User Participation in the Building Process

Virtual Innovation in Construction (VIC) is a project aiming to develop an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) supported methodology VIC-MET, to involve building end-users in a creative innovation process together with building designers, and to capture and formulate end-user needs and requirements on buildings and their functionality. The method gives advisors and clients a set of tools to capture the required knowledge in a creative and innovative design process with end-users, and thus to incorporate user needs in the building. VIC-MET includes four design spaces that support different functions in the user involvement process. In space (1) 'Contextual Inquiry', the end-users are given tools and motivation to deliver their wishes, needs and views on suggested solutions. Individual views of end-users have to be expressed and consolidated into more general needs, common values must be established and conceptual building designs be illustrated. This is done in (2) 'Conceptual modelling space'. Here the VIC-MET proposes different tools and processes to build up a common understanding of end-user needs and values. In (3) 'Functional consolidation space', needs are linked to functional building systems (FBS), which are realized as component building systems (CBS), which will form parts in the total building solution. The formulated needs provide input to specific requirements in order to assure expected performance of the building components. The final virtual building model or part of it is evaluated by the end-users in the (4) 'Solution space'. Three on-going construction projects were used as cases in the development and in the testing of VICMET. Collaborative Virtual Reality environments were tested in order to present and discuss the suggested solutions with users. The virtual environments included CAVE and Panorama, a game console based solution and a virtual world in Second Life.