Informing multimedia: a sensitive interface to data for construction design professionals

• Published in: Design studies 1994-07, Vol.15 (3), p.285-316
• Main Authors: Powell, James A., Newland, Paul
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: bespoke learning environments; designer centred information; generous minding; integration interface; self-information strategies
• ISSN: 0142-694X; 1872-6909
• DOI: 10.1016/0142-694X(94)90015-9

Integrating the visions of all involved in the construction process from client, through designer, fabricator, marketer to the eventual users is essential if the industry is to successfully reflect human needs and generate total quality. Our intention in this paper is to clarify three aspects of construction design or co-creation: the multiplicity of design relevant realities; the importance of the context in the creation of those realities; and the role information technology plays in allowing them to be visible. We feel that in being unaware of the plurality of realities available, how they occur and how they are supported, individuals inappropriately use their alliance to a particular reality as an argument which defeats reciprocity. Constructing a reality is all too human, considering such a reality as a consensus is a leap of faith we wish to question. Information systems and networks are now available to enable an integration of human values and databases to produce a built environment based on a shared vision. However, such integration will only occur if information systems become people centred. This paper is in two parts: in part one we show how architects, design scientist/engineers and design humanities specialists learn about the world in quite different ways and therefore have very different design relevant realities or world views of construction; part two concerns an attempt to use a theory developed from these and other earlier studies to design and test an interface aimed at opening up information systems to all people involved in construction-people who may portray very different values reflecting their cultural biases. The interface design is based on a fourfold model of people's world views, originally suggested by Pepper, and extended into learning and information transfer by Kolb. The paper discusses these theories, on which the interface was designed, describes briefly the developed interface, reports its success in an experimental context and gives guidance for those who want to follow such principles in their own future information systems' design. The paper concludes that when an information system is successfully matched to people's preferred ways of learning it seems to engender better communication and deeper learning. When information is not presented in a preferred mode people will try to impose a preferred structure on that information or else reject it.