AI in Design-Build: How Beck Uses Artificial Intelligence

AI in design-build is changing how buildings are planned, designed, and delivered. At Beck, we use artificial intelligence as a support tool to help evaluate options more clearly, understand implications earlier, and make informed decisions alongside our clients.

Our focus is practical. We apply AI across the project lifecycle to improve cost certainty, schedule reliability, and risk management. In an environment shaped by rising costs, labor constraints, and tighter timelines, earlier insight matters.

 There’s a vast array of AI tools in a landscape that changes every day. We focus less on chasing new platforms and more on applying the right tools where they meaningfully support decision-making.

Taking Pre-Development to the Next Level

Pre-development is where some of the most significant project decisions are made, often with limited information. AI-based tools such as ChatGPT help our teams reduce uncertainty at this stage. By synthesizing large amounts of data, they allow us to evaluate design and planning alternatives more quickly. Feasibility, density, and cost considerations that once required extended iteration can now be reviewed earlier, giving clients a clearer picture before making decisions.

We also use AI-enabled platforms to support proposal development, site evaluation, and early cost analysis. A few of the tools in our kit include Shred AI and Test Fit. By reducing the time spent locating and organizing information, we can focus on discussing trade-offs and priorities with clients.

Enhancing Design Efficiency and Creative Flexibility

In design, AI supports speed and clarity without replacing creative judgment.

Generative AI models like Midjourney and Nano Banana (among others) allow designers to rapidly generate presentation-quality visuals and iterate on concepts more efficiently. This gives clients clearer visual reference points earlier in the process and supports more focused conversations around design intent, functionality, and constraints.

In addition to visualization, we use AI to support early option testing and scenario evaluation alongside traditional design tools. This allows teams to explore variations in massing, layout, and program earlier in the process, helping clarify trade-offs before designs are fully resolved.

These tools also make it easier to test alternatives and respond to feedback without disrupting progress. That flexibility helps reduce late-stage redesign and keeps projects aligned as requirements evolve.

AI-Powered Tools Supporting Preconstruction

Preconstruction is where early design decisions are tested against cost and constructability. AI has practical value in this phase.

AI-enabled tools support estimating, document review, and data analysis by drawing on historical project information and identifying patterns across past work. This allows teams to assess cost drivers, evaluate risk, and validate assumptions more consistently.

AI-assisted contract and document review tools, such as Document Crunch, help teams identify risk, compliance issues, and key obligations earlier in the process. By surfacing relevant language and patterns across large document sets, these tools allow teams to focus attention where judgment and experience matter most. In many cases, this work provides clearer guidance as projects transition from planning into construction.

The result is more reliable cost information earlier in the process.

Improving Construction Costs, Schedules, and Safety

During construction, AI helps teams access information, track progress, and coordinate work more efficiently. Autodesk’s and Procore’s advanced AI features provide quick, comprehensive responses to project-related questions, facilitating decision-making and keeping work schedules on track.

AI-enhanced platforms allow teams to quickly locate relevant project data and respond to questions without unnecessary delays. This supports day-to-day decision-making and helps maintain schedules.

Some AI-enabled tools also support safety and logistics through 3D modeling, progress tracking, and visual analysis of site conditions. These applications help teams identify potential conflicts earlier, monitor progress against plans, and improve predictability in complex construction environments.

Looking Ahead

The building industry has been careful in adopting new technology, and that caution is warranted. Projects require judgment, accountability, and experience. AI is most useful when it supports those fundamentals.

Our adoption of AI tools will improve workflows across virtually every segment of the building process, resulting in greater efficiency and creativity required for the future of the built environment.

Schedule an AI Design Insights Presentation

We host virtual and in-person presentations for developers and owners that explore how Beck is applying AI in design-build across planning, design, preconstruction, and construction. Through real project examples and practical demonstrations, we show how AI is improving decision-making, reducing uncertainty, and creating greater value throughout the project lifecycle.

To schedule an AI Design Insights presentation, contact Chad Schieber.

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