STATEMENT OF RESEARCH
TOPIC:
The relationship between computational technology and project delivery methods in architecture and construction, and how these processes in architecture compare to design and manufacturing in the automotive, aerospace, and shipbuilding industries.
QUESTIONS:
- How has digital technology in architecture evolved and how has it changed not only buildings, but the design process?
- How did we get to the linear project delivery model of pre-design>schematic design>design development>construction documents>construction>operation?
- How can these processes be modified, and reorganized conceptually so that they are not linear, but in fact operate as an interconnected network?
- How can building information modeling, and 4D simulation (3D+time) of performance change the process of project delivery?
- How can data be understood and applied to all phases of the design process simultaneously?
- Would this shift from linear delivery methods to network based offer higher quality buildings for less cost?
TOPIC CATEGORIES:
- 1: Project delivery in the United States
- What are the most common project delivery methods, who has agency over what portion of the project, what are some of the more recent advances in project delivery.
- How and why do typical delivery methods deviate from their actual model, and what really happens in the actual model? What are the real strengths and real weaknesses of the process?
- 2: Contemporary design and production techniques in Automotive, Aerospace, Shipbuilding industries
- What are the means, methods, and product delivery processes that these industries have employed which have resulted in increased efficiency and quality?
- How have these processes changed over time and what changes in technology catalyzed these changes?
- What are aspects of how things are done in the A,S,A industries would not lend themselves to the AEC industry? Which ones would?
- 3: Data collection, management, visualization, and utilization
- How can a network model of delivery and information sharing be visualized and adaptable throughout the delivery process?
- What are ways architects can collect data specific to site and building conditions? (i.e real time weather data) How are these best visualized for both designers and clients?
- How can we design automated methods and systems in order to rapidly produce customized objects via digital fabrication and rapid prototyping principles that respond to changes in data inputs in real time?
- What sources of data are best suited to be utilized in these fluid processes?
SIGNIFICANCE:
To understand how capabilities of computational tools can allow architects to produce buildings that achieve higher quality, scope, and performance for less time and cost.
- Automotive, aerospace, and shipbuilding industries have undergone several paradigm shifts in their design and production processes that have allowed for higher quality and scope for less time and costs. While architecture has embraced using digital technology, it has been slow to change traditional delivery methods…
- The value of architects seems to be tenuous, and the economics of the delivery process are weakened by wastefulness in time and materials. If architects can assume the role of the information manager and the designer of production methods in the building delivery process, the overall efficiency can be improved, and the value of the ARCHITECT becomes far more significant.
ORGANIZATION
Part1: Chronological overview of computation in architecture.
Part2: Chronological overview of paradigms in automotive, aerospace, and shipbuilding industries –what catalyzed the change, and what were the results in improvements?
Part 3: Statistical comparison buildings construction vs AAS industries
Part 4: Current opinions from professionals in practices that employ traditional delivery, and opinions from professionals practicing emergent methods of delivery.
Part 5: Applying theories of network systems to delivery processes.
Part 6: Case studies of recent emergent works, criticisms and proposed improvements.
Part 7: Propose a hypothetical model of process based on findings
RESEARCH TERMS
-“History of Project Delivery”
-“History of CAD in Architecture”
-“Information Visualization” + “Architecture”
-“Computation in Architecture”
-“Digital Processes in Architecture”
-“BIM” + “Project Delivery”
-“Generative Design” + “Architecture”
-“Architecture” + “Simulation”
METHODS
- Literature
- Books on theories and practices
- Scholarly articles
- Case Studies
- Case studies on project delivery methods
- Case studies on emergent practices and their delivery methods
- Experimentation
- Modeling and simulating existing buildings. How does data output change design to meet higher performance?
- Interviews
- Active local professionals
- Researchers on the topic (Renee Cheng)
- If possible, professionals at Kieran Timberlake, SHoP, Arup, CASE, etc.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barabasi, Albert-Laszlo. Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means for Business, Science, and Everyday Life. New York: Penguin Group, 2003.
