The Parametric Prompt Engineering guide comes with a companion Prompt Pack containing 25 copy-paste-ready prompts organised by workflow step. This article is a practical walkthrough of how to use that prompt pack on a real architectural presentation project — from the brief arriving on your desk to the finished deck going to the client.
The project: a residential developer client needs to approve the material and programme direction for a three-apartment new-build scheme in Hackney. They need to see the same spatial shell with three different material palettes, plus a programme variation showing one unit adapted as a live-work space. The presentation is in five days.
Day 1: Brief Review and Hero Image Generation
Before opening Midjourney, establish what you are trying to show. The Prompt Pack has four hero image prompts (Section 1) — but you should not use one of them blindly. Adapt the hero image prompt to your specific project.
For the Hackney project, the spatial parameters are:
- Open-plan kitchen, dining, and living space
- 3-metre ceiling height throughout
- Full-height glazing on the south elevation
- Contemporary new-build aesthetic — not period
- Material direction: raw/bio-based materials palette
The adapted hero image prompt:
> Open-plan contemporary kitchen, dining and living space, 3-metre ceiling height, 10-metre width, one-point perspective, camera at 1.5 metres eye level, cool morning diffuse light through full-height south-facing glazing, pale grey polished concrete floor, white plaster walls, oak kitchen cabinetry, minimal contemporary furniture, shallow depth of field, architectural photography, 24mm lens --ar 16:9 --v 6.1 --style raw
Generate four variations. Select the most spatially accurate — not the most dramatic. Check: camera height appears to be approximately 1.5m, perspective is clearly one-point, ceiling height is plausible for the specified 3m, lighting quality is cool and diffuse (morning, north-overcast London sky), material rendering is photographic, not stylised.
Save the hero image URL immediately. Extract the seed number via envelope reaction in the Midjourney Discord thread. Note both in your project file.
Day 2: DNA Lock Validation
Before generating the full deck, test the DNA lock with a single validation prompt. This is in Section 2 of the Prompt Pack.
Run the validation prompt with the DNA lock applied but no other changes from the hero image:
> Open-plan contemporary kitchen, dining and living space, 3-metre ceiling height, 10-metre width, one-point perspective, camera at 1.5 metres eye level, cool morning diffuse light through full-height south-facing glazing, pale grey polished concrete floor, white plaster walls, oak kitchen cabinetry, minimal contemporary furniture, shallow depth of field, architectural photography, 24mm lens --ar 16:9 --v 6.1 --style raw --sref [hero_url] --cref [hero_url] --sw 150 --cw 100 --seed [hero_seed]
Compare the validation output to the hero image across the six consistency threshold checks. If camera height, perspective, ceiling height, lighting quality, and window configuration all match, the DNA lock has held and you can proceed to the material iteration deck.
If the validation image drifts in any dimension, review: are the `--sref` and `--cref` URLs pointing to the correct image? Is the seed number correct? Re-run the validation before proceeding.
Day 3: Material Iteration Deck Generation
With the DNA lock confirmed, generate the three material variations for the Hackney project. Use the material iteration prompts from Section 3 of the Prompt Pack, adapting only the material terms.
Material 1 — Pale Grey Polished Concrete (baseline / hero):
> ...pale grey polished concrete floor and white plaster walls...
Material 2 — Light Oak Wide Plank:
> ...light oak wide-plank floor and white plaster walls...
Material 3 — Honed Portland Stone:
> ...honed Portland stone floor and white plaster walls...
Generate all three in quick succession. Apply the complete DNA lock syntax to each prompt. Check each output against the consistency threshold before moving to the programme iteration.
Day 4: Programme Iteration and Deck Assembly
For the live-work programme variation, use the programme iteration prompts from Section 4 of the Prompt Pack. Change only the programme term — everything else, including the DNA lock, stays constant.
Programme 1 — Residential Kitchen/Dining/Living (baseline):
> Open-plan contemporary kitchen, dining and living space...
