Dermott McMeel

Making friends with Frankenstein: hybrid practice in BIM

Purpose Although the potential of Building Information Modelling (BIM) to generate process and performance improvement in the construction industry has been widely documented, very few projects operate in a wholly BIM environment. The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that lead to hybrid practice in BIM across disciplines or project stages, and accommodations that must be reached within BIM project frameworks to allow for it. Design/methodology/approach In-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out with 38 BIM specialists from Australia and New Zealand, representing a variety of construction industry disciplines and roles. Data on current practice and experiences in BIM were analysed using a thematic approach within a qualitative framework. Findings Hybrid BIM practice is shown to be a common experience for practitioners in New Zealand and Australia. It is presented as a valid model of BIM adoption; both as a development stage in the process towards more complete BIM implementation, and also as an adoption model in its own right. Research limitations/implications The paper is based on data from New Zealand and Australia, which are currently developing BIM markets. Although surveys have demonstrated many similarities in BIM adoption processes internationally, results may be less applicable to more mature markets. Practical implications The paper suggests that instead of regarding hybrid BIM negatively as an unsuccessful implementation, companies should seek to identify and manage the causes and effects of hybridisation in order to improve project outcomes. Originality/value This paper addresses the management of transitional stages of BIM implementation, which is often overlooked in research.

Practice vs. Prescription - An Examination of the Defined Roles in the NZ BIM Handbook

The emergence of formal BIM-specialist roles was one of the earliest and more obvious changes to industry practice resulting from the introduction of BIM, but literature suggests that the scope of tasks and responsibilities within such a role remains poorly defined. Following the lead of earlier international guides and handbooks, the recently developed New Zealand BIM Handbook provides a definition of the key roles required for successful BIM implementation in a project. A set of minimum responsibilities are prescribed for project, discipline and technical elements of each BIM-specialist role. This Handbook, however, is now being introduced into an industry in which BIM practice has been evolving over several years in a far less structured manner. In order to identify current practice within such roles, New Zealand BIM specialists across a range of disciplines were interviewed. The resulting analysis examines the prescribed roles and responsibilities, as set out in the Handbook, in the light of existing practice. The discussion encompasses skill sets, role development, reporting and accountability, and the background and training of specialists. Differences in practice between disciplines are identified, and wider concerns over the career trajectory of the BIM specialist are discussed.

Fabricate It, Paint It – And Don’t Wait up: Separating Fact from Fiction in Digitally Sponsored Fabrication

This paper offers perspectives on emerging trends in materiality and digital fabrication. It explores effects on communication practices and investigates how this changing materiality of data impacts collaboration and interoperability within design and making. Computer numerical controlled (CNC) routing and laser-cutting services are available in most major cities. Affordable kits for 3D printers, CNC routers and DIY KUKA robots are available across the Internet. A considerable part of the attraction of these tools is the ability to fabricate physical goods without detailed fabrication knowledge. We look at this phenomenon through two sets of examples, making furniture with a CNC router and making robots and tangibles with a 3D printer. In our examples it appears materiality remains an important factor throughout the process. We unpick these examples to shed light on how the technology impacts knowledge practices and ways of thinking during design and making.

Baby steps with BIM – learning to walk the talk

Although there is a great deal of enthusiasm reported for companies to adopt BIM for improved project outcomes and industry productivity, the process of developing BIM expertise is not always an easy one. Project teams frequently come together with a very wide range of knowledge and differing levels of enthusiasm for taking on a BIM OexperimentO. This paper details the BIM implementation process on two New Zealand projects undertaking BIM with largely inexperienced teams. Interviews were carried out with practitioners involved in the projects, who were largely OBIM positiveO. Their narratives present an optimistic view of the BIM intentions, while still being realistic about problems that emerged. Issues for future consideration are identified. Most revolve around team communication factors and the importance of open and constructive relationships with all parties.

Material Control: Reflections on the social and material practices of digital fabrication

AbstractDigital fabrication and its impact on design has been a burgeoning area of research for over two decades, and it now appears to be transitioning into a phase beyond mere fascination with complex and seductive geometry. The technology continues to proliferate, new tools such as 3D printers emerge, new materials are developed and the scale of fabrication increases. In addition, robotics and computer numerical controlled routers are increasingly used for fabrication and assembly processes in a wide range of new domains. This paper has two objectives. The first is to situate digital fabrication within a historical narrative where design and technology are entangled in order to shed light on how design technologies are complicit in social practices. Second, through original research, I unpack design and digital fabrication processes, analyzing their materiality and the impact on knowledge practices. Evidence suggests that design and making professionals are adopting new organization and social practice...

Knitting Patterns: Managing Design Complexity with Computation

Large software conglomerates like Trimble and Autodesk provide consumers with suites of software that perform many functions within the design and construction process. Communicating with software outside of the suite can be highly problematic as file types and communication protocols are proprietary and closed within that software family the antithesis of interoperability). This is in stark contrast with emerging trends in consumer computing, where we find a rich ecosystem of devices and services facilitating a period of intense innovation. This paper documents original research that aims to implement communication beyond specific software suites and test, to what extent, wider software ecosystems revolving around open standards might be implemented within the design and construction domain. Our first test case—an agentbased dynamic simulation combining natural and built environmental components—is deployed to explore the city as a multitude of interrelated natural and built patterns. We analyze the role this simulation might play in managing the complexities of rebuilding a sustainable urban environment after the devastating earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. The second test case deploys an iPad application to communicate with a BIM model exploring the development of a mobile application and methodology for openly communicating outside of the intended software family. Through these case studies we begin to identify ways to leverage emergent device and data ecosystems and representations for ‘knitting’ devices and services together in innovative ways to advance design and construction processes. KeywoRDS Architecture, BIM, Design, Digital, Ecology Knitting Patterns: Managing Design Complexity with Computation Dermott John James McMeel, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand Robert Amor, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Space to think! Territory, the architectural uncanny and space management

ABSTRACT This paper explores the limits technology places upon space; specifically, it looks at building and asset management systems, which are employed to manage and construct the built environment. Building management systems (BMS) are critical in operating any modern commercial building, deconstructing space and reconstructing it out of manageable assets. I will demonstrate through a case study how this process of de/reconstruction can render the intention of a space uncertain. Deleuze’s ‘assemblage’ theory is used as a potential model of how space is conceived as a conglomeration of things. I draw from a number of theorists, including Lefebvre and Coyne to explore the problematic of how space is quantified, constructed and interpreted, analysing the effect of BMS on spatial production. Ultimately, I offer a methodology developed through original research that sheds light on how space might be reclaimed from these systems.

Dynamic Sites: Learning to Design in Techno-Social Landscapes

ABSTRACT This paper investigates interdisciplinary research through an urban design project and explores the creation of broader architectural representations of place. It advances the case made by McCarthy and Wright for developing deeper associations between experience and technology. Drawing on artist Janet Cardiffs media representations of space, design students were challenged to represent richer descriptions of place that include factors such as temporal and spatial resistance, experiential laminations, and social linkages and their gaps. Findings support a view of design and transdisciplinarity as potentially compelling modalities for research in these complex contexts, discourage bringing technology to center stage and encourage propositions that recommend looking beyond the functional and attending to personal and social facets of our interaction with technology.