Reviving Lost Heritage Through AI: A Hybrid Design Approach in Downtown El Paso

Abstract

Urban development in historically significant areas often results in the loss of buildings with cultural and architectural value. While full reconstruction is rarely practical, emerging artificial intelligence (AI) tools offer new ways to reinterpret demolished heritage and symbolically reintegrate it into the urban landscape. This research explores how AI can assist in creating design interventions that evoke the memory of lost buildings within existing structures. The study focuses on a case in downtown El Paso, Texas: the former site of the Union Bank and Trust Company, now a parking structure. The research applies a hybrid methodology that blends archival research, AI tools, and simulated oral histories. Resident Identification: Names of historical residents are obtained from El Paso city directories to ground the narrative in historical context. Narrative Generation: With assistance from ChatGPT, simulated oral histories are created based on known architectural features and urban memory of the demolished building.Prompt Engineering: Extracted descriptive elements are converted into detailed prompts. AI-Based Visualization: Tools including Adobe, Midjourney, Vizcom, and ChatGPT’s visual capabilities generate design concepts inspired by the historic building. Design Intervention: Proposed changes to the existing parking structure focus on minimal physical alterations that visually reference the Union Bank building’s original form and style.The outcome will include conceptual visual designs for adapting the existing structure to reflect lost architectural heritage. Rather than attempting full reconstruction, the proposal introduces subtle elements—such as stylistic façade motifs and material textures—to bridge past and present. The designs aim to reconnect community identity with the built environment in a feasible, contemporary way.This research presents a replicable framework for using AI to reinterpret lost heritage, especially in sites where rebuilding is not possible. By combining digital tools with historical resources and community-based narratives, it demonstrates how symbolic architectural revival can be both respectful to the past and responsive to current urban needs. The methodology also offers potential applications in other cities where architectural heritage has been lost or neglected.

Keywords: Architectural heritage, artificial intelligence, oral history, adaptive reuse, El Paso, generative design

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1006779