Population Health Initiative awarded a Climate Change Pilot Grant to two teams that includes CBE researchers. Projects will begin January 2024, and were awarded $50,000. Read the full story here. Project title: “Sustainable metamaterials for insulation applications.” Project team: Eleftheria Roumeli, Materials Science & Engineering Tomás Méndez Echenagucia, Architecture Project abstract: Amidst an urgent global shift towards a circular economy, the demand for sustainable materials has reached a critical juncture. This transformation requires materials sourced from renewable sources, processed via…
Person: Carrie Sturts Dossick
Industry-Faculty-Student collaboration through the Applied Research Consortium
Owner of RDF Consulting Services and consultant for Turner Construction, Renzo di Furia, is working with Associate Dean for Research Carrie Sturts Dossick in supporting student-industry collaboration. “Applied Research Consortium brings together an interdisciplinary group of built environment firms with faculty experts and graduate student researchers at the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments (CBE) to address the most vexing challenges that firms face today.” A case study in applied research is highlighted in the article. 3D modeling was…
New Tool Created by CBE Researchers in partnership with Charles Pankow Foundation
CBE researchers worked with the Charles Pankow Foundation to develop a new Building Owner Assessment Tool (BOAT). Team members included CBE Dean Renée Cheng, FAIA; Associate Dean for Research Carrie Sturts Dossick, Ph.D, P.E.; and Laura Osburn, Ph.D. Other team members included Lingzi Wu, Ph.D. Daniel Dimitrov, and Xianxiang Sean Zhao. The tool was developed in partnership with the American Institute of Architects and the Integrated Project Delivery Alliance. The Building Owner Assessment Tool (BOAT): Helping You Understand Your Culture and Its…
Population Health Initiative awards multiple College of Built Environments teams planning grants
The Population Health Initiative announced 12 climate change planning grant awardees. Of those 12 teams, 4 include College of Built Environments researchers. Descriptions of their projects are below. Read the CBE News story here. Linking Climate Adaptation and Public Health Outcomes in Yavatmal, Maharashtra Investigators Sameer H. Shah, Environmental and Forest Sciences Celina Balderas Guzmán, Landscape Architecture Pronoy Rai, Portland State University Project abstract This proposal collects primary interview data with landed and landless agriculturalists in Yavatmal district in…
Campus Sustainability Fund selects College of Built Environments researchers for 2022-2023 work
The Campus Sustainability Fund selected College of Built Environments PhD student Daniel Dimitrov, along with Associate Dean for Research Carrie Sturts Dossick, to receive funding for the project described below. Energy, Information, and the New Work of Building Operations in the Digital Age Amount Awarded: $19,833 Funding Received: 2022-2023 Project Summary: The built environment industry is in the midst of a data revolution paired with a drive for sustainable campus operations. Innovation, information, communication access, and integration provide an opportunity…
Immersive VR Versus BIM for AEC Team Collaboration in Remote 3D Coordination Processes
Asl, Bita Astaneh; Dossick, Carrie Sturts. (2022). Immersive VR Versus BIM for AEC Team Collaboration in Remote 3D Coordination Processes. Buildings, 12(10).
Abstract
Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Virtual Reality (VR) are both tools for collaboration and communication, yet questions still exist as to how and in what ways these tools support technical communication and team decision-making. This paper presents the results of an experimental research study that examined multidisciplinary Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) team collaboration efficiency in remote asynchronous and synchronous communication methods for 3D coordination processes by comparing BIM and immersive VR both with markup tools. Team collaboration efficiency was measured by Shared Understanding, a psychological method based on Mental Models. The findings revealed that the immersive experience in VR and its markup tool capabilities, which enabled users to draw in a 360-degree environment, supported team communication more than the BIM markup tool features, which allowed only one user to draw on a shared 2D screenshot of the model. However, efficient team collaboration in VR required the members to properly guide each other in the 360-degree environment; otherwise, some members were not able to follow the conversations.
Keywords
Mental Models; Virtual-reality; Performance; Virtual Reality (vr); Building Information Modeling (bim); 3d Coordination; Clash Resolution; Remote Collaboration; Multidisciplinary Aec Team
Disruptive Information Exchange Requirements in Construction Projects: Perception and Response Patterns
Abdirad, Hamid; Dossick, Carrie S.; Johnson, Brian R.; Migliaccio, Giovanni. (2021). Disruptive Information Exchange Requirements in Construction Projects: Perception and Response Patterns. Building Research And Information, 49(2), 161 – 178.
Abstract
The current proliferation of custom information exchange initiatives in projects disrupts information exchange routines of design and construction firms. This paper investigates how firms perceive, interpret, and act upon information exchange requirements that do not align with their existing routines. This case study examines a construction project for which the owner specified highly custom requirements for digital production and delivery of project submittals. Using ethnographic methods, the project parties' existing routines and their patterns of perceiving and responding to the requirements were identified. These patterns showed that the parties perceived disruptions to the existing dispositions and rules that guided their routines and shaped their performance across projects. The project parties used a combination of deductive, inductive, and abductive reasoning mechanisms to interpret the requirements, expose the inefficiencies associated with their workflows, and set new ground rules for action. The grounded propositions in this study hold that the limited opportunities for inductive reasoning and reflective assessment of workflows in projects can press project parties into identifying alternative workflows through cognitive search and abductive reasoning. This, in turn, results in highly situated, temporary, and fragmented workflows that are not durable and effective to contribute to refinement of existing information exchange routines.
