Design Creativity: Future Directions for Integrated Visualisation

The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sectors are facing unprecedented challenges, not just with increased complexity of projects per se, but design-related integration. This requires stakeholders to radically re-think their existing business models (and thinking that underpins them), but also the technological challenges and skills required to deliver these projects. Whilst opponents will no doubt cite that this is nothing new as the sector as a whole has always had to respond to change; the counter to this is that design ‘creativity’ is now much more dependent on integration from day one. Given this, collaborative processes embedded in Building Information Modelling (BIM) models have been proffered as a panacea solution to embrace this change and deliver streamlined integration. The veracity of design teams’ “project data” is increasingly becoming paramount - not only for the coordination of design, processes, engineering services, fabrication, construction, and maintenance; but more importantly, facilitate ‘true’ project integration and interchange – the actualisation of which will require firm consensus and commitment. This Special Issue envisions some of these issues, challenges and opportunities (from a future landscape perspective), by highlighting a raft of concomitant factors, which include: technological challenges, design visualisation and integration, future digital tools, new and anticipated operating environments, and training requirements needed to deliver these aspirations. A fundamental part of this Special Issue’s ‘call’ was to capture best practice in order to demonstrate how design, visualisation and delivery processes (and technologies) affect the finished product viz: design outcome, design procedures, production methodologies and construction implementation. In this respect, the use of virtual environments are now particularly effective at supporting the design and delivery processes. In summary therefore, this Special Issue presents nine papers from leading scholars, industry and contemporaries. These papers provide an eclectic (but cognate) representation of AEC design visualisation and integration; which not only uncovers new insight and understanding of these challenges and solutions, but also provides new theoretical and practice signposts for future research

Fostering energy efficiency dynamics through ex-ante strategic niche management: the UK perspective

The United Kingdom building sector has been challenged to retrofit a huge stock of existing buildings in order to increase its adaptive capacity for climate change impacts. Addressing such challenges will require systematic structural changes in both, socio-technical and socio-political infrastructure. A numbers of studies have suggested the approach of strategic niche management of transition for sustainable technological regimes. Accordingly, any such transition would follow processes: early stages of niche formation; creation of policy mechanism required to harness the niches; niche expansion into incumbent regime; and the regime transition into more sustainable technological regime. Following this, the UK Government has introduced a raft of initiatives; one of which is “Green Deal” to enable buildings to become energy efficient through retrofit technologies, ultimately contributing towards the national goal of achieving 80% reduction in carbon emission by 2050. This paper serves three purposes. First, the paper introduces multi-level socio-technical system for construction/retrofitting in building industry. Second, the ex-ante strategic niche management approach has been used to analyse the dynamic of “Green Deal” initiative. Thereby the paper would critically assess technological, organisational and institutional reforms undertaken for the initiative in the processes for sustainable socio-technical transition. Third, the paper would contribute towards strategic niche management literature which lacks in practical examples of using it as an ex-ante tool for niche building and regime transition

Involvement of People in the Design of Community Building in Developing Countries

Although public participation concept or technique to enhance and /or influence decision making is a fact of life in many governments nowadays and has been used by many industries to improve their products and increase end-users satisfaction, it is still new to the Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. The extent to which participation should occur and the role that it plays still remains uncertain in the AEC industry. Participation has been the predominant conception for many years by many researchers. In practice, this has meant that public participation often has occurred late in the planning process. This research will focus on the involvement of people in the design process of community buildings in developing countries. During the last five decade, many community buildings were built and many of these buildings did not performed well as planned. Many of these problems in were related to design, hence the choice of architectural design of these buildings for this research. If the end-users of these buildings were involved in the planning and design stages, many of these problems would not occur. Thus, the aim of this research is to develop a conceptual framework to involve the public in the design of community buildings in developing countries. A thorough review of previous works related to the public participation in the design of community buildings has been conducted as part of this research. The review revealed most of these works in this area were done on developed countries and no research works were conducted on developing countries so far

Collaborative Engagement Approaches For Delivering Sustainable Infrastructure Projects In The AEC Sector: A Review