Linked is a book cited frequently by Manuel Lima in his writings on network concepts and theories. It is guide of nonmathematical explanations of complex networks and infinite interconnectedness. The logical reasoning presented Barabasi seems to provide a compelling narrative that applies to broad fields of influence, but could be an interesting foreground into understanding how datasets can be linked to design processes. In addition, it speaks to network models of communication and information sharing. These potentials have begun in architecture, but the level of control over complex datasets and networks presented by Barabasi could be influential in the structure of information sharing in the design delivery process
Caldas, Carlos H. GENE_ARCH: an evolution-based generative design system for sustainable architecture. Intelligent computing in Engineering and Architecture. 13th EG-ICE Workshop, 2006. 109-118.
The article outlines a generative tool that outputs building form based on energy performance and environmental data. While the program itself is one I will unlikely ever use, it explains concepts of scripting generative algorithms and evolutionary computation that are possible with Rhino and Grasshopper (a tool I am more familiar with, but is lacking in relevant scholarly literature). The article also explains the implications of climate based metric simulations on design output in real time. This is related to my ideas of simultaneity in a network delivery –that is to say that changes in climate data input can directly linked to how a BIM model (and therefore construction documents) respond to it.
Karkkainen, Mikko, et al. “Intellegent products –a step toward a more effective project delivery chain.” Computers in Industry, 50. 2003. 141-151.
Through research on supply networks and advanced communication technologies, this article outlines potential methods for managing information and communication in international project delivery. It focuses on material flows, and how advanced web based networks can be established as part of project delivery to optimize efficiency of communication and expenses in supplies moving in and out of construction sites. It is common practice for entities in project delivery to communicate on web-based platforms, but it is typically unorganized (multiple methods of from email chains to shared project files and comments). The findings here imply the transition from ‘disorganized complexity’ to ‘organized complexity.’
Kieran, Stephen and Timberlake, James. Refabricating Architecture: How Manufacturing Methodologies are Poised to Transform Building Construction. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004.
A manifesto of sorts that claims the future of architecture is dependent on learning from manufacturing methodologies of automotive, aerospace, and shipbuilding industries. In essence, these industries outside of architecture have leveraged technology to undergo several paradigm shifts in their design and manufacturing methods that have yielded higher quality products in less time for less money. These paradigm shifts have led to modularized off site construction with tolerances measured in mm and extreme levels of sophistication of information modeling, while construction of architecture has remained a singular craft piece-by-piece assembly method.
Kokmaz, Sinem, et al. “Piloting Evaluation Metrics for Sustainable High-Performance Building Project Delivery.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management Vol. 138 Issue 8. August 2010. 87-885
The article claims that in delivering energy efficient architecture, the performance of the delivery method is equally as important as the performance of the building. It therefore outlines metrics to analyze the performance of the delivery process on sustainable building projects. The authors describe their methods as purely quantitative, and it measures the effect of variables such as the time commitment and involvement of certain entities in the delivery process. While the sample size for the study is admittedly small, the findings could be extrapolated to hone in on what aspects of delivery to focus on when proposing new models.
Lima, Manuel. Visualizing Complexity: Mapping Patterns of Information. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011.
Lima’s book contains various examples of data visualizations that can be used as precedents for visualizing delivery methods as well as how datasets relate to architectural problems. In addition, there is substantial literature on how we came to understanding complexity in terms of networks. He frequently references architectural and urban planning examples, and explains the rationale behind why networks of interconnectedness truly explain processes in the world. I was drawn to these theories mainly because of the hierarchical tree structure of project delivery when in reality; it operates in far more complex ways. There are several models and methods of representation and theory that can be applied to network models of project delivery.
Mollaoglu-Korkmaz, Sinem, et al. “Delivering Sustainable, High-Performance Buildings: Influence of Project Delivery Methods on Integration and Project Outcomes.” Journal of Management in Engineering. Vol. 29 Issue 1. January 2013. 71-78.
Inverted Symmetries 