BIM-based collaboration across organizational and disciplinary boundaries through knotworking

Knotworking is introduced as a new idea and an emerging practice for enhancing collaboration across organizational and team boundaries in BIM-based building projects. Knotworking refers to co-located ‘knots’ that are organized on a temporary basis to solve a specific task, a problem or an open question requiring multi-disciplinary expertise in a building project. The idea of knotworking was adopted and re-interpreted from elsewhere in a research and development program in the Finnish construction industry and experimented with in the early design of a school building. The aim of this study is to examine how the fragmentation of design and construction work could be reduced through knotworking in building projects. The methodology of the study is based on developmental and interventionist approaches in activity theory (Engeström 2014; Miettinen et al. 2013), according to which the developmental processes are carefully followed, analyzed and documented. Complex problems such as “waiting” and “decision-making” motivated the practitioners to experiment with knotworking in the program. The experimentation required thorough prior preparation in the development of knotworking. The new knotworking concept, using the best existing technology, enabled the creation of 15–20 energy solutions and cost calculations for five architect scenarios in a two-day knotworking workshop. The method was further tested in three other cases during the program, and it was presented to relevant stakeholders at several events. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/ peer-review under responsibility of Tampere University of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering.