Adopting AI in architectural design: a systematic bibliometric analysis (1975–2025)

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the transformative architectural design concept of the Architecture Machine, consolidated at MIT in 1975, this article presents a systematic bibliometric analysis of AI applications in architectural design research and practice from 1975 to 2025. A reproducible dataset of 384 peer-reviewed journal articles was retrieved on 9 July 2025 from the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus to stabilise the evidence base, manage indexing delay in recent records, and support transparent future update cycles for replication and extension. In this article, “Architectural Design” is operationalised as pre-construction, building-scale decision-making, encompassing concept formation, early spatial configuration, and early performance, rule, or constraint checks in early design development. The RIBA Plan of Work (PoW) 2020 is adopted as a UK-derived analytical reference for delimiting pre-construction design activities within a UK context. Stage relevance is established through task-based screening and interpretive judgement rather than through the general definition of RIBA stage labels. Using VOSviewer and CiteSpace, the study generates keyword co-occurrence networks, international collaboration patterns, and keyword burst detection. Results from this study indicate a developing attention to AI-enabled workflows for design-space exploration and early evaluation, alongside persistent barriers in data management, interoperability, and interpretable decision support.