The Future of Architectural Renderings Looks Like Movie Making

• Storyboarded: Gensler has designed a new tool that uses AI to create photorealistic movies showing how people will interact with their buildings.

• Housing emergency: The Trump administration is weighing a national housing emergency to accelerate construction across key markets.

• Disease ridden: Another outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease has left 6 dead and hundreds sickened.

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Architecture

The Future of Architectural Renderings Looks Like Movie Making

Architectural renderings have long relied on the presence of people to bring static images to life. A family playing in a park, a group of colleagues gathered around a table, or even a pedestrian passing by on the sidewalk can all add a sense of realism and purpose to a design. These figures have become so common that most of us overlook them entirely, but their role is important—they remind us that buildings are created for the people who will one day use them. Now, Gensler is taking that familiar practice and asking a new question: what if those figures could be more than decorative placeholders?

At the center of this experiment is Joseph Joseph, Gensler’s Chief Digital Officer, whose background includes years as a studio executive with Walt Disney Imagineering. There, he learned how to craft stories that could transform physical spaces into immersive experiences. Bringing that perspective into architecture, Joseph and his team have built a generative AI tool capable of creating animated characters who interact with architectural renderings. Instead of a static image, the result is a moving narrative that shows not only what a building will look like, but also how it might feel to the people inside it.

These AI-driven stories are more than a visual flourish. They can make a project easier to understand and more compelling for decision-makers, from executives to investors. Data and budgets often dominate those conversations, but storytelling can reframe the discussion around human experience. By showing characters engaging with their surroundings in meaningful ways, Gensler highlights the emotional and practical impact of design. The firm’s approach suggests that the future of architectural visualization lies not just in better technology, but in better storytelling, with AI serving as a tool to keep people at the center of the built environment.

Overheard

Federal Housing Push Could Reshape Development Pipelines

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration is preparing new measures to tackle the nation’s housing affordability crisis, including the possibility of declaring a national housing emergency this fall. Plans also include reforms aimed at streamlining permitting and standardizing building codes to boost construction and ease costs.

Housing affordability has become one of the most persistent political flashpoints, with homeowners locked into low-rate mortgages and zoning restrictions choking new development. Past administrations have mostly relied on monetary policy and local decision-making, but the severity of today’s affordability crunch is pushing Washington toward more direct involvement.

If permitting reforms gain traction, residential construction could ramp up in markets already stretched thin, spilling over into rental demand and reshaping development pipelines. But the federal government cannot directly change zoning laws, which remain under the control of cities and states, meaning the impact will depend on whether federal incentives are strong enough to push localities to relax their own restrictions. A declared emergency could still bring federal dollars and regulatory pressure that alter regional investment patterns, forcing landlords and developers to rethink strategies in anticipation of faster timelines and new competition.

Harlem Legionnaires’ Outbreak Linked to City Buildings Leaves Seven Dead, 100 Sickened

The deadly Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Harlem has been traced to cooling towers at Harlem Hospital and a construction site on West 137th Street, city officials confirmed. The bacterial strain found in seven of the more than 100 patients matched samples taken from those towers, marking the end of an investigation that tied the cluster directly to city-owned facilities. Health Commissioner Michelle Morse emphasized that while the source has now been identified, the priority is ensuring long-term prevention through improved oversight and maintenance.

The outbreak, which has claimed seven lives and sickened 114 people since late July, is the largest in New York City in nearly a decade. Legionella bacteria were found in a dozen cooling towers across Harlem, including not just the hospital and construction site but also a health center, condo, and City College building. While the towers have since been disinfected, the revelation has deepened anger among residents, who accuse city officials of failing to conduct life-saving inspections. Lawsuits have already been filed by construction workers, with high-profile backing from activists like Rev. Al Sharpton.

Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia spread by inhaling mist contaminated with Legionella, not through person-to-person contact or drinking water. Symptoms include fever, cough, muscle aches, and fatigue, and the illness can be fatal if untreated, particularly for older adults and those with underlying conditions. Though treatable with antibiotics, the outbreak has underscored both the dangers of neglected building infrastructure and the broader risks of a warming climate, which makes conditions for bacterial growth more common. For Harlem, the episode has been both a public health crisis and a wake-up call about systemic failures in oversight.

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