A Multi-Disciplinary Design Studio using a Shared IFC Building Model

Abstract

This paper reports on a multi-disciplinary building design studio where a shared IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) building model was employed to support a collaborative design process in a studio-teaching environment. This project began with the premise that the efforts over the past decade of the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) to develop a genuinely operational building model schema has resulted in a mature technology that is now ready to be applied. This design studio experience sought to test that premise. The paper discusses the background to the idea of design collaboration based on a shared building model, placing this current work within that context. We look at both the nature of design decision-making, as well as the process opportunities afforded by close multi-disciplinary collaboration and rapid feedback from design analysis. Although the work was undertaken in a teaching context, the paper does not discuss the pedagogical issue, but rather concentrates on the operational issues that are encountered when working with a shared building model during a design process. The paper concludes with a statement of the lessons learnt and strategies to be adopted in future projects of this nature.