When Tree Types Matter: AI-Assisted Joint Design for Diverse Wood Species
This project focuses on often overlooked tree types and sheds light on how they can inform furniture design using AI-powered optimization.
art-ai-fact
An initiative curating, funding, and exhibiting creative design projects with an AI element to them, contributing to the development of the field at Aalto ARTS and beyond.
Creative projects with AI contribution
This three-year initiative produces creative outputs in fields related to design, especially including a physical component. The initiative curates, funds, and coordinates projects, which aim for relevant public presentation. A related research publication is not obligatory, but preferred. Of the resulting works of practice and art, a hybrid physical/digital exhibition will collect and celebrate the outcome, in second half of 2027. The work is expected to feed to the development of computational co-creativity at Aalto Arts.
"Original and appropriate"
Creativity requires a level of originality or novelty, as well as approriateness or relevance. Physical world constraints and requirements, and humans operating there, pose different fitness criteria for creative output than that expected from immaterial creative outputs. Many designers operate where material and digital meet. As Aalto ARTS has been in the forefront combining digital and physical into creative solutions, the potential of AI to human creativity is a field we want to contribute on, and learn from.
Design, art, research
Apart from a call for project proposals for designers and artists who want to realize and publish such, we invite researchers of computational creativity to contribute and collaborate with the project owners.
Objectives
The longer term objectives include:
* Establish a research and design agenda of the applications of AI in the field of physical artefact design
* Develop recognition in the field, liaising with other relevant AI activities at Aalto and outside of it
* Support design teaching with research and practice-based outputs
* Secure funding for the future
Coordination and steering
A steering group from ARTS oversees the initiative:
- Severi Uusitalo (Project coordinator, Dept. of Design)) (Contact person)
- Tuuli Mattelmäki (Prof. Dept. of Design)
- Pia Fricker (Assoc. Prof, Dept. of Architecture)
Funding
The initiative is made possible by a donation from Fiskars Group.
Aalto ARTS exhibiting AI-inspired designs at Dutch Design Week 2026
Aalto University’s School of Arts, Design and Architecture returns to Dutch Design Week with ‘art-ai-fact’, an exhibition featuring multiple AI-inspired designs.
On-going projects in art-ai-fact
Art-ai-fact -funded projects. The projects are being presented on 17-25.10.2026 at Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven: https://site.ddw.nl/en/programme/16685/art-ai-fact
Textile Design meets AI
Textile Design meets AI project investigates the potential of computational design systems, including artificial intelligence in the design of seamless knits. It focuses on generating innovative forms and textures and their combinations.
CRAFT BOT: Physical Prototyping Through Large Language Models
Craft Bot is a hands-on research project exploring how large language models can contribute to real-world architectural design, exhibiting tangible output.
SketchFold - Steel Origami from pen sketch
Design method enabling intuitive sketching as production guidance for origami-type steel forms.
LUCID: Visual inspiration to editable geometry and artefacts
Explorations of meaningful human-AI workflows from visual inspiration to physical outcome.