The Tower of Babel: Bridging Diverse Languages with Information Technologies (2005)
article⁄The Tower of Babel: Bridging Diverse Languages with Information Technologies (2005)
abstract⁄New digital tools or information technologies are providing the means for architects to realize unprecedented architectural creations. Unfortunately, the promise these technologies hold is far from their potential expression in the built physical environment. A contributing cause to this disjunctive state is the multiplicity of languages and knowledge sets employed by the various team members or actors engaged in a building project. From the cost models of the owners to the shop drawings of the fabricators, each actor views the project in terms specific to their individual discipline. In order to successfully engage the building process, these new technologies must account for this condition and develop means in which to span across traditional boundaries. This paper will examine the disjointed and fractured nature of the building project and identify opportunities for the deployment of information technologies to bridge boundaries, ultimately providing for and delivering architectural projects of unparalleled precedence. Specific aspects inherent to these technologies will be examined to understand where their application may benefit the building process. The key attributes this paper will focus on include visualization tools, centralized database, cross discipline platform tools and novel forms of information representation. A case study of an architectural project will serve as the means in which to study the successful implementation of these attributes and their resulting impact on the design process and building project. This study will demonstrate how information technologies can be implemented within the multifaceted framework of conventional building projects to yield a project of unprecedented form.
