Convergence

The Redesign of Design

Randy Deutsch

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781119256212
• eBook ISBN: 9781119256281
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Arquitectura
• Subtopic: Práctica profesional en la arquitectura

"There is today a pronounced and accelerated convergence in architecture. This convergence is occurring by doers not thinkers; in practice not academia; in building design, fabrication, and construction. It is about solution-centric individuals engaged in real time problem solving, not in abstractions. The nature of this convergence, where things are converging and what that means for architecture, is the subject of this book."
— from the Introduction Those working in architecture and engineering feel pressure to work faster, at lower cost, while maintaining a high level of innovation and quality. At the same time, emergent tools and processes make this possible. Convergence is about the firms, teams and people who thrive in this environment as a result of their ability to creatively combine and innovate. It seeks to answer several timely questions: What are the tools and work processes that are converging? How are individuals and organizations converging their tools and work processes? What challenges and benefits are they seeing? What is the ultimate endgame of this convergence? What skillsets and mindsets would someone need to develop to work effectively in this changing environment? What are the implications of convergence on the role of the designer, and on design? On how we design, build, fabricate, and construct? On how we work?

The book explains how convergence relates to, but ultimately differs from integration, consolidation, multi-tasking, automation, and other forms of optimization. The practice-based research builds upon the author's research in BIM and in the collaborative leveraging of data in design and fabrication. As an investigation and meditation on the impact of technology on the education and making of design professionals Convergence explains what is happening in the world of design, and discusses the implications for the future of education, training and practice.

CHAPTER 1
10 FACTORS LEADING TOWARD CONVERGENCE

There will be a stronger connection between what’s designed, built, and how it operates.

—Philip Bernstein¹

This chapter is intended to provide a high-level overview of a trend in the profession and industry. Before exploring specific examples of convergence in our industry, it is important to understand the factors that lead to convergence, to place convergence into a larger context, and to address challenges brought about by convergence. In this chapter we’ll explore what convergence is—and isn’t; what factors enable convergence; how convergence relates to and differs from integrated design, lean, and other industry trends; and what, if anything, are the distinguishing factors of an AEC convergence.

In the introduction convergence was defined as two or more things coming together, joining or evolving into one. Two concurrent forces focus the topic. Today nearly everyone in AE firms feels pressure to work faster, at lower expense, while maintaining a high level of innovation and quality. One explanation for this pressure can be traced back to the most recent economic downturn: since 2008, architects and other design professionals have been expected to design and construct in a manner that uses fewer resources while still innovating, adding value while reducing waste. Deliverables have to take less time and cost less money to produce, while not compromising on quality. However, these expectations are unrealistic at best, and often have a negative impact on outcomes, working relationships, and experiences.

Especially since the most recent economic downturn, architects have had to economize and work more efficiently—not only to become more productive, but also to measure and demonstrate their effectiveness. This pressure is compounded by a shrinking workforce, within which design professionals are expected to make do with less. “During and after the recession, construction capacity was destroyed due to job loss as millions of construction workers were out of work,” says one account. “In 2010, the number of people working in U.S. architectural firms plummeted. In turn, clients used the crisis to drive prices down further, taking advantage of the marketplace in crisis. Construction was buying at rock bottom, and architects were working at below-breakeven cost just to keep the lights on. Many in the construction industry retired or departed. Five years after the recession, as design and construction vitality returns, the capacity to support it no longer exists in its previous form.”² The situation is exacerbated by a reduction in the number of students pursuing careers in architecture; by firms not replacing those who have been laid off, because they were found to be redundant; by higher expectations for new hires due to advances in digital technology; and by the fact that there is a smaller pool of talented design professionals to hire from. Thus, architects feel pressure to perform in ways that are smarter, faster, and require fewer resources.

CONVERGENCE AND INTEGRATION

To meet today’s demands for speed, affordability, and quality, design professionals are integrating their efforts—and yet integration alone is not enough. Convergence relates to, but ultimately differs from, integration, integrated design, and integrated project delivery (IPD). Convergence ignores boundaries, whereas integration just moves them. This becomes apparent when looking at the Macleamy Curve or participating on an IPD project team. Convergence bypasses integration as a method for bringing two or more things together. Integration is about meeting earlier, and so reflects linear thinking. Integration is about breaking out of silos. With convergence, there are no silos.

With increasing demands to make decisions in real time, design professionals—having met the challenges and opportunities of this moment—are moving beyond the linearity metaphor and thinking in terms of simultaneity, superintegration, and convergence. At the same time, emergent tools and processes have arrived in time to make this possible. Nevertheless, convergence is incorrectly used as a substitute for related terms.

1 Deutsch Insights, 2017.

A convergence is occurring as traditional design and construction phases blur.

CONVERGENCE AND CONSOLIDATION

As with integration, convergence differs from but is informed by consolidation. As an industry, we’re too loose and subjective in our substitutions, solipsistically comparing convergence with mergers, acquisitions, overlaps, synergy, and consolidations.

Convergence goes beyond the simple combining of two entities. Still, it is easy to see why design professionals confuse convergence with consolidation. No sooner does one learn a new tool—think Ecotect or Sefaira—than it is usurped by a conglomerate’s even larger tool. Whether in school or practice, it is no longer enough to know individual topics, technologies, or tools: our new tools and work processes only have meaning in relation to other technologies and workflows. Mergers and acquisitions are a form of integration³ where boundaries or moved, not obliterated.

2 Relationship Types Diagram, 2017.

Individual technologies, tools, and work processes have multiple ways in which they can interact. (Diagram after five levels of system integration, Richard Rush, The Building Systems Integration Handbook, 1986.)

While convergence is separate and different from consolidation, because many architecture firms are considering mergers or acquisitions, it is important to point out that mergers and acquisitions inform one another and therefore serve as a factor that brings about convergence, in that they ease access to information and resources (“We’ve been able to make connections neither of us could have made individually”⁴). The mergers and acquisitions of architecture firms are a consequence of the economic downturn⁵—a symptom, but not interchangeable with convergence.

Convergence, in other words, comprises even more than compression, in which everything in the building process becomes condensed. “‘Building construction could become an incredibly fast and bespoke process,’ … . ‘Everything will get compressed.’”⁶ Stuart-Smith imagines that constructing a building will be like using a desktop 3D printer: “You can make variety at no additional cost, and you can do it very quickly.”⁷ He envisions a near-future world where “drones troubleshoot … their designs as they go along, smoothing out errors and imperfections and planning ahead, building structures without any need for human supervision. … [T]his level of automation will bring increased accuracy, as well as material...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Copyright
• Title page
• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction: Design in a Time of Simultaneity, Superintegration, and Convergence
• Chapter 1 10 Factors Leading Toward Convergence
• Chapter 2 Data and Intuition
• Chapter 3 Analytics and Models
• Chapter 4 Parametrics and Computation
• Chapter 5 Virtual and Physical
• Chapter 6 Conception and Construction
• Chapter 7 Design and Fabrication
• Chapter 8 Practical and Ineffable
• Epilogue: an Impending Period of Intense Change
• Index
• Eula