My first Publication Arup_BuildingDesign2020_v2 | Page 34

Systems “At the moment there’s an enthusiasm for all things smart, how we’re going to capture all this data… but to what end? In several years you’ll have a lot of sites where no systems are talking, and then you’ll have the exemplars of data collection shining out, where the data is open and operable in as many systems as possible.” —Damien McCloud, IT & Comms Systems 3.1 Growth Current drivers in building design include urbanisation at the global scale, and an expanding constellation of resources for collecting and processing design and performance data at the building and systemic levels. Urbanisation in the developed and developing world alike will pose design challenges requiring unprecedented levels of cross-project integration, as well as heightening pressure for resource efficiency in construction and operation. While the necessity to design buildings for long-term relevance is becomingly increasingly apparent, the retrofit of existing building stock will be an equally critical workstream for a resource-limited future. Emerging economies will come to represent a greater proportion of global design work, both in terms of design and labor capacity as well as in terms of the quantity, scale, and type of building projects taking place in countries with growing populations, rising middle classes, and expanding connectivity to the developed world. Left: The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) Design Hub 35