A Framework for Design Review in a Virtual Environment: Using Context Aware Information Processing

Design review is a process of reviewing construction design documents to ensure the owner?s design intent is reflected, and the owner?s desired facility is accurately described. As the design stage progresses, the generation of information becomes more intensive. In current design review practices, valuable information is ?scattered?, thus not efficiently utilized. Studies have shown that the effective use of information during design and design review leads to a more comprehensive and high quality design, a facility that is constructible, and within the intended budget. As such, the author developed a framework for design review process in a Virtual Environment that incorporates 3D CAD model, a centralized information repository, and the filtering of design review information based on context-aware concept. The four contexts of information filtering are discipline-centric, task-centric, object-centric, and location-centric; which led to only the relevant information (textual, numerical and graphical) being presented to the reviewer. A design review prototype software application was developed using a low cost 3D Game Engine as the VE development and enabling tool.