The public sector has traditionally financed and operated infrastructure projects using resources from taxes and various levies (e.g. fuel taxes, road user charges). However, the rapid increase in human population growth coupled with extended globalisation complexities and associated social/political/economic challenges have placed new demands on the purveyors and operators of infrastructure projects. The importance of delivering quality infrastructure has been underlined by the United Nations declaration of the Millennium Development Goals; as has the provision of ‘adequate’ basic structures and facilities necessary for the well-being of urban populations in developing countries. Thus, in an effort to finance developing countries’ infrastructure needs, most countries have adopted some form of public-private collaboration strategy. This paper critically reviews these collaborative engagement approaches, identifies and highlights 10 critical themes that need to be appropriately captured and aligned to existing business models in order to successfully deliver sustainable infrastructure projects. Research findings show that infrastructure services can be delivered in many ways, and through various routes. For example, a purely public approach can cause problems such as slow and ineffective decision-making, inefficient organisational and institutional augmentation, and lack of competition and inefficiency (collectively known as government failure). On the other hand, adopting a purely private approach can cause problems such as inequalities in the distribution of infrastructure services (known as market failure). Thus, to overcome both government and market failures, a collaborative approach is advocated which incorporates the strengths of both of these polarised positions

Construction Innovation: The Implementation of Lean Construction towards Sustainable Innovation

The prevalent theory of construction has been seen as a hindrance to construction innovation. The concept of lean construction is concerned with the application of lean thinking to the construction industry. However, in lean construction there are many arguments supporting the view that ‘the prevalent theory of production (or specifically, theory of construction) is counterproductive, and leads to added costs and reduced overall performance through the deficient production control principles based on the theory’. Presently, the construction industry and all other organisations face various problems as a result of the uncertainties of the global economic climate; including labour redundancies, delayed projects and zero margin contract bids. The construction industry is seen as one of the worst performing industry as regards innovation. This calls for concern about the poor state of construction innovation. The emergence of lean construction is to bring significant reform to the construction industry to achieve the objectives of sustainability within the built environment in the critical social, economic and environmental aspects. Increasingly, lean construction offers new techniques of constructing sustainable projects. It is about reducing costs by cutting waste, innovating by engaging people and organising the work-place to be more efficient. Hence, the aim of this paper is to highlight the cost and benefits of the potential contribution of lean construction to the attainment of sustainable innovation in construction. An exploratory method of investigation is adopted in achieving the aim of this paper by critically reviewing, exploring, and synthesising literature and industry case studies related to the subject matter. Evidence from the literature reveals that innovation through lean improvement in construction processes has provided proof of sustainability outcomes in terms of reduced waste, effort and time. Hence, lean construction impacts significantly on innovation by enhancing competitiveness, innovativeness, and resource efficiency within the construction industry. Keywords: Construction industry, Construction innovation, Lean construction, Sustainabilit

The social life of the novel idea: What did social psychologists ever do for us?

Purpose - The paper presents the extant literature relating to the social processes of innovation in built environment design teams. The paper connects the relevant and significant work in the field of Social Psychology and Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) to derive a theoretical framework which can be used to direct further research, towards development of the behavioural facet of design management. Design/methodology/approach - First, we establish which aspects of social processes of innovation are already present within the AEC field and examine concepts/ideas in Social Psychology that are likely to be important in understanding group processes within AEC, applying three emergent themes of 1) social climate; 2) risk attitudes and 3) motivation and reward. Second, we identify which elements of Social Psychology may be used to expand, consolidate and develop our understanding and identify gaps in AEC specific knowledge. Findings - The paper suggests that whilst the AEC literature has supplanted some key elements of Social Psychology, this discipline offers a further and significant theoretical resource. However, whilst some aspects of social climate and motivation/reward are well-represented in the AEC field, these have not yet been fully explored. Furthermore, how collective attitudes to risk can influence design decision-making is identified as having a limited presence. Originality/value - This paper is the first to bring together the two disciplines of AEC and Social Psychology to examine the social aspects of innovative design performance in built environment teams. The paper fulfils an identified need to examine the social processes that influence innovative design performance in constructio

CONSTRUCTION PARTNERING: MOVING TOWARDS THE RATIONALISATION FOR A DOMINANT PARADIGM

This paper critically reviews seminal literature on ‘traditional’ and non-market partnering exchanges, in order to identify core congruent issues, drivers and agents of change. It draws out a number of key themes to better understand why the construction industry has remained relatively unchanged; even though successive reports have tried to rectify the industry’s challenges. Acknowledging that there is no one clear definition, strategy or template for the effective implementation of partnering, findings from extant literature highlight eight dominant drivers deemed integral to augmenting project performance and profitability. So, whilst the construction industry invariably conducts its business with a smaller ratio of strategic partnerships than commonly believed, and accepting buyer dominance has predominantly remained, it is advocated that there is an exigent need to disentangle the project partnering initiative through some form of deterministic model. The case for this is presented through a relationship schema that maps the fabric, reliance and drivers for partnering success

