Design for Excellence in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction: A multi-stakeholder model

Abstract

To hold a prodigious opportunity of architectural design and prevent various challenges in the downstream processes, many concepts under the umbrella of Design for Excellence (DfX) have been emerged, such as Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA), Design for Logistics (DfL), Design for Construction Waste Minimization (DfCWM), and Design for Deconstruction (DfD). Although they must be scrutinized and included in one design proposal, they are presently proposed in various resources without an integrated strategy. This research therefore aims to amalgamate prevailing notions and generate the DfX model to assist professional practice. By literature review, coding analysis, and aligning with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Plan of Work, the multi-stakeholder model for DfX with 20 guidelines and detailed explanations is created. To accomplish all desirable attributes, DfX encourages 1) interdisciplinary knowledge expansion and management, 2) adopting design standardization, simplification, modularization, and other techniques, 3) coordination among parties to optimize a design proposal, 4) careful material specifications and detail design, and 5) documentation. The findings indicate a change in stakeholders’ responsibilities and design methodologies, but this should be further empirically investigated. Future research is recommended to fine-tune the proposed model, and study the implementation of DfX in real-world settings.