Creative Intelligence: How ChatGPT and Claude Shape Different Workflows
Let’s take a closer look at how two AI collaborators unlock different dimensions of creativity, ideation, and project development.
Where Ideas Begin
When we first think about AI in creative work, the instinct is often to pick a side. Which tool is better? Which one should I use? But if you're an architect, designer, or storyteller working in today's digital-physical continuum, that's the wrong question.
The real edge lies not in loyalty to a single model but in understanding how different AI minds think — and learning how to weave them together.
Today, let's explore two such minds: ChatGPT and Claude.
Both can be powerful creative collaborators, but each brings a distinct flavor to your workflows. Understanding these differences is no longer optional if you want to stay ahead.
How ChatGPT and Claude Think: Core Differences that Matter
On the surface, both ChatGPT (OpenAI) and Claude (Anthropic) seem to offer the same proposition: text generation, assistance, ideation. But peel back the first layer, and you'll find very different temperaments at work
Understanding this is crucial:
ChatGPT is like a lively studio intern who brings fresh ideas instantly. Claude is like a seasoned researcher who drafts the perfect essay after sitting with the brief for hours.
Neither replaces the other. Each unlocks a different dimension of thinking.
Demonstration: One Prompt, Two Different Worlds
To understand this better, let's see how the same prompt performs across ChatGPT and Claude.
Prompt:
"Suggest 5 conceptual ideas for a small eco-resort designed around a natural spring, focusing on sustainability, minimal intervention, and guest experience."
Result on ChatGPT:
Floating Cabins on Spring-fed Pools
Canopy Retreat Among Native Trees
Thermal Spring Wellness Pods
Seasonal Safari-style Tents on Rotational Footprint
Spring-Centered Communal Pavilion and Hammock Network
Each idea is delivered in energetic bullet points, ideal for rapid brainstorming or a first sketch session. ChatGPT's response feels like flipping through a quick ideabook — visual, playful, and easy to iterate.
Result on Claude:
"Eco-Resort Conceptual Ideas: Natural Spring Harmony" delivers five nuanced concepts—ranging from floating pavilions to regenerative canopy dwellings—each articulated with ecological insight and spatial storytelling. These aren’t just ideas; they’re narrative-rich mini-essays, ideal for proposals, competitions, or concept decks.
Claude responds in paragraphs, crafting a nuanced narrative.
Conclusion from the Example:
Use ChatGPT when you want speed, volume, and visual triggers for ideation.
Use Claude for deep, thematic ideation that mirrors the voice of a reflective architect or researcher.
Choosing between them isn't about better or worse — it's about timing and intent.
What This Means for Creative Workflows
If you're designing, writing, brainstorming, or planning a project, knowing when to call upon which "mind" is half the battle won.
Need to explore a range of wild ideas quickly? — ChatGPT
Need to anchor a concept with philosophical or technical depth? — Claude
Need quick visual references? — ChatGPT (DALLE-3)
Need long-form research, thematic development? — Claude
In short, ChatGPT gets you moving fast. Claude ensures you move meaningfully.
Building Smarter Workflows: A Strategic Approach
Rather than forcing yourself to "choose" between ChatGPT and Claude, the smart move is orchestration: combining them into a rhythm.
Here’s a simple thought framework:
You’re no longer merely generating content. You’re thinking like a conductor, orchestrating two distinct minds across the timeline of a project.
The Practical Edge: Immediate Takeaways for Architects and Designers
Moodboards and quick renders: ChatGPT’s DALLE-3 integration is a powerful ally. Need a concept sketch of an atrium based on sunlight penetration studies? A few smart prompts, and you have it.
Deep design narratives: Claude, with its larger context window, can help you write deeply considered design philosophies, CSR proposals, or environmental integration studies.
Project documentation: Blend ChatGPT's speed and Claude's depth. Prepare drafts with ChatGPT, refine the deeper sections with Claude.
