Comparing Architects’ Perceptions of the Usefulness of Digital Design Environments with their Aspirations for Sustainable Design in Australia

Abstract

This paper uses a combined method – survey and semi-structured interviews – to evaluate the perceived effectiveness of digital design environments for supporting architects’ sustainable design practices. In most contemporary firms, architects’ sustainable design aspirations are reliant on the use digital design tools and associated computational platforms. Past research, however, suggests that a level of uncertainty exists about whether these tools and platforms are sufficient for this purpose. To investigate this issue in an Australian context, architects were invited to take part in an online survey to identify general trends and perceptions, leading to a series of semi-structured interviews, to analyse the issues in detail. The survey results (n = 70) suggest that despite considering sustainable design an important objective in their design practice, participants believe that digital design tools require further development and improvement. Detailed interviews (n = 15) then identified specific factors affecting the usefulness of digital design tools. These results enhance our understanding of Australian architects’ experiences using digital design tools. It also contributes to improving the tools that support sustainable design practices throughout the architectural, engineering and construction industry.

Architects’ Perceptions about Sustainable Design Practice and the Support Provided for This by Digital Tools: A Study in Australia

“…Their results suggest that amongst other issues, most architects do not perceive BPA to be their responsibility, which has prevented the effective usage of BPA simulation tools in practice. Focusing on the Australian context, Yu and Ostwald [7] conducted a more recent survey evaluating the usefulness of current digital tools for supporting sustainable design, and their preliminary results suggest that digital design tools are in need of further development and improvement from multiple perspectives.…”

“…In the design literature, the impact of digital technologies has often been considered on design in general, but not specifically on sustainable design. A number of more recent studies of architects' sustainable design practices have attempted to address this gap, but focused solely on the roles of different digital technologies [7,8] in supporting sustainable design such as in BPA [22]. Despite this, there remains a lack of research emphasis on the architects themselves, for example, to explore more holistically their perceptions, and their experiences with different digital design environments that support their sustainable design practices.…”

“…The digital technologies used to support AEC professionals to design in more sustainable ways are often embedded into the primary software platforms used across the sector, such as Computer-aided Design (CAD) and Building Information Modelling (BIM) systems. Although digital technologies are important for modelling environmental and socio-economic issues during sustainable building design [6], current digital technologies can still be ineffective in supporting sustainable design processes [7]. For example, research suggests that most sustainable design tools have a range of limitations, such as not being able to conduct comprehensive life cycle assessment [8], lacking user-friendly interfaces, requiring more seamless integration with CAD software, being unsuitable for conceptual design phases, requiring excessive data-input for initiation, and lacking an extensive building component library for complex design and evaluation [9].…”

A Systematic Review of Architectural Design Collaboration in Immersive Virtual Environments

“…The importance of presence when visualising a design solution is significant in the AEC industry for realising the aesthetic appearance of a space, simulating the functionality of the design, and enabling users to effectively experience the place in terms of other factors such as safety and ergonomics. Advancements in digital design technologies including ImVE have supplied architects with a myriad of opportunities, for visualising the appearance and performance of their designs [57].…”

A Human-Centric Approach to a Design-to-Fabrication Process: A Case of Homeless Housing Design in Melbourne, Australia

“…As argued by Daher et al (2015), the future of housing design solutions are likely to adopt digital design tools and technologies for its ability to respond to growing urban needs. Moreover, Yu and Ostwald (2021) have also argued that CAD and CAM have not only evolved for mass-customisation but also for improved adaptability and individualisation as a response to changing contextual needs. Thus, there is an emerging pattern of research into design digitalisation to 1) select digital design tools and technologies based on their design capabilities, and either 2) evaluate its impact on FABRICATION PROCESS design performance, or 3) evaluate its impact on individual needs.…”