Von der Tann, L; Angelino, M; Crick, R; Taylor, C; (2018) Rethinking Design Standards as Learning Frameworks. (ICIF White Paper Collection ). International Centre for Infrastructure Futures (ICIF): London, UK.

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Abstract

Standards align practice across the supply network whilst putting in place basic constraints to ensure quality, safety, compatibility, interoperability, and economy. In the construction industry, design standards are used to verify the adequacy of designs to meet fundamental requirements for safety, serviceability, durability and robustness. There are very few opportunities to prototype; thus design in the construction industry is fundamentally code or standard-driven. In the highly diverse built environment, design standards will never cover all possible situations encountered by designers. Hence, standard writers are expected to select, capture and codify technical knowledge, separate best practice from unsuccessful practice, and share the lessons learnt across the professional community. In this context, standards are representations of a community’s mental model about what ‘good’ looks like, and they serve powerfully to reinforce a particular way of doing things. However, in times of rapid change and increasing complexity, these mental models may no longer be fit for purpose. They need to be re-examined and modified in the light of new challenges and demands. The core argument of this White Paper is that design standards in the construction industry need to be explicitly reconceptualised, re-evaluated and redeveloped as learning frameworks, which encourage users’ adaptability and collaborative learning and improvement, as well as foster creativity and innovation. To support this statement, fundamental notions of contemporary learning theory are presented and key challenges in the way design standards are currently developed and used are discussed. The importance of considering standards from a learning perspective is emphasised by looking at mental models underlying the way design standards are developed and used and recognising the learning power of different users explicitly.

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