still comes from reading and deciding what matters.”
On the conceptual side, Kurzela experiments with storytelling imagery. “For a cigar-bar project, we wanted moody, smoke-like sketches that expressed density and air. The immediacy of AI imagery can be seductive, but you must guide it with clear intent. When directed carefully, it becomes a compelling way to express design intent, our intent.”
Her team also uses Midjourney to explore atmospheres and materials. “We combine hand sketches, collages and text prompts to test surfaces, textures and patterns before they become tangible,” she explains. “These studies help us capture an idea’s emotional tone before it turns into something physical.” Ultimately, she says, “Real buildings depend on craft, coordination and experience. AI can assist, but it does not define what we do.”
For Tunis-based designer Yasmin Altin, AI has become a quiet but consistent part of her studio’s daily operations. “In everyday life, this covers a wide range of tasks,” she explains. “From partnership requests to logistics, AI helps us anticipate steps and answer technical questions. Even when we still need expert advice, it allows us to identify what to ask, who to contact and how to formulate our request.”
AI has also supported Altin Studio’s exploration of traditional craftsmanship. “We had wanted to apply colour to our pottery for a long time using the tempera technique, which mixes pigment with egg yolk,” she says. “It is one of the oldest methods, giving colours a deep, lasting quality. AI helped us find and adapt a precise process suited to our materials. It saved us time by providing clear steps for our experiments, which we could then refine by hand.”
Her curiosity extends to AI’s visual possibilities. “We are interested in applications that allow us to generate images of our creations in different contexts,” Altin notes. “It helps us promote our work, imagine it in settings we might not access through a traditional photo shoot, and add new layers of interpretation. For us, contextualising an object is a creative act in itself.”
While Altin describes her studio as “low-tech,” she acknowledges AI’s growing role as a practical companion. “It saves us time on writing, logistics and research,” she says. “But creation remains a dialogue with the world outside ourselves. A philosophy podcast recently reminded me that a conversation with AI is not a dialogue with the Other but a reflection of our own data and inputs. True creativity still comes from contact, intuition and exchange, from stepping outside oneself.”
A Future of Balance
Across the region, AI’s impact on design is defined less by revolution than by refinement. It is speeding up the practical parts of studio life, such as research, visualisation and communication, while leaving the essence of design firmly in human hands. Whether seen as a promising collaborator or a questionable mimic, one thing is clear. Middle Eastern studios are finding their own rhythm with artificial intelligence in design, grounded in craft, culture and curiosity.
