Abstract:

This study investigates the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a creative partner in undergraduate interior architecture education. It explores how AI-powered design tools can augment student creativity throughout the design studio process, encompassing concept generation, spatial organization, material exploration, and visualization, while encouraging awareness of authorship, originality, and the ethical use of these tools. Undergraduate interior architecture students integrated AI-assisted tools into their design studio projects. Activities included generating conceptual alternatives, testing spatial arrangements, developing visual narratives, and refining design proposals with the aid of AI. Data was gathered through project analyses, reflective journals, and structured peer critiques to assess how AI influenced creative exploration, design thinking, and student reflection. AI-supported workflows accelerated ideation, broadened conceptual exploration, and encouraged students to approach design problems from multiple perspectives. Students reported increased engagement and curiosity when using AI to visualize and test ideas. However, results also revealed the need for structured guidance to prevent over-reliance on AI outputs and to promote critical evaluation of generated content and authorship. When thoughtfully integrated into the interior architecture studio, AI can enhance creativity by allowing students to focus more on problem framing, decision-making, and design refinement rather than routine production. This study presents practical strategies for faculty to incorporate AI into studio pedagogy, helping prepare future interior designers to critically and ethically engage with emerging technologies that are reshaping professional design practice.

Keywords:

Artificial intelligence, creativity, design studio, interior architecture, design education, generative tools, ethical design, technology-enhanced learning, higher education.