Dismantling Silos: From Creative Collaboration to Collaborative Creativity

Abstract

The building industry is comprised of a multitude of specialists, each contributing something unique to the process. What once took decades of planning, physical labor and project oversight is now routinely accomplished is a matter of months, while also dealing with exponential increases in complexity. In so doing, the requisite array and subsets of Designers, Architects, Engineers, Contractors and Consultants have become increasingly disjointed. This thesis is an attempt to understand more fully the systemic nature of the Architecture Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry and to examine some opportunities currently presented for a re-thinking of the design and building processes that can contribute to enhancing project quality and outcome by approaching the problem holistically. The case studies herein, while divergent in strategy and organization, are both rooted in effective collaboration leading to innovative solutions. Further analysis investigates various criteria integral to working better together within the design and construction industry. Forming project teams, integrated in purpose and enabled through collaborative creativity, is a step toward an industry-wide reevaluation of best practices and working across disciplines more effectively. This thesis document is represented as a logical progression, first providing background information concerning the evolution of the construction industry, innovation, collaboration and alternative processes. The remainder of the document delineates two case studies (Hertfordshire House by Facit Homes and 87 Dikeman by SHoP Architects) followed by an analysis of the criteria identified through the framework of Planning and Implementation of Effective Collaborative Working in Construction (PIECC) as being integral challenges to address in this effort.