Managing the Changes within the Architectural Profession
- The effects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on Architectural Design

The architectural profession has faced remarkable and thorough changes caused principally by information and communication technologies (ICT) during the last 20 years. The changes have concerned architects' tools and working methods very widely. CAD-systems have become the main tool for the architects during the 1990's (Howard, Kiviniemi, Samuelson 2002), and working without CAD is hardly possible any more. Also so called product data modelling or building information modelling (BIM) has been developed to be an integrated framework for the construction field information management. The scientific foundations for the methodology were created already in the late 1980's (Björk & Penttilä 1989), and lately product modelling has finally been recognized to appear and also gain value in real construction projects (Eastman 1999, Ekholm 2001).

Also the design and construction communication environment has changed drastically during the last few decades caused by design integration, project document management, team-work through the web and email (Kalay 2004).

Despite the tools and technology, also organizatorial & legal context and design content has been changing, when customer requirements and design tasks have become more complex and multidimensional by nature.

Architectural design deals with very essential core information in modern building process with ICT, hence, the tasks, actions and the actual design content within the architectural profession have to fit well into contemporary construction framework.

Changes and change management have been investigated from organization, leadership (business) and project management aspects (Kotter 1996). The change has also been understood in research as an evolving process. IT-based changes have also been documented, for instance in several national surveys and barometers (Howard, Kiviniemi, Samuelson 2002, Rivard 2000). The changes nor their effects on architecture or contemporary design process, though, have not been covered enough as a whole.

Research objectives

The framework will then (b) be used and tested in managing the changes and their effects on architectural design process, on architectural working practice, and on contemporary architectural information management.

Applicable objective is finally, based on understanding the changes, (c) to create guidelines for "modern architectural practise" within current construction.

The framework of the changes will then be created based on literature, variety of case examples and interviews from architectural practise from three periods:

• 1980-85 (the era before CAD),
• 1990-95 (CAD without web) and
• 2000-05 (pervasive & integrated design).

Qualitative emphasis will be put on analyzing the collected literature & case material, to notice, address and document the changes and their causal effects.

Results

The results will also be helpful in programming the architectural ICT-education.

References

• Björk, Bo-Christer; Penttilä, Hannu (1989) A Scenario for the Development and Implementation of a Building Product Model Standard, a paper presented at 1st symposium of the CIFE, Center for Integrated Facility Engineering, Stanford University, USA, 28-29 March 1989, published in Advanced Engineering Software, 1989, vol. 11, no 4., pp. 176-187
• Eastman, Charles (1999) Building product models: Computer environments supporting design and construction, Boca-Raton, Florida, CRC Press.
• Ekholm, Anders (2001) Modelling of User Activities in Building Design, Architectural Information Management [19th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-8-1] Helsinki (Finland) 29-31 August 2001, pp. 67-72 http://cumincad.scix.net/cgi-bin/works/Show?c596
• Howard, Rob; Kiviniemi, Arto; Samuelson Olle (2002) The latest developments in communications and e-commerce - IT barometer in 3 Nordic countries, In the Proceedings of International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction, CIB w78 conference, Aarhus, Denmark.
• Kalay, Y. E. (2004). Architecture’s new media: Principles, theories, and methods of computer-aided design. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 536 pp., ISBN 0262112841
• Kotter, John P. (1996) Leading Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1996
• Rivard, Hugues (2000) A Survey on the Impact of Information Technology on the Canadian Architecture, Engineering and Construction Industry, IT in Construction Vol. 5 (2000), Internet, http://itcon.org/2000/3, accessed: 28.1.2006