OFFSITE MANUFACTURING: THE WAY FORWARD FOR NIGERIA’S HOUSING INDUSTRY

Nigeria is one of the most developed countries in Africa, with construction contributing to approximately 9 of its Gross Domestic Product. From a housing perspective, new initiatives are now being explored, one of which is Offsite Manufacturing (OSM). Globally, the OSM market uses several terms interchangeably, the most prevalent of which include: prefabrication, offsite production, industrialised building systems, dry construction, modern methods of construction etc. These collective approaches have been successfully used in many countries as means of improving housing delivery, particularly in countries like the UK, USA, Australia, Sweden, Japan and Malaysia. Despite the myriad of benefits associated with OSM (e.g. speed of construction, improved quality, reduced risk etc.), there are various barriers identified in the course of adopting OSM; some of these barriers include: client resistance, lack of established codes and standards, negative perception etc. Given these opportunities and barriers, this study investigates the feasibility of adopting OSM and ways of overcoming the barriers hindering its uptake in Nigeria based on the experiences of developed countries. The first part of this paper presents a synthesised literature review which explores the benefits and challenges of using OSM in different countries (including Nigeria as a comparator). Research findings highlight core OSM uptake barriers, including issues such as: reluctance to innovate, paucity of codes and standards, lack of guidance and information, high capital cost, supply chain integrations, skill requirements etc. Whilst many of these countries have now established strategies to offset these uncertainties, it was also observed that governmental support was pivotal in helping to establish OSM as a viable alternative to traditional approaches. From a Nigerian context, similar parallels are observed, most notably the need to encourage OSM through greater awareness, better government policies, and through skilled supply chain partners in order to help improve the problem of housing shortage

Purposive Teaching Styles for Transdisciplinary AEC Education: A Diagnostic Learning Styles Questionnaire

With the progressive globalisation trend within the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, transdisciplinary education and training is widely acknowledged as being one of the key factors for leveraging AEC organisational success. Conventional education and training delivery approaches within AEC therefore need a paradigm shift in order to be able to address the emerging challenges of global practices. This study focuses on the use of Personalised Learning Environments (PLEs) to specifically address learners’ needs and preferences (learning styles) within managed Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). This research posits that learners can learn better (and be more readily engaged in managed learning environments) with a bespoke PLE, in which the deployment of teaching and learning material is augmented towards their individual needs. In this respect, there is an exigent need for the Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) to envelop these new approaches into their organisational learning strategy. However, part of this process requires decision-makers to fully understand the core nuances and interdependencies of functions and processes within the organisation, along with Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and barriers. This paper presents findings from the development of a holistic conceptual Diagnostic Learning Styles Questionnaire (DLSQ) Framework, comprised of six interrelated dependencies (i.e. Business Strategy, Pedagogy, Process, Resources, Systems Development, and Evaluation). These dependencies influence pedagogical effectiveness. These finding contribute additional understanding to the intrinsic nature of pedagogy in leveraging transdisciplinary AEC training within organisations (to improve learner effectiveness). This framework can help organisations augment and align their strategic priorities to learner-specific traits

Virtual Reality Interactive Learning Environment

Open Building Manufacturing (ManuBuild) aims to promote the European construction industry beyond the state of the art. However, this requires the different stakeholders to be well informed of what ‘Open Building Manufacturing’ actually entails with respect to understanding the underlying concepts, benefits and risks. This is further challenged by the ‘traditional ways of learning’ which have been predominantly criticised for being entrenched in theories with little or no emphasis on practical issues. Experiential learning has long been suggested to overcome the problems associated with the traditional ways of learning. In this respect, it has the dual benefit of appealing to adult learner's experience base, as well as increasing the likelihood of performance change through training. On-the-job-training (OJT) is usually sought to enable ‘experiential’ learning; and it is argued to be particularly effective in complex tasks, where a great deal of independence is granted to the task performer. However, OJT has been criticised for being expensive, limited, and devoid of the actual training context. Consequently, in order to address the problems encountered with OJT, virtual reality (VR) solutions have been proposed to provide a risk free environment for learning without the ‘do-or-die’ consequences often faced on real construction projects. Since ManuBuild aims to promote the EU construction industry beyond the state of the art; training and education therefore needs also to go beyond the state of the art in order to meet future industry needs and expectations. Hence, a VR interactive learning environment was suggested for Open Building Manufacturing training to allow experiential learning to take place in a risk free environment, and consequently overcome the problems associated with OJT. This chapter discusses the development, testing, and validation of this prototype