Data anD human behaviourThe question of how the AEC industry will
adjust to increasingly working with data raises
a lot of questions. Can data be crunched into a
form that can be analysed by non-experts? Or
will architects and other design professionals
need to adapt to working with, even alongside,
analytics experts? And if so, how will architects
adapt to working with quants? Is there a
precedent for this situation that architects can
learn from and model? And if so, what is it?
“To some degree, architects will be the data
hackers,” anticipates Sam Miller, partner at
LMN. “We’ve always been in this position of
diving into the detail of what it takes to create
a space or a building performs in however way
we define the performance. In that sense, we’re
kind of hacking into the code of the building and
the code of the program and coming up with a
solution. And this will continue. We won’t just
be sitting among, but to some degree, becoming
those coders and finding those solutions.
Manipulating the tools to create great spaces.”
Leaders will need to determine how data
can be used to achieve the greatest benefits and
outcomes for those involved: Will reliable, rich
data help the firm’s architects do their jobs more
effectively and productively? Will it help them
win jobs and remain competitive? Will they use
data to convince clients to go down a design path,
or to increase value for owners and reduce waste
for the environment? Or all of the above?
Leaders are needed to determine what the
implications will be for using the manufacturer’s
data-rich BIM objects that have embedded data
and can be dropped right into a building project.
When is it appropriate to do this – and when is it
best to modify the content?obstacles to Data useWhat are some of the challenges for utilising
data – and barriers to its use? There are severalobstacles – securing commitment within teams
and the organisation, reinventing internal and
external processes, and modifying organisational
behaviour, to name just a few. Who will do this?
What are some of the human factors that need
to be addressed before the use of data design
and construction becomes habitual? What skills
need to be developed? What training needs to
occur? And what are the most effective ways to
go about training, learning and unlearning past
behaviours and paradigms?
What are the mindsets and behavioural
changes that design, construction and owners’
organisations must make to become data
driven? What role does intuition – even art and
craft – play when data comes to drive the most
important of our decisions on building projects?sharing of DataDespite advances in technology and the
opportunities to share, many firms are still
cautious about sharing data and information.
“I think it is going to change,” says Jonatan
Schumacher, director of CORE studio at
Thornton Tomasetti. “We alone don’t have
that much of an impact. But, by having open
conversations on the web and at symposiums,
and by learning more from the open-source
mentality of computer scientists, we’ll be able
to work it out eventually.”
To come up with their structural designs,
Thornton Tomasetti makes use of databases.
Do these belong to the owner? Are there public
or private sources that they turn to for data on
a regular basis, or does it depend on the project?
Do they collect and warehouse their own data
for use in projects or to improve performance?
“As part of our intranet solution, we have a
private webpage for every project that features
high-level project information – who is the key
contact, services offered, construction date,
etc.,” explains Schumacher. “We can use this
intranet to ask: What do we do in healthcare?What do we do on high-rise projects? What
do we do in Dubai? Every project page also
has inputs for structural system, average
building weight per square foot, and for
embodied carbon. I have been considering
adding the TTX model for every project in
there, too. So that in the future, we can always
look back and extract BIM and analytical data.
It’s just a database, so we’ll be able to open
and read it. It won’t get outdated, like a Revit
model or a Grasshopper definition would. And
it doesn’t use up much storage capacity. We
can open it in ten years and run very detailed
queries down to a single BIM element or
structural analysis node.”
“As far as giving away tools and ideas,
there aren’t too many concerns from our
leadership,” says Schumacher. “Everybody
is interested in creating better buildings, and
having more fun in the process, which is why
we are encouraged to share.”attracting anD retaining
employees to work with DataAnother challenge in teaching data in school
is that data isn’t nearly as compelling as the
generation of interesting form. We see this
as an impediment to data use in the AEC
industry, and this habit and misperception
begins in academia. But there are signs that
the current generation is moving away from
the strictures of a formalistic approach to
building design – they’re more concerned
about performance and impacts on the planet- leaving the door wide open for implementing
data in their designs. If there is one downside
of learning data in school, it’s that graduates
become attractive to other industries, sectors,
markets and fields.
The firms that succeed in this new data-driven
world will be led by individuals who rise to
the challenge of making working with data as
compelling and interesting as working with form.
Despite advances in technology
and the opportunities to share,
many firms are still cautious about
sharing data and information.
Architecture & design /people/ jul-sep 201917ADQ3_016_017_Essay 1_V1.indd 17 26/7/19 4:49 pm