Exploring possibilities and limits of ChatGPT: Usage in building design studies

The architectural design of buildings is a complex and detailed process requiring collaboration with various disciplines. With technological development, digital tools have been stated to enhance content creation and analysis, thereby improving project feasibility and optimization. ChatGPT, one of the important Artificial Intelligence technologies, has the potential to assist tasks ranging from simple analysis to complex processes. Despite its extensive use in different fields, such as education, health, and marketing, application and capabilities in architectural design remain largely unexplored. This study investigates the integration of ChatGPT into architectural project workflows, focusing on its potential to support analysis and content creation. A semi-structured interview was defined to test ChatGPT's possibilities and limits during the design stage of a building project. The interview involved preparing project files of a case study and evaluating ChatGPT's ability to analyze data and generate new insights. The findings highlight ChatGPT's strengths in comparison and content analysis while identifying its limitations, such as difficulties reading certain file formats and providing overly general critiques. The study concludes that while ChatGPT shows promise in enhancing architectural workflows, understanding its capabilities and limitations is essential for future research and practical application.