Supporting collaborative design and project management for AEC using Speckle interactive data flow diagram

Abstract

Recent advances in architectural geometry and the rising ubiquity of design computation and Visual Programming (VP) amongst architecture practices has led to the design and construction of more complex, larger scale architectural projects. Consequently, the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry has witnessed the emergence of custom technological solutions tailored within some of the most progressive architecture practices to better understand and visualize complex digital design workflows. Although very relevant, such existing solutions have always been developed in isolation to solve particular design problems related to the conception and construction of a specific building project. Based on this observation, the open-source data platform for AEC called Speckle has been developed in order to bring more transparency in the design process, enabling multiple stakeholders working from different software environments to seamlessly communicate through its web interface. The present paper both introduces the platform and describes an interactive data flow diagram – named SpeckleViz – built upon it to support in a user friendly manner transparent collaborative design, project management and version control for AEC. This will be illustrated through two selected case studies.