arXiv AI

Multimodal Cultural Heritage Architectural Style Classification for Residential Buildings in the UAE Based on CLIP Embeddings and SVM

The paper presents a multimodal machine learning framework that classifies Emirati residential architectural styles by combining visual features from images and textual descriptions using OpenAI's CLIP model. The unified 512‑dimensional embeddings are reduced with UMAP, clustered with K‑Means, and then used to train an SVM classifier, achieving a 98% accuracy across eight style clusters. This approach outperforms previous studies and demonstrates the value of integrating visual and textual data for cultural heritage analysis.

Hugging Face Trending Papers
Jun 8

ChinaHeritaQA: A Culturally-Grounded Visual Question Answering Dataset for World Heritage Sites in China

We introduce ChinaHeritaQA, a multimodal benchmark dataset for evaluating the cultural reasoning abilities of vision-language models (VLMs) on UNESCO World Heritage sites in China. The dataset comprises 2,279 in-the-wild images paired with 14,133 bilingual (Chinese/English) multiple-choice QA pairs spanning seven cognitive dimensions, from basic identity recognition to historical periodization and architectural analysis.

arXiv Computer Vision
Sep 4

Urban Boundaries, Social Barriers: A Benchmark and Vision-Centric Framework for Mapping Gated Communities and Equity Implications

The paper introduces GBA-GCs, a large-scale multimodal benchmark for identifying gated and open residential compounds in China’s Greater Bay Area, comprising 37,444 compounds with satellite imagery, metadata, and verified labels. It presents MCGC, a vision-centric multimodal framework that fuses imagery, text, and structured data to accurately classify gated communities, outperforming existing baselines. Using the model, the authors map gated communities across the metropolitan area and uncover equity-related patterns such as clustered gated zones, privatized green space, and diminished pedestrian connectivity.

By Minwei Zhao, Weiming Zhang, Jiawang Du, Qiming Liu, Weiming Zhuang, Pei Nie, Cai Wu
arXiv AI
Sep 16

CLIP Embeddings for AI-Generated Image Detection: A Few-Shot Study with Lightweight Classifier

The paper explores whether CLIP embeddings can detect AI-generated images by using a frozen CLIP model to extract visual embeddings and training lightweight classifiers on top. On the CIFAKE benchmark, the approach achieves 95% accuracy without language reasoning, and 85% accuracy after few-shot adaptation with 20% of the data. Certain image types, such as wide-angle photographs and oil paintings, remain challenging, highlighting unexplored difficulties in AI-generated image classification.

By Ziyang Ou
arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 28

How AI Experiences Art: Emergent Aesthetic Structure in a Self-Supervised Multimodal Embedding Space

The paper introduces a self‑supervised framework that maps text, audio, image, and video into a shared 256‑dimensional embedding space and uses iterative clustering to uncover aesthetic structure. It examines how AI’s cluster assignments diverge from human affective labels on a weakly supervised multimodal dataset. The study highlights implications for cross‑modal similarity, media organization for Retrieval‑Augmented Generation, and automated data labeling.

By Corey D. C. Heath
arXiv AI
Sep 18

CoMa: Contextual Massing Generation with Vision-Language Models

CoMa introduces a contextual massing generation framework that leverages vision‑language models to produce building massings that fit a target parcel and align with surrounding urban morphology. The study uses a dataset of 12,845 Melbourne massings, incorporating parcel contours, 3D geometry, neighboring buildings, and multi‑view images, and proposes a learned relevance metric to assess morphological compatibility. Experiments with Qwen3‑VL models show that larger model size improves generation quality, multimodal training enhances the use of individual modalities, and multimodal inference yields a stronger contextual signal than isolated inputs.

By Evgenii Maslov, Alexandra Vabnits, Vladimir Vorona, Anastasia Antsiferova, Valentin Khrulkov, Anastasia Volkova, Anton Gusarov, Andrey Kuznetsov, Ivan Oseledets
arXiv Computation and Language
Aug 25

PUMA: A Polish Benchmark for Culturally Grounded Multimodal Understanding

arXiv:2608.21853v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Large language models are increasingly moving beyond text processing, adding support for other modalities such as images and audio. While text understa...

By S{\l}awomir Dadas, Micha{\l} Pere{\l}kiewicz, Rafa{\l} Po\'swiata, Ma{\l}gorzata Gr\k{e}bowiec, Bart{\l}omiej Jaworski, Izabela Wo\'zniakowska
arXiv Computer Vision
Aug 31

Abstract4D: A Large-Scale Dataset and Framework for Understanding the Visual Language of Abstract Art

Abstract4D is the largest dataset of abstract paintings, containing over 120,000 images with rich metadata and multi‑dimensional prompts that capture perceptual attributes such as form, color, texture, and composition. The dataset is annotated via a hybrid human–VLM pipeline to ensure quality and consistency. Using Abstract4D, the authors analyze the semantic structure of abstract art through large‑scale embedding visualization and establish benchmark tasks for classification, cross‑modal retrieval, and text‑to‑image generation to evaluate AI models’ perception and reproduction of abstract visual language.

By Haowei Zhang, Yuanpei Zhao, Ji-Zhe Zhou, Mao Li
arXiv AI
Jun 6

Using street view images and visual LLMs to predict heritage values for governance support: Risks, ethics, and policy implications

arXiv:2601. 06056v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: During 2025 and 2026, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is being implemented in the European Union member states, requiring all member states to have National Building Renovation Plans.

By Tim Johansson, Mikael Mangold, Kristina Dabrock, Anna Donarelli, Ingrid Campo-Ruiz