Innovation in the built environment: The rise of digital buildings

This is a study of innovation in complex systems. The subject is the evolution of digital building technologies developed to accommodate new forms of information-intensive work. The aim is to make a contribution to understanding of processes of industrial innovation, both generally and specifically in relation to theories of technical change in construction. Construction is shown to be a dynamic system, rather than a traditional static industry as it is generally perceived. Construction and design forms play important roles in making organisational innovations which facilitate integration of new building systems. They are not merely passive recipients of change emanating from elsewhere. Existing theories of innovation based on the work of Bowley and Turin provide an inadequate basis for explaining how digital building technologies are developed, although they help to explain acceptance and resistance to change within construction. The general literature on technical change provides a useful framework within which to analyse the diffusion of information technology in constructed products. These two theoretical strands are brought together in a synthetic approach to innovation in complex building systems. A number of general conclusions can be drawn from this study. First, that an approach based on sector studies is of limited use in explaining the dynamics of large complex systems, where many changes occur at the boundaries between traditionally defined sectors. A better explanation of why and how innovation occurs is provided by an analysis which explores relationships between different players in supply-networks. Second, this approach is in itself insufficient unless it is related to the role played by users of complex systems, whose needs emerge over time.