The paper introduces a framework for decentralised architectural design in the context of the fourth industrial revolution. We examine first the constraints of building information modelling in regard to collaboration and trust. We then introduce Blockchain infrastructure as a means for creating new operational and business models for architectural design, through project governance, scaling collaboration nominally to thousands of agents, and shifting trust to the infrastructure rather than the architectural design team. Through a wider consideration of Blockchains in construction projects we focus on the design process and validate our framework with a prototype of BIM design optimisation integrated with a Blockchain mechanism. The paper concludes by outlining the contributions our framework can enhance in the building information modelling processes, within the context of the fourth industrial revolution.
We present a proof of concept implementation of an integration strategy for connecting CAD with Blockchain. We explain the components of most blockchains and the value they bring to the built environment ecosystem, the potential impact a complete integration might have and we demonstrate the first two of four levels of integration we have identified between CAD and blockchain technologies. For the purposes of the paper we use Rhino / Grasshopper and Ethereum as the two components of integration.
We present a Blockchain collaboration mechanism on optimisation problems between distributed participants who work with building information modelling tools. The blockchain mechanism is capable of executing smart contracts, acting as a reward mechanism of independent designers attempting to collaborate or compete on optimising a design performance problem. Earlier work has described the potential integration through different levels of Computer Aided Design and Blockchain. We present an expanded version of that integration and we showcase how a team can collaboratively and competitively work, using BIM tools, through the blockchain. The original contribution of the paper is the use of the design optimisation performance as a consensus mechanism for block writing in blockchains. To accomplish that we introduce mechanisms for BIM to Blockchain Integration but also describe a special category of blockchains for architectural design and the built environment. The paper concludes with an analysis of the relationship between trust and values as encapsulated in the blockchain and how these could affect the design collaboration.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.