The Factors Affecting Collaborative Building Design

Collaboration is an important requisite in the multi-participant building design environment. The performance of a building as an end product is enabled via the collaborative efforts of project participants. The main objective of this paper is to identify the factors that affect the collaboration among the participants in the building design process. The related data is collected from the growing literature on collaborative design. Recent technological developments that serve a higher level of collaboration and the construction industry's efforts to improve building performance are also considered. A conceptual model is proposed to address the collaborative relationship between the participants of the building design process. The challenge is to enable collaboration by integrating the work performed by participants with diverse backgrounds, varying levels of expertise, and different perspectives. The implication of this research is that a good understanding of the factors that enhance collaboration between the parties involved in design not only enhances building performance, but also improves the competitiveness of building design firms.