A multi-functional collaborative design environment

Wu, K

Abstract

Typical construction projects involving a large number of stakeholders working
together require a tremendous amount of collaboration amongst them. In order to
reduce the cost and length of the project life cycle undertaken by the design team and
to avoid any catastrophic problems at later stages in the life cycle, technologies such
as BIM and CAD tools have been adopted to support more efficient design assessment.
This research is to explore a human-centric collaborative environment for the
construction sector that can allow multi-functional team members to come together to
visualise, explore, assess and design optimised building solutions. It resulted in
creating a collaboration platform that integrates multi-functional interfaces allowing
teams to explore the design from their own perspectives. Within this multi-user
environment the concept of private and public spaces were explored in order to
enhance design exploration, both individually and as a team.
The environment was tested for the utility, likability and usefulness of the
collaborative design system taking the design of a bathroom for a disabled client as a
case study. The final results suggest that in overall it could potentially enhance the
multi-functional collaborative design.

Citation

Wu, K. A multi-functional collaborative design environment. (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Oct 3, 2012
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2012