Programme 2 — Live-Work Space:
> Open-plan contemporary live-work studio and kitchen, 3-metre ceiling height, 10-metre width, one-point perspective, camera at 1.5 metres eye level, cool morning diffuse light through full-height south-facing glazing...
The programme term changes; the spatial DNA (from the DNA lock) stays constant. The client sees the same space adapted for a different use — which is a much more persuasive presentation than showing two different rooms and hoping the client understands the relationship between them.
Deck assembly:
Review all five images (three materials + two programme variations) at full presentation resolution. Flag any image that fails two or more consistency threshold checks. Apply the mandatory AI imagery disclosure to every page:
> AI Imagery Disclosure: These are AI-generated conceptual impressions for discussion purposes only — they do not represent a final design, a planning application, or a structural or material specification. All dimensions, proportions, and materials must be verified against the architect's drawings and specifications.
Label each image clearly with the variable being tested. Group similar variations together (materials first, then programme). All images at the same aspect ratio (16:9). The deck is ready.
Day 5: Client Presentation
Present the deck with the AI imagery disclosure stated verbally at the start of the relevant section. Explain the methodology: "We have generated a spatially consistent image set using a controlled iteration framework — the same space, the same perspective, the same light, different materials and programme. This allows you to compare options directly rather than trying to infer spatial relationships from different rooms."
The disclosure establishes the correct status of the images from the outset. The client understands they are reviewing a design exploration tool, not a finished design. The framework demonstrates professional rigour — which builds trust in the presentation.
What to Do When the DNA Lock Does Not Hold
The DNA lock occasionally fails to maintain consistency — particularly when the material term being substituted is very different in character from the hero image material (substituting a highly reflective material like polished marble for a matte material like concrete can occasionally produce lighting shifts that the DNA lock does not fully suppress).
When this happens, do not regenerate with the same parameters. Instead, adjust the `--sw` value. Try `--sw 200` for materials where aesthetic cohesion is paramount and the geometric consistency from `--cref` is sufficient. If the geometry is also drifting, try `--cw 100` explicitly (it should already be set to 100, but confirming it explicitly sometimes helps Midjourney apply it more consistently).
If the drift persists after parameter adjustment, generate a new hero image with the material palette closer to the variation that is drifting. The DNA lock is most stable when the hero image material and the iteration materials are within a similar aesthetic family.
The Five Prompt Pack Sections at a Glance
| Section | Prompts | Purpose |
|---------|---------|---------|
| 1. Hero Image Prompts | 4 | Generate baseline spatial reference images for different project types |
| 2. DNA Lock Prompts | 2 | Validate and confirm the DNA lock before full deck generation |
| 3. Materiality Iteration | 7 | Generate floor and wall material variation decks |
| 4. Programme Iteration | 4 | Generate spatial programme variation decks |
| 5. Lighting and Orthographic | 5 | Time-of-day lighting variations and ::weighting enforcement |
Download the Prompt Pack from the product page at wizguides.com. Keep it open in a side window while you work — the prompts are copy-paste ready, but you will adapt each one for your specific project parameters.
Related Resources
The Architect's Parametric Prompt Engineering guide contains the complete four-step framework, the full Midjourney parameter reference table, the mandatory AI imagery disclosure requirements, and the companion Prompt Pack with all 25 copy-paste-ready prompts. Tested with Midjourney v6.1 and v7.
If you are working further upstream and need to translate the approved concept imagery into buildable spatial specifications for your drafting team, the From Generative Visuals to Geometric Parameters covers the complementary workflow: using ChatGPT with Advanced Data Analysis to extract estimated spatial proportions from a Midjourney concept image into a reviewable CSV constraint sheet.
Stop Guessing, Start Systemising
The Prompt Pack gives you the copy-paste-ready prompts. The framework tells you how to use them in the right sequence. Five days from brief to client presentation — with spatially consistent, professionally disclosed imagery that the client can actually use to make a decision.
The Architect's Parametric Prompt Engineering guide has the complete framework, the Prompt Pack, and the mandatory disclosure requirements. Tested with Midjourney v6.1 and v7.
Grab it here.
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