The Digital Document

Bruce Duyshart

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781135142087
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Architecture General

Documents, such as drawings, memos and specifications, form an essential function in the design and construction industry. Throughout the lifecycle of a built asset, starting from an initial design idea, right through to a final built form and its ongoing management, thousands, even millions of documents can be used to convey various forms of information to a range of interested parties. In many ways, therefore, the success of a design, or construction-based company, relies upon an understanding of the use of documents, as well as the technologies and techniques that are used to create them.
The Digital Document provides an extensive background to the issues and technologies surrounding this very important topic. It examines a technical subject in an insightful manner that is neither intimidating nor confusing, even to the novice computer user. By introducing the subject through a series of preliminary reviews of current practices and essential computing technologies, the reader is able to better appreciate the benefits and capabilities of a wide range of digital document types. This book explores the role of documents in a professional practice, examines the components, capabilities, viability, and use of digital documents in the design and construction industry, and identifies and explains many of the
standards in use today.In order to facilitate a better understanding of digital document technologies, a number of essential reviews are provided including:
- the definition and purpose of a document
- how documents are typically used by design professionals
- the nature of the digital document environment
- the data types which make up digital documentsThe Digital Document is an essential reference for the architect, engineer or design professional that wants to find out more about effective communication in the digital workplace.Bruce Duyshart is an IT Project Manager with Lend Lease Corporation and specialises in the development and implementation of digital media and information management technologies on design and construction projects. He holds a Masters degree in Architecture and is also an academic associate of the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne. He has written numerous papers on emerging technologies in the architecture, engineering and construction industry, and has developed Internet web sites for the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and Architecture Media.

Chapter 1

A New Medium for Documents

INTRODUCTION

As one industry after another looks at itself in the mirror and asks about its future in a digital world, that future is driven almost 100 per cent by the ability of that company’s product or service to be rendered in digital form.¹

In an era where technology is now an implicit part of almost all professional activities, the role of the document as a container of information, is becoming increasingly important. The Internet is now recognised as the fastest growing medium in history, and its prolific use is now exposing millions of users to a whole range of new and exciting document types that have very powerful capabilities. In order to take best advantage of those capabilities, it is important for business professionals to acquire an understanding of how information can be used in multiple formats using a wide range of sources. This book explores a number of issues related to the application of digital documents, and examines how they can be used by architects, engineers and design professionals in the construction industry.

Traditionally, it has been argued that societies have been shaped more by the nature of the media by which people communicate, than by the actual content of the communication.² However, it has also been recognised that it is usually the content of any medium which blinds people to the real character of the medium they are using.³

Paper is a typical example. Rarely is thought given to how effective paper is as a means of delivering the information in a document. This is because it is generally perceived that a document does not exist until it is in a paper form. In this book a new medium is examined for the packaging of information. That medium is digital rather than analogue, made of bits rather than atoms, and is incorporeal rather than tangible. One of the aims of The Digital Document is to explore the benefits that can be gained from shifting to this new media type in the use of documents.

A change in media types would represent a paradigm shift in the way that documents are used. Thomas Kuhn introduced the notion of a paradigm shift as being a change in ‘an accepted model or pattern’.⁴ It is commonly recognised that the accepted model of a document is one that is based upon the use of paper. This book sets out to challenge that view, and to demonstrate that there are a sufficient number of valid alternatives to the ‘paper document paradigm’.

Throughout history there has always been a propensity for each new medium to build upon its predecessors and to redefine them in the process.⁵ Negroponte argues that one way to look at the future of digital environments, is to ask if the quality of one medium can be transposed to another.¹ In this book it will be demonstrated that digital documents offer not only similar qualities to their paper counterparts, but also certain functionalities that are far superior.

Documents such as drawings, memos, and specifications, form an essential component of the architectural and engineering practices. From conception to completion of a project, hundreds or even thousands of documents are used. Each document forms a node in a complex web of data that conveys information from the germination of a design idea, through to its final built form.⁶,⁷ Without using documents, the communication between the different groups in the design and construction process can become incomplete or ambiguous.⁸,⁹ In many ways, therefore, the success of the architectural practice relies upon an understanding of the use of documents, and the technologies and techniques used to create them.

When an architect or engineer is confronted with a design problem, the process of resolution usually involves a visualisation, or graphic preview, of a range of possible solutions. In the 1930s, Le Corbusier explained that for him, architectural form and space was first a concept of the brain, and that paper was the only means of transmitting these ideas back to the designer and to others.¹⁰ Today however, there are a multitude of alternative digital and electronic approaches that can be taken to achieve this aim.

Over the centuries, architects and engineers have not only used a diverse range of document types, but have also utilised an array of substrates from clay to tracing paper on which to produce them. In Egypt, evidence of simply drawn and roughly scaled plans have been found on ancient papyrus fragments and flakes of limestone.¹⁰ The Greeks and Romans are known to have used full-sized templates and mock-ups of designs on site.¹¹ In the Middle Ages, designers used specially prepared plaster screed floors next to the building site to convey their ideas to the master masons.¹⁰ By the time of Alberti, in the mid fifteenth century, documents had become inexpensive and portable enough that the work of the designer could be removed in time and space from the construction site.¹²

Over the last 600 years paper has been the dominating medium for the transfer of written information. Paper has stood the test of time. It has high contrast display characteristics, is relatively light, highly portable, easy to reproduce, easy to browse through, and is familiar to every user. On the surface these characteristics seem incredibly difficult to compete with.

