SOM Uses AI to Design West Bund Convention Centre in Shanghai's AI Valley

Global architecture studio SOM has used AI tools to inform its geometric design for the West Bund Convention Centre, which has risen beside the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China.

The recently completed convention centre sits within Shanghai's West Bund AI Valley – an emerging district for China's artificial intelligence sector – and is a neighbour to the AI Tower and Plaza sky.

The building's diamond-like facade features a complex geometric pattern that was informed by AI algorithms, creating a design that references traditional Chinese lattice screens while optimizing structural efficiency.

SOM's use of AI in the design process represents a growing trend in architecture where computational tools are used to generate and optimize complex geometries that would be difficult to achieve through traditional methods.