Chun-Chiao Wu's research demonstrates how AI becomes a poetic co-designer in heritage regeneration.

A childhood chapel sits in silence, and designer Chun-Chiao Wu transforms that stillness into creative material. Wu's peer-reviewed research, titled Realm of Floating Silence, presents a documented methodology for AI-human collaboration in architectural regeneration that design studios and architecture firms can study and adapt. The work centers on a specific site in Taiwan: a chapel that once held community gatherings and rituals before population shifts left the building empty. What makes the research valuable for organizations is its systematic approach to combining analog methods with generative AI tools. Wu's hybrid workflow proceeds through distinct phases: field observation and emotional mapping, hand-drawn sketching, iterative prompt engineering with Stable Diffusion and ControlNet, physical modeling, and public exhibition. Each phase maintains clear human creative direction while leveraging algorithmic capacity for atmospheric exploration.

The methodology positions AI-generated images as conceptual collaborators that extend the poetic qualities of memory. Wu describes the process as recomposing memory, material, and atmosphere through human-machine dialogue. Design studios seeking to incorporate AI tools while maintaining creative authorship will find the framework particularly instructive. The research employs three analytical lenses: emotional (what the space meant to its users), spatial (physical configuration and proportions), and ecological (how natural processes have begun reclaiming the structure). The Taiwan International Interior Design Expo presentation generated strong public resonance, validating the approach's capacity to produce meaningful spatial narratives. For creative agencies developing heritage or memory-laden projects, the documented workflow offers replicable structure while remaining open to site-specific qualities. Cultural institutions and architecture programs can access the full research through open-access publication at ACDROI.

Wu's research reframes what AI collaboration can become in architectural practice. Memory, silence, and decay become creative materials when approached through systematic methodology. For organizations managing abandoned sites or developing culturally significant projects, the hybrid workflow demonstrates that technology serves human creativity most powerfully when positioned as a generative partner alongside human vision and direction.