Construction design has become an increasingly complex synthesis activity for which
effective solutions depend upon co-operative participation by a number of people. Thus
communication, including the integration of specialised knowledge and negotiation of
differences between team members, is a vital process for collaborative design. A
questionnaire survey was initially conducted to investigate communication issues and
problems, which had been highlighted from a review of the literature, in current
construction design. The results confirmed that communication among the different
construction team members is often difficult although of paramount important to design
outcomes. Based on these results, case studies have been carried out to gain further
insights into communication issues and problems, and explore why and how they are
caused. Through the application of multiple approaches, a model has been developed,
which suggests strategies that may help participants communicate more effectively and
ultimately improve the quality of construction design outcomes