Posts

Victory City

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Metaverse of Simpson’s Victory City Reconstruct & Reimaging of Orville Simpson’s Vision of Urban Futures using AI

Ming Tang. $4500. Supported by SAID Simpson Urban Futures Grant Program. UC. 8. 2026-8. 2027

This project works on the AI-creation of an online Metaverse by reconstructing and reimaging Orville Simpson’s visionary “Victory City.” Using archival materials from the Simpson Collection—including drawings, paintings, and manuscripts—the project will generate digital interpretations of Simpson’s future city through AI-assisted visualization and 3D modeling. The platform will allow users to explore a multiplayer virtual city accessible through web browsers, mobile devices, and VR headsets. In addition to a virtual reconstruction of Victory City, the project will include a digital gallery presenting Simpson’s archival works and a digital installation at the Simpson Center, reintroducing Simpson’s ideas as a contemporary dialogue on sustainable urban futures.

The goal of this project is to translate Simpson’s visionary urban concepts into an interactive 3D digital environment that allows the public to experience and interpret his ideas spatially. Although Simpson’s online archive contains extensive drawings and models, these materials remain largely static. This project transforms them into an immersive platform where users can explore the spatial logic of Victory City. The project emphasis: 

  • AI-assisted visualization: generative AI tools will be used to produce architectural imagery, animations, and 3D models inspired by Simpson’s designs.
  • Construction of a Metaverse environment: a browser-based immersive environment will be developed to represent major elements of Victory City, including the central 102-story tower and the larger metropolitan system described in Simpson’s writings.

DOE Award: Genesis Mission

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 I am very excited to share that UC grant proposal, “AI-Enabled Prediction of Coupled Hydrologic and Biogeochemical Processes in Heterogeneous Subsurface Systems,” has been selected for the U.S. Department of Energy’s initiative to accelerate scientific breakthroughs through artificial intelligence. 

DOE Phase 1: The Genesis Mission: Transforming Science and Energy with AI.
Award Amount: $500,000
Project Period: 09/01/2026–05/31/2027
PI: Reza Soltanian, Co-I: Ming Tang
Partner Institutions: New Mexico State University (NMSU), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and Certerra Subsurface Imaging.

Quoted from UC News: UC selected for federal initiative to use AI to advance scientific discovery. Project will develop new workflows for energy and environmental applications

The University of Cincinnati has been selected to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy’s new national initiative designed to accelerate scientific discovery through artificial intelligence. 

Led by Reza Soltanian, professor of subsurface energy and hydrogeology in UC’s Department of Geosciences, the multidisciplinary project will develop next-generation AI-enabled scientific workflows and digital twins that integrate geological information, advanced geophysical imaging, field observations, physics-based simulations and AI surrogate models to characterize and predict complex subsurface systems.

The UC-led team brings together expertise in hydrogeology, hydrobiogeochemistry, geophysics, artificial intelligence, numerical and surrogate modeling, advanced subsurface imaging and extended reality. The collaboration includes Ming Tang, professor in UC’s School of Architecture and Interior Design and director of the Extended Reality Lab at UC Digital Futures, along with researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, New Mexico State University and industry partner Certerra Subsurface Imaging.

“The Department of Energy’s selection of this project reflects the strength of UC’s growing artificial intelligence ecosystem,“ Interim Vice President for Research Frank Gerner said.

“Through investments in initiatives such as Digital Futures and the Advanced Research Computing Center, we have created an environment where researchers can combine expertise in AI, data science and domain-specific scholarship to address complex challenges. Professor Soltanian and Professor Tang’s work demonstrate how these capabilities are advancing scientific discovery in ways that can have lasting impact on our energy and environmental future.“

 

Re-storying Fort Ancient

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Re-storying Fort Ancient: An AI-Augmented Digital Twin Installation for Indigenous Earthwork
PI: Ming Tang, Co-Is: John Hancock, Tianyu Jiang, Samira Sarabandikachyani. $5,000. CDRI Grant, DAAP, UC. 5/23/2026- 8/23/2026

This project proposes the development of an AI-augmented Digital Twin installation for the Fort Ancient Earthworks, a UNESCO World Heritage site in southern Ohio. Using reality capture, spatial computing, and Large Language Models (LLMs), the project will create an interactive web- and mobile-based experience that allows users to explore the site through immersive visualization and natural language conversation.