However, despite the conveniences of paper, there are a multitude of disadvantages associated with its use in today’s modern work environment. The main issues relate to problems of superfluous reproduction, poor accessibility, poor searchability of content, physically large storage requirements, expensive consumption of resources and inefficient handling and delivery procedures.

As society has made the transition from an industrial economy to one based on information, the role of documents in business has also changed.¹³ Computers have completely transformed the concept of what information is, and how it can be interacted with and manipulated. Documents are no longer merely used for record-keeping or the temporary transfer of ideas. Users are beginning to realise that the data contained within their office documents are one of the most valuable assets that a company can possess. Once documents are in a digital form they are capable of being used and reused in a number of powerful and different ways.

Today, digital documents are generally regarded as having far greater functionality and usability features than their paper predecessors. Digital documents are capable of being easily reused for different purposes, searched by title and content, managed in customised work environments, delivered over vast distances almost instantaneously, and accumulated in valuable information repositories. Yet despite these advantages, few users seem accustomed to the capabilities and use of this relatively new medium.

One of the major reasons behind this perception, has been the metamorphic and dynamic state of the computer industry. From an industry that was initially predicted by the founder of IBM, Thomas J. Watson, to grow to no more than eleven computers world-wide, the industry has experienced an explosive and extensive growth. For example, by 1992, the computer equipment and services sector in the US had become larger than the automotive, steel, mining, petrochemical, and natural gas sectors combined.¹³ The effect of this phenomenal growth and the changes it has brought, has left many users in a state of confusion and industry standards in disarray.

The lack of standards and the inability to easily integrate computing solutions, is one of the biggest problems associated with the growth of the computer industry today. In the early days of computing, plain text files were the standard means of creating, distributing and interchanging documents. Then, as documents became more complex with the inclusion of computer graphics, image processing, and advanced text applications, a portability problem began to arise. Competing market forces introduced a multitude of different applications and a diverse range of associated file formats. Not surprisingly, this led to large-scale incompatibilities between many systems, and resulted in what are known as islands of technology.¹³

Only since the early 1990s, coinciding with the extensive popularity of the Internet, has there been any true efforts to promote the development and standardisation of document types to meet the needs of common work practices. United by an extensive and comprehensive communication medium, the Internet now offers many new challenges for users to understand the use of documents in a digital environment. In the ensuing chapters, many related issues will be examined.

The transition from paper-based to digital-based systems will represent, for most designers, a fundamental shift in their current method of practice. It has often been acknowledged that the building and construction sector has been slower than most others in embracing information technology. Therefore, given the speed at which IT is developing, it is becoming increasingly important for architects and engineers to keep up to date with new technologies, if they are to remain competitive in the industry. In the context of this book, it will mean that architects and engineers will need to understand the capabilities of a wide range of digital document types, and to develop new approaches to their use. This book provides additional information to facilitate this process, and a catalyst which will open up the debate on the suitability of this approach.

In the adoption of new technologies, it seems that architects have always wanted to shroud in mystery the methods and techniques they have used. In the Italian Renaissance, Filipo Brunelleschi avoided questioning on his method of perspective projection in a public demonstration in 1417. Even by the late eighteenth century, Gaspard Monge’s method of orthographic projection had become classified as ‘top secret’ by the French Government.¹⁰ It is almost ironical therefore, that approximately 200 years after Monge, a similar air of mystery is still prevalent in the construction industry over the use of computers for CAD and other digital methods of producing documents.

The timing of this book is important given the developments that are occurring in the construction industry and information technology. Traditional work practices in most offices are now being constantly challenged through the application of IT. New business models based upon the use of quality assurance, process re-engineering and workgroup computing are being continually advocated. Most of these changes are based upon the need for increased access to information and improvements in efficiency. The gains can be significant. For example, it has been shown that attaining only a ten per cent improvement in the efficiency of the construction industry, would result in an increase in the Australian GDP of 2.5 per cent.¹⁴ In this book, it will be shown how improved efficiency is just one of many benefits that can be gained from the use of digital documents.

In the analysis of new technologies, one of the fundamental errors is to view them through the lens of existing processes.¹⁵ By trying to adapt technologies to the confines of an existing sphere of knowledge there is a danger of missing out on new opportunities. A more pragmatic approach is usually required. The Digital Document should be analysed with a view to finding new approaches to and a better understanding of the use of documents, and a realisation that paper may not be the ultimate solution.

REFERENCES

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2. McLuhan, M. and Fiore, Q. (1967), The Medium is the Massage, Harmondsworth: Penguin.

3. McLuhan, M. (1964), Understanding Media, London: Abacus.

4. Kuhn, T. S. (1970), The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd edn, International Encyclopedia of Unified Science, vol. 2, no. 2, Chicago: University of Chicago.

5. Schrage, M. (1995), No More Teams! Mastering the dynamics of creative collaboration, New York: Doubleday.

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7. Schmitt, G. (1988), Microcomputer Aided Design for Architects and Designers, New York: Jon Wiley and Sons.

8. NPWC (1993), Integration of Documents: Quality Management of Documentation for Construction, Procurement Management Series, Canberra: National Public Works Council.

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12. Mitchell, W. J. and McCullough, M. (1995), Digital Design Media, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

13. Tapscott, D. and Caston, A (1993), Paradigm Shift – The New Promise of Information Technology, New York: McGraw-Hill.

14. DIST (1994), Strategy for Informa...