ARCH253 - FALL 2024 – DREAMSCAPE STUDENT NAME: SHIMANSH KOTHARI

THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI

Department of Architecture
Spring 2024
ARCH253
History and Theory of Architecture III
Dreamscapes Research and Competition

Dreamscape Research and Competition

ARCH253 - FALL 2024 – DREAMSCAPE STUDENT NAME: SHIMANSH KOTHARI
PINNACLES OF TOMORROW – FREI OTTO

#newdubaiskyline #tensilearchitecture #lightweight

The idea of the image was to create a vision of Dubai that interpreted Frei Otto’s inspiration directly to the heart
of the city. In the scene, buildings from the city’s skyline are visible, such as Burj Khalifa, but also other towers
from the Marina. The image features a dock on which people can be seen walking into the reinterpreted city.
This is based on elements directly from Frei Otto, beginning from tent-like structures that are highly emphasized
in the image, with hints of orange representing the sand dunes and desert-like area where the city rose from –
which is also visible in certain parts of the image as well. Although the image seems busy, there is a certain
lightness brought to it which comes from the inspiration of Otto himself. The water helps create a relfection of the
concept and this reflection brings the idea together, showing a sense of reality and completing the image.

Exploration of Midjourney Prompts

Dreamscape Research and Competition
ARCH253 - FALL 2024 – DREAMSCAPE STUDENT NAME: SHIMANSH KOTHARI
Please select at least 3 prompts:
The initial one, one through the process and the final.
Prompt 1:
Image:

Prompt: separated fragments, collage style fragmented, famous fragmented dubai buildings, lightweight,
modern, tensile architecture, arab inspiration deconstructed fragments from exterior buildings famous dubai
buildings inspired by harmony with nature, tent-like inspiration, pavillion tent structure, combined in one
central perspective, arab pattern tent like structure, dramatic light separated fragments white offset white
background --ar 1:2 --v 6.0 --s 250

Description: This was one of the first few images that was generated by Midjourney. The reason this image was
not selected for the final composition was due to a lack of clarity in the image. Although the image represents
some elements of Frei Otto, using tent-like and tensile architecture, I believed that a lack of color, being able to
tell that this would be the future of Dubai, and a lack of concept in general weakened the idea of this image.

Prompt 2:

Dreamscape Research and Competition

ARCH253 - FALL 2024 – DREAMSCAPE STUDENT NAME: SHIMANSH KOTHARI

Image:

Prompt: separated fragments, collage style fragmented, dubai buildings, arab pattern tent like structure,
lightweight, modern, tensile architecture, arab inspiration deconstructed fragments from exterior buildings
famous dubai buildings inspired by harmony with nature, tent-like inspiration, combined in one central
perspective dramatic light separated fragments white offset white background --ar 1:2 --v 6.0 --s 250

Description: Some key features of these 4 results were the yellowish-red sand dune like elements that
represented Dubai which came from the previous promptings. The top left image was remixed to achieve the
result, since there was a lack of understanding of whether the image was situated in Dubai.

Dreamscape Research and Competition

ARCH253 - FALL 2024 – DREAMSCAPE STUDENT NAME: SHIMANSH KOTHARI
Prompt 3:
Image:

Prompt: separated fragments, collage style fragmented, dubai buildings, arab pattern tent like structure,
lightweight, modern, tensile architecture, arab inspiration deconstructed fragments from exterior buildings
famous dubai buildings inspired by harmony with nature, tent-like inspiration, combined in one central
perspective dramatic light separated fragments white offset white background --ar 1:2 --v 6.0 --s 250

Description: Some key features of these 4 results were the yellowish-red sand dune like elements that
represented Dubai which came from the previous promptings. The top left image was remixed to achieve the
result, since there was a lack of understanding of whether the image was situated in Dubai.

Dreamscape Research and Competition

ARCH253 - FALL 2024 – DREAMSCAPE STUDENT NAME: SHIMANSH KOTHARI
Selection Process:

Explanation: Describe the thought process behind exploring multiple prompts in Midjourney. Explain how each
prompt influenced the creative direction of the artwork and contributed to the final composition. Emphasize
the importance of experimentation and iteration in generating impactful AI images.

The initial idea was to try and use a collage style which was fragmented. The reason for this was because I felt
that it would stand out better from the rest of the competition. In the first few prompts I decided to use
keywords such as collage style, fragmented, and lightweight. I wanted to use these words so that the image
would appear simple and still have a level of detail that would make you look at it twice, trying to understand
what is going on in the picture. Also, having different layers of detail in the pictures makes it much more
interesting to look at what I was trying to go for. Other keywords that I used which were inspired by Frei Otto
were tensile architecture, tent-like structures and embedded in nature. Almost all of Frei Otto’s designs were
following a similar idea of using tent-like structures which is what I was trying to aim for. In the first few
compositions, I was trying to use “Frei Otto” in my prompts however this did not result in anything that I could
have used for my composition. Then, I decided to learn and read about the architect and noticed the keywords
that I could use within my prompt. This resulted in images that were much better suited for the competition,
and I was happier with the result. The other problem was trying to fit in the Dubai futuristic aspect into my
composition. Many times, prompting keywords such as “Dubai skyline” and such terms only resulted in the Burj
Khalifa showing up. I realized that many of the other students’ composition had Burj Khalifa in the center which
is what I was trying to avoid. I decided I would rather have it in the background and it not be the centerpiece of
my image to bring out Frei Otto’s elements and inspiration into my image. I was able to do this in the second
image that I have shown where there are a lot of tensile architectural elements and at the same time there was
a lack of Dubai showing. The final composition represents Dubai in the background but at the same time has a
lot of elements that clearly depict Frei Otto’s architectural elements.

Dreamscape Research and Competition