Trans­form­ing dig­i­tal de­sign prac­tices

The new sustainable building class in the upcoming Building Regulations 2020 is an important driver in achieving the 17 sustainability goals of UN. However, sustainable design of buildings is hampered by weak integration of data across different software tools from independent software vendors.

Based on a socio-technical perspective, this PhD project at Vandkunsten will study how an integrated approach to data exchange between commonly used design software can support a sustainable transformation of design practices that includes life cycle costing (LCC).

Background for the LCC research project

The focus of architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry on Life Cycle Costing (LCC) has been revitalized due to its adoption by new regulations, new procurement policies and various certification schemes. However, the full integration of LCC requires high level of data management and advanced collaboration between software, platforms and formats, and its implementation currently lacks automated processes. The increased use of Building Information modelling (BIM) offers new technological opportunities of increased productivity and collaboration and promises advanced information integration.

Hence, the objectives of this PhD project are:

• To model the factors and conditions of digital data management in current design practices that facilitate or obstruct integrated and reliable life cycle costing calculations.
• To demonstrate how principles of compatibility and interoperability can improve data exchange between commonly applied, but independent software solutions in design practices.
• To evaluate how an integrated approach to data management can reshape and transform digital design practices to include life cycle costing.