Research and decoding site analysis: Claude shines in digesting large reports (geotechnical surveys, climate studies) into thematic strategies. ChatGPT then translates these into easy-to-share diagrams or checklists.
In each of these, the key is not just using AI to "produce" — but using AI to think differently.
Why This Matters Now More Than Ever
As AI tools evolve, what will separate great architects and designers from the rest won't just be their mastery of materials or moodboards. It will be their ability to craft workflows where machine minds augment human creativity at every stage.
It’s no longer a question of "automation." It’s a question of amplification.
That’s why in our 5-part "ChatGPT for Architects and Designers" course, we don't just teach you how to "use" ChatGPT. We teach you how to collaborate with it. To think with it. To see it not as a shortcut, but as a studio partner.
Read it. Reflect. Rethink your rituals.
Final Reflection: The Creative Dialogue Continues
In the end, you are not choosing between ChatGPT and Claude.
You are choosing how to think.
And in a world where ideas are the new infrastructure, mastering that dialogue — between speed and depth, between spark and structure — will be the architect's true edge.
If you're ready to reimagine how you work, learn, and create with AI, check out our free 5-part guide designed specifically for architects and designers.
(And trust me, once you see the full canvas, you’ll never work the same way again.)
A few updates from the AI Lab IRL:
We’re gonna be travelling through many cities in the second half of May, and we wanted to let you know, in case you wanna catch up!
I’m speaking at the International Conference at InStore Asia in Mumbai on the 23rd of May. If you’re around and wanna catch a glimpse of my immersive talk, ‘The Invisible Architecture of Experience: Rethinking Retail with AI’, then do register for the conference and come by. Or else, you can also:
Next stop is Bengaluru from the 25th to the 30th of May with various events lined up! First off, we are hosting a mega workshop, ‘AI Fundamentals for Architects and Designers’ on the 27th of May with our generous hosting partner Fanzart at Sadashivanager in Bengaluru. We’re just shy of 4 seats to close the registrations, and if you’re in the city and want to be a part of this full-day deep dive in to the overlap of AI and Architecture, then:
Continuing in Bengaluru, we’re presenting a research paper at the Acharya International Design Conference at Acharya College Campus on the 28th of May titled ‘Beyond Automation: AI as a Catalyst for Design Thinking’, and its gonna be interesting to watch and of course meet up and discuss philosophy and the future later on!
If you’re from Bangalore and want to invite us over for a training session or a discourse on AI for your team, reach out to me on sahil@rbdsailab.com
Next up is the Pink City of Jaipur! I’m conducting a Fundamentals I workshop at the India International Design Conclave at Jaipur on the 31st of May for the IIID Jaipur Regional Centre, covering a host of AI apps and their potential uses in architectural design workflows. Be sure make it if you’re in the city, as this conclave hosts some really interesting and wonderful speakers! And as usual, if you would like to have a discourse on AI for your team, just reach out!
Thats all for now folks! More soon!
I’m Sahil Tanveer of the RBDSai Lab signing off for the week. I promote, consult, and apply AI for Architects along with my Architecture and Design Studio, RBDS. If you liked this Substack,
You will love my book, DELIRIOUS ARCHITECTURE: Midjourney for Architects. It is a 330-page hardcover showcasing the potential of AI in Architectural Design. It is available on Amazon worldwide.
You can bend your minds with our WhatsApp channel AI IN ARCHITECTURE where we talk about AI and its impact on us and the built environment.
You can consult with us on AI for your architecture studio. We have multiple levels of learning and integration, from a Beginners session to the AIMM Assessment and beyond. Get in touch with us at sahil@rbdsailab.com or check out our page www.rbdsailab.com
I’m talking about AI. Our team is set to visit key cities of India for architectural conferences, Podcasts and exclusive student interactions at architecture schools. We’d love to come over for an engaging meetup, hands-on workshop, or a creative collab. Enquiries to sahil@rbdsailab.com