Bringing AI into the heart of public building design with ArchSD in Hong Kong

We are proud to continue our work with the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD) of the HKSAR Government, which has awarded us two new AI-enabled engineering commissions that extend artificial intelligence deeper into the design and delivery of Hong Kong’s public buildings.

Building on our existing consultancy to develop an AI-powered platform for sustainable and regulatory-compliant building architectural design, these two further appointments take AI into structural and foundation engineering. Together they support ArchSD’s ambition to embed AI across the building lifecycle, creating a more integrated, efficient and future-ready approach to delivering public projects for Hong Kong.

The two new platforms bring agentic AI to some of the most demanding aspects of building design, automating and optimising key engineering workflows. The first, an AI design and optimisation platform for long-span structures, helps engineers rapidly explore design options, evaluate performance and make better-informed decisions on complex structures. The second, an AI design and optimisation platform for piled foundation design, streamlines the design process to improve efficiency, consistency and quality while reducing repetitive manual effort. Both bring together multi-agent collaboration, agentic AI workflow orchestration, chatbot interfaces, robotic process automation and data analytics, giving ArchSD a scalable way to accelerate optimisation and achieve more consistent engineering outcomes.

The two platforms extend the integrated, AI-powered design platform we are already developing for ArchSD, which draws on Hong Kong open data, architectural optioneering, regulatory compliance checking, performance evaluation and energy prediction within a multi-agent environment, moving ArchSD closer to a ‘prompt-to-design’ future.

What makes this partnership valuable is the way deep digital and AI capability is combined with holistic engineering and design expertise. Rather than applying AI as a standalone technology, we embed it directly within engineering and design workflows, helping practitioners explore more options, make better-informed decisions and focus their judgement where it delivers the greatest value.

These commissions reflect the growing confidence in AI-enabled engineering as a way to deliver smarter, greener and more efficient public infrastructure. Working together, ArchSD and Arup are helping establish a scalable model for the future of AI-powered building design in Hong Kong, and creating lasting value for the city and its communities.