Keywords
Construction Industry; Abductive Reasoning; Cognitive Searches; Construction Projects; Design And Construction; Ethnographic Methods; Inductive Reasoning; Information Exchange Requirements; Information Exchanges; Organizational Routines; Risk; Bim; Implementation; Innovation; Information Exchange; Disruptive Requirements; Routines; Construction Companies; Cognitive Ability; Project Engineering; Reasoning
Organizational Divisions in BIM-Enabled Commercial Construction
Dossick, Carrie S.; Neff, Gina. (2010). Organizational Divisions in BIM-Enabled Commercial Construction. Journal Of Construction Engineering And Management-asce, 136(4), 459 – 467.
Abstract
Proponents claim that the adoption of building information modeling (BIM) will lead to greater efficiencies through increased collaboration. In this paper, we present research that examines the use of BIM technologies for mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire life safety systems (often referred to as MEP) coordination and how the introduction of BIM influences collaboration and communication. Using data from over 12 months of ethnographic observations of the MEP coordination process for two commercial construction projects and interviews with 65 industry leaders across the United States, we find that BIM-enabled projects are often tightly coupled technologically, but divided organizationally. This means that while BIM makes visible the connections among project members, it is not fostering closer collaboration across different companies. We outline the competing obligations to scope, project, and company as one cause for this division. Obligations to an individual scope of work or to a particular company can conflict with project goals. Individual leadership, especially that of the MEP coordinator in the teams we studied, often substitutes for stronger project cohesion and organization. Organizational forces and structures must be accounted for in order for BIM to be implemented successfully.
Keywords
Technology; Implementation; Viewpoint; Integrated Systems; Construction Industry; Leadership; Information Systems; Information Technology; Communication; Constructability; Mechanical Systems; Electrical Systems
Three Pathways to Highly Energy Efficient Buildings: Assessing Combinations of Teaming and Technology
Homayouni, Hoda; Dossick, Carrie Sturts; Neff, Gina. (2021). Three Pathways to Highly Energy Efficient Buildings: Assessing Combinations of Teaming and Technology. Journal Of Management In Engineering, 37(2).
Abstract
Highly energy efficient (HEE) buildings require a whole-system approach to building design. Scholars have suggested many tools, techniques, and processes to address the cross-disciplinary complexities of such an approach, but how these elements might be best combined to lead to better project outcomes is yet unknown. To address this, we surveyed architects associated with 33 AIA-COTE award-winning projects on the social, organizational, and technological elements of whole-system design (WSD) practices. We then used fuzzy sets-qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to analyze the interdependencies among those elements. We found three distinct pathways for the design and construction of HEE buildings: information-driven, process-driven, or organization-driven. We also found that HEE buildings share some conditions for success, including having shared goals, owners engagement in the design process, and frequent and participatory interorganizational meetings. Our findings can help practitioners strategize and make decisions on incorporating WSD elements associated with their project types. Moreover, these results provide a launchpad for scholars to investigate complementarities among elements facilitating the design and construction process of HEE projects.
Keywords
Buildings (structures); Construction; Design Engineering; Energy Conservation; Fuzzy Set Theory; Innovation Management; Organisational Aspects; Project Management; Team Working; Whole-system Approach; Building Design; Cross-disciplinary Complexities; Social Elements; Organizational Elements; Technological Elements; Whole-system Design Practices; Fuzzy Set; Distinct Pathways; Hee Buildings; Project Types; Construction Process; Hee Projects; Highly Energy Efficient Buildings; Whole-system Design; Energy Efficient Buildings; Building Information Modeling; Integrated Project Teams; Fuzzy Sets-qualitative Comparative Analysis
A Case Study of the Failure of Digital Communication to Cross Knowledge Boundaries in Virtual Construction
Neff, Gina; Fiore-Silfvast, Brittany; Dossick, Carrie Sturts. (2010). A Case Study of the Failure of Digital Communication to Cross Knowledge Boundaries in Virtual Construction. Information Communication & Society, 13(4), 556 – 573.
Abstract
When can digital artefacts serve to bridge knowledge barriers across epistemic communities? There have been many studies of the roles new information and communication technologies play within organizations. In our study, we compare digital and non-digital methods of inter-organizational collaboration. Based on ethnographic fieldwork on three construction projects and interviews with 65 architects, engineers, and builders across the USA, we find that IT tools designed to increase collaboration in this setting instead solidify and make explicit organizational and cultural differences between project participants. Our study suggests that deeply embedded disciplinary thinking is not easily overcome by digital representations of knowledge and that collaboration may be hindered through the exposure of previously implicit distinctions among the team members' skills and organizational status. The tool that we study, building information modelling, reflects and amplifies disciplinary representations of the building by architects, engineers, and builders instead of supporting increased collaboration among them. We argue that people sometimes have a difficult time overcoming the lack of interpretive flexibility in digital coordinating tools, even when those tools are built to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration.
Keywords
Digital Communications; Data Transmission Systems; Communication & Technology; Digital Electronics; System Analysis; Building Information Modelling; Collaboration; Qualitative Methods; Teams; Civil Engineering Computing; Digital Communication; Groupware; Knowledge Representation; Organisational Aspects; Virtual Reality; Case Study; Virtual Construction; Knowledge Barriers; Epistemic Community; Interorganizational Collaboration; Ethnographic Fieldwork; Interpretive Flexibility; Digital Coordinating Tool; Digital Collaboration; Technology; Objects; Design; Representations; Organizations