We Need a Theory of Construction

The guidelines for White Papers for Berkeley-Stanford CE&M workshop suggest deriving research needs from the practical needs of the industry. Generally, this is a sound approach. However, I would like to propose that at this particular moment, thinking in the opposite direction is as, or even more important. My vision is that during the next decade, the formation of a theory of construction will be the single most important force influencing the construction industry. Such a theory of construction will consists of two parts, firstly a theory of production in general and secondly the application of this theory to the characteristics of construction. Presently, there is no commonly accepted theory of production (Heim & Compton 1992). However, I argue that the various existing theoretical strands can be integrated into a useful theoretical framework, which will give direction for further clarification and experimentation and which is applicable also to construction. In the following, this vision is grounded in more detail.