Monday, 23.03.2026, 15:15 via Zoom
Designing for a Post-AI Discipline: Agency, Orchestration, and Performative AI in Architecture
This lecture advances a repositioning of artificial intelligence in architecture, reframing AI not as a representational instrument but as a co-creative epistemic partner capable of mediating between human intention, performance, and spatial design intelligence. Within the emerging paradigm of agentic AI and design intelligence, the presentation demonstrates Dr. Yousif’s recent work, in which networks of fine-tuned diffusion models, LLM systems, and performance-driven models are integrated to operate as distributed agents embedded within the architectural design workflow, challenging conventional notions of authorship, agency, and disciplinary knowledge in architectural practice.
Shermeen Yousif, Ph.D., has recently been appointed as a Presidential Hire, a 100-RISE academic position, serving as Associate Professor and Director of the Performative AI lab at the School of Architecture, University of Texas Arlington, beginning August 2025. The performative AI lab investigates the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the design of spatial systems, emphasizing performance-driven methodologies that respond to ecological and experiential parameters. Bridging computation with architectural intelligence, the lab explores how AI can mediate form, behavior, and adaptation within dynamic built environments.
Before that, she was the director of Environmental Design and Natural Materials (EDNM) lab at the School of Architecture, Florida Atlantic University. Her interdisciplinary research sits at the confluence of artificial intelligence, advanced computational design methods, and performance-based design systems. Shermeen is also the founder and director of Deep-Ecology Design Studio, a research-driven practice dedicated to exploring innovative architectural projects. The studio integrates generative AI methodologies with environmental performance simulations to develop Net-Zero building designs and achieve resilience and decarbonization in architecture.
Shermeen’s research contributions have resulted in the development of several computational methods and frameworks to augment generative design systems, including performance-driven systems. She has authored numerous double-blind peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and other scholarly outputs. Her work has garnered multiple awards and research grants, including the AIA Fort Lauderdale Award for Research (2024), the AIA Florida Award for Research (2022, 2024), the AIA Fort Lauderdale Educator of the Year Award (2023), and the FAU Broward Faculty of the Year Award (2024), among other distinctions.
Shermeen has been invited to speak at multiple national and international venues, such as Perkins Eastman, where she delivered a keynote lecture on AI and architecture during their Technology Marathon in 2023. As a featured speaker, she was invited to speak at multiple venues, including the Smart Cities MIAMI Conference in April 2024, the AutoRobo Expo 2024, and DigitalFutures (2020, 2021, 2022, 2024). More recently, Shermeen has been invited to be a keynote speaker for the Largest Global Meet on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (Robotics-2025) happening on July 24-26, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan. Additionally, Shermeen has actively contributed to and participated in international computational conferences, including ACADIA, CAAD-Futures, and CAADRIA, and has been actively serving on the ACADIA Board of Directors (2023-2025) and the ACADIA International Journal of Architectural Computing Editorial Board (2025-2027).