The project builds upon existing 3D earthwork models previously developed by CERHAS together with earlier XR-Lab spatial computing workflows. This foundation allows the team to focus on AI-driven interaction, interpretation, and public engagement without needing to reconstruct the site from the ground up. The AI system will be developed through a carefully curated Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) workflow using approved scholarly, archival, and Indigenous-informed materials as its knowledge base.

Users will be able to ask questions about the geometry, ceremonial purpose, astronomy, landscape design, and cultural significance of the earthworks while virtually navigating a Digital Twin of the site. The project approaches AI as a tool for interpretation and storytelling that can support more accessible and engaging public experiences with cultural heritage.

At the same time, the project explores broader questions about authorship, representation, historical interpretation, and the role of AI in public humanities and creative practice.

Prototype of Chatbot and Fort Ancient Digital Twin. 

For mobile phone users, please hold your phone horizontally for the best viewing experience

CIC-VISTA

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Following six successful phases of the Building Safety Analysis with AI / Geospatial Imagery Analytics Research project (2020–2025), funded by the Cincinnati Insurance Companies (CIC), we are pleased to announce the launch of a new research initiative: VISTA – Virtual Immersive Systems for Training AI.

VISTA – Phase 2 ($74,368) 

Project Title: Virtual Immersive Systems for Training AI, Phase 2. PI: Tang. Award Amount: $74,368. Project Period: 06/01/2026 – 11/01/2027

VISTA – Phase 1 ($81,413) marks the continuation of XR-Lab’s collaborative research efforts at UC with CIC. This new track will explore advanced AI-related topics, including computer vision, synthetic imaging, procedural modeling, machine learning, and reinforcement learning.

Project Title: Virtual Immersive Systems for Training AI, Phase 1. PI: Tang. Award Amount: $81,413. Project Period: 07/01/2025 – 11/01/2026

 

Gensler’s AI Award

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SENSE-AI – Developing Spatial Experiences for Narrative and Sensory Emotions with AI. 
Gensler. AI Excellence in the Design Process Award.
PI: Tang. Amount: $100,000. Period: 06, 2026- 06.2027.

I’m very grateful to share that UC’s proposal “SENSE-AI: Developing Spatial Experiences for Narrative and Sensory Emotions with AI” has received Gensler’s AI Excellence in the Design Process Award. It is truly an honor, and we deeply appreciate Gensler’s support. 

We will explore how emerging technologies can support human-centered spatial prototyping in academic settings through iterative cycles of ideation, AI-assisted synthesis, immersive testing, and narrative refinement, informed by environmental psychology methods such as the Pleasure–Arousal–Dominance (PAD) framework. We will also explore how AI can function as a design collaborator throughout the full design process—from site analysis and early concepts to 3D modeling, animation, performance evaluation, and immersive representation—using AI and XR to experiment with new forms of architectural experience.

We are excited about the opportunity to share our research and teaching of AI with Gensler architects and to learn together about how emerging AI tools are shaping the future of professional design practice.

Motivation

Spatial design can be understood as a procedural system structured around differentiated knowledge layers, where core knowledge emerges from previous design iterations, reference material draws from precedent projects, critique incorporates user and community feedback, experience is captured through VR interaction logs, and judgment evolves through design decisions over time. This process is grounded in experiential cognition data, where design intelligence is not only derived from static information but from the dynamic interplay of precedent, narrative, user feedback, and simulation. Within this framework, digital twins act as integrative platforms that combine spatial data, behavioral simulation, historical layering, user perception, emotional response, and embodied interaction to create a more holistic representation of environments. While AI as a design agent has made significant progress through an automation layer that includes generative AI for images and design, simulation pipelines, and digital twin workflows, it still lacks critical human-centered capacities such as spatial reasoning, embodied experience, human perception, and emotional response. Future directions point toward bridging this gap through XR-enabled systems, where XR functions as a judgment engine by training AI with real-time human data such as VR user feedback, eye tracking, and emotional signals. In parallel, a human–AI co-design loop can be established in which AI generates ideas, humans critique them within immersive XR environments, and the system continuously updates its knowledge layers, enabling more informed, adaptive, and context-aware design intelligence over time

Reference

Gensler is a global architecture, design, and planning firm. Founded in 1965, Gensler has built a team of 6,000 professionals who partner with clients in over 100 countries each year on projects that act as catalysts for growth.

Design as Storytelling: How AI Is Transforming the Way We Imagine, Create, and Connect. Jordan Goldstein. Gensler blog.