Design Innovation Research Centre

Design is located between the crafts of making and the experiences of using. Digital models currently isolate the designer in the closed digital world, taking attention away from these important connections. A new mode of design is necessary in the UK construction industry for it to sustain its competitiveness and address major 21st century issues such as climate change. Engineering research is often focused on tools, either those to add increasingly detailed data to a finite set of building components; or those to encode algorithms for simulating processes and behaviours. Yet Dr Whyte found that the introduction of integrated models on major projects and programmes has not improved effectiveness, but has instead had unintended and negative consequences. In some instances these include generating too much data; making work progress harder to track and displaying designs in ways that make them look reliable before they have been fully tested. There is a need to transform the research field by focusing on effective visualization of design data in both digital and physical design environments.Rapid developments in visual interfaces, largely driven by the gaming and entertainment industries, provide an opportunity to develop more intuitive interfaces, taking 3D digital models out of the 2D screen and making them visible within physical design environments. The aspiration is to make digital models central to the conversation between engineers, manufacturers, fabricators, assemblers, clients and users. There is the potential to sit around a model; to walk around it together; to overlay and interrogate multiple environmental simulations and to compare and contrast design intent with scanned as-built models. The proposed Design Innovation Research Centre (DIRC) will develop new ways of visualizing data for shared design inquiry. The team will scientifically study design activities; and develop novel engineering solutions. DIRC's scientific study team will capture best-practice on major international projects. DIRC's engineering solutions team will create new tools and processes for design innovation. As an open and networked laboratory, the Centre will be the hub of intellectual activity, spanning across disciplines with a virtual and physical presence and nodes in both university and industry. Through inter-disciplinary research and its strong connections with industry, DIRC will be able to react quickly, will operate at the forefront of the research area and will add value by developing skills that are needed within academia and industry. Challenging Engineering funding enables the applicant to bring together and develop a multidisciplinary team of researchers (from engineering, design, ICT, building science and management) to address the challenges of design in the digital economy. The Centre will extend Dr Whyte's trajectory of work, recognizes the importance of shared 3D visualization in decision-making and the need for flexible solutions that do not lock designers into particular approaches too early in the design process. It will thrive through strong research and through deep engagement with industrial partners and associate members. At the end of the Challenging Engineering funding period the Centre will be an internationally-excellent, sustainable, and actively-disseminating, centre of excellence in the UK for 21st century design innovation.

1. Who will benefit from this research? The Design Innovation Research Centre (DIRC) will benefit the UK economy. In the first 5 years particular beneficiaries will be industry, policy and the younger members of society. Industrial users include engineers, designers, managers, clients and ICT developers. Policy users include engineering institutions, industry bodies, government departments and policy organizations. Younger members of society are the next generation of UK engineers. 2. How will they benefit from this research? Industry Users - Scientific studies of design practices (Theme 1) have the potential to increase the international competitiveness of the UK in high value areas of major projects and to develop new strategies, skills and capabilities for engineering excellence. Research on playful engineering and design innovation (Theme 2) will provide novel solutions for practicing engineers that enable new kinds of hybrid digital and physical design practices. Dr Whyte's team will work directly with engineers and designers from large international firms (e.g. Arup and Halcrow) and from SMEs (e.g. Fulcro) to ensure that they benefit from the new tools for design innovation. A wider set of engineers and designers will be engaged through workshops and seminars, such as the planned 2010 Institution of Civil Engineers seminars, and through the interactive website. Client managers in both the commercial private sector and in the public sector have little knowledge about how to specify and procure design. They have embraced the Design Quality Indicators (DQI), developed in Dr Whyte's prior research, as a checklist of relevant issues. The team will work with Vinci to develop new tools and approaches for design in the digital economy that help managers and clients to direct attention to the emerging critical issues. Collaboration with software developers such as Bentley and Inition will ensure that findings of the research are incorporated into next generation tools and that UK firms have access to the latest research outputs. Policy Users - This research is relevant to the major engineering institutions and industry bodies, including the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE); Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE); Royal Institution of British Architects (RIBA); Construction Industry Council (CIC); Constructing Excellence (CE). They will benefit from engagement in the research through setting professional agendas in the digital economy. National government departments such as BIS will benefit from the wider lessons from the international comparative work and access to the latest developments in tools and processes, and the work will develop insights that could also inform future OGC government procurement. Younger Members of Society - DIRC has benefits for the wider UK public, which it will engage through its digital infrastructure. In particular it will inspire younger members of society to consider engineering as a career, engaging with groups through National Science and Engineering week and the AIM Higher initiative, and running open days and hands-on workshops. The University's dedicated Wider Participation Office will facilitate this engagement. 3. What will be done to ensure that they benefit from this research? Communication and engagement plans include a fully interactive website with podcasts; sandpits with industrial collaborators; workshops and seminars; and wider outreach activities. There are detailed collaboration arrangements for engagement with industrial collaborators; for developing cross-disciplinary research skills; involving associate members and working in a digitally-enabled way with international scholars. Please see the attached Impact Plan for more details.