The connexion between design (architecture) and production (construction) is often a discordant one. The design-bid-build methodology common in the delivery of buildings has been the standard form of procurement through many eras, as far back as Roman master builders, and has led to the separation of design experts from construction trades with contractual documents (drawings and specifications) being the only negotiating tool. This fragmented, conflict prone process requires comprehensive itemization and detailing for outlining systemic responsibilities. Any orphaned element in the design process becomes a fertile ground for friction among project participants.
Inspired and informed by lean manufacturing principles a more integrated process can address this continuous entanglement of trades and conflicts. In this model, design criteria and project objectives are shared from the onset among stakeholders. Further, a risk-reward relationship completely reforms the antiquated design-bid-build process into a process analogous to Design for Manufacturing principles to bridge the ever-widening gap between design and construction. The separation of design from production in construction is also present in manufacturing. The disconnect is known as «over the wall» tensions; the wall separates design from engineering and from manufacturing. Design for manufacturing and assembly tackles this disintegration by incorporating production criteria, designers, and process engineers in the design of a product, eliminating the proverbial wall.
In a similar way to DfMA, IPD (Integrated project delivery) fosters all project participants’ criteria from planning stages through a contractual framework that clearly defines project requirements and responsibilities. Prefabrication, off-site construction or even industrialized construction relate to the integrated process in as much as manufacturers should always be included in the design process to fine-tune detailing from predetermined and interoperable parts. Both integrated project delivery and design for manufacturing and assembly underline necessary inclusion of production and making principles in the design process. Contemporary modelling tools are driving more integration though information sharing. Architecture is more closely related to production or even manufacturing as digital coordination between different fields is becoming the norm. All stakeholders’ conditions can be federated by BIM employing advanced modelling to collectively organize and generate the project virtually before it is built.
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| Above: DfMA; Below: IPD; both showing effort and involvement in planning |
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