Educators and researchers are vital to the construction industry; a massive industry with a significant impact on the economy, ecology and national security. Motivated people, able to conduct breakthrough research and development, are desperately needed. Educators and researchers in architecture, engineering, construction, and also in areas outside the traditional building sciences (such as computer science, manufacturing, energy and natural resources, management, graphic design and the humanities) are instrumental to this task.
Demand is increasing for construction to produce innovative, cost-effective, high performance buildings. However, low productivity and a lack of innovation plague the industry. Efforts are being made to innovate and optimize the industry's current structures and practices. Although there is room for improvement, the potential under the current "industrial-era paradigm" (the premise being that construction's productivity problems stem from industrial era structures and practices) is only a shadow of what a combination of current technology and the next generation will be capable of. The next generation of knowledge workers and professionals operating under the proposed "performance paradigm" will be able to produce far greater results. To put it in today's terms: tomorrow's professionals will not be called upon nor will they be satisfied with improving or optimizing a record player. An improved iPod is what the market wants, and what current technologies are capable of delivering.
This is, therefore, a call for you to lead the preparation of the next generation of industry professionals to apply systems thinking and computational science to the processes and products the industry delivers. Research and development, as well as the development of curriculum that adopts systems thinking and computational science, will be necessary.
The Performance Building Institute proposes shifting to the performance paradigm as the answer to construction’s problems relating to industrial-era structures and practices. The performance paradigm supposes systems thinking and computational science as the means of making the shift. Systems thinking and computational science have transformed much of the economy and culture, but until now construction's complexity and fragmented state have been a bottleneck to transformation. But no more. The performance paradigm is described in a series of white papers available on this website. The introductory paper, "Performance Building" describes the five key transitions pushing the industry toward the performance paradigm: (1) Performance standards and measures, (2) Function-based computing, (3) Completed operating building focus, (4) Integrated innovation, and finally (5) Integrated optimization. The Performance Building Blog invites commentary or news relating to the construction industry and the performance paradigm.
The Performance Building Institute will be working with public, foundation and private industry organizations to obtain grants and investments needed in transitioning to the performance paradigm. As previously noted, research and development are critical. The Performance Building Institute has identified a variety of R&D topics relating to the performance paradigm shift. This paradigm shift will require an adoption of curriculum that encompasses computational science and systems thinking; much like that of other high tech programs. Curriculum will also develop through the discovery and practice of new structures, processes and technologies. If this interests you, please contact the Institute by email info@performancebuilding.org.