Defining a vision for nD-enabled construction

With ever increasing numbers of construction professionals and end-user stakeholders participating in the design and construction processes, the more difficult it becomes to develop a building solution that satisfies every stakeholder’s requirements. The From 3D to nD Modelling project aims to develop a holistic model which allows the impacts of various parameters to be visualised in a 3D computer model. However, the different and potentially conflicting interests and epistemological approaches brought to the design will cause a number of problems which will need to be managed and resolved if the final model is to be of reliable and valid use as a decision-making tool. This paper presents the outputs of three workshops, which together have aimed to define the vision for the project and consequently for the industry as a whole. It then puts these findings into context with previous findings on multi- and inter-disciplinary working and discusses some of the problems of what Gibbons et al (1994) have described as a ‘mode 2’ way of working.