A concept of space for building classification, product modelling, and design

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0926-5805(99)00013-8Get rights and content

Abstract

Information about a building's spaces is of interest in every stage of the construction and facility management processes. An organisation1 or enterprise is located in and uses the building's spaces, and many of the building's spatial properties are determined on the basis of the user organisation's requirements. The definition of the concept “space” as applied in information systems for building classification and building product modelling today is unclear. A fundamental problem is to reconcile a material and construction method viewpoint with a space-centred viewpoint. In order to enable communication among actors and computer systems in the construction process, the concepts used in model development and the corresponding terms have to be formally defined and standardised. In this article, we analyse the concept of space and suggest a comprehensive definition for the construction context. The identification of a space in a building is based on a spatial view. We introduce the concept of aspectual unit and show how this concept can be used to integrate different aspect views in a conceptual schema. Additionally, we define the user organisation as a thing, which is separate from the building and has spatial properties of its own, so-called “activity spaces”. Finally, we show how space may be represented in a comprehensive conceptual schema.

Introduction

Space is one of the basic concepts by which we refer to the material world. We observe the world of things and how they surround us and we perceive these as constituting some kind of space. Already as infants we learn to know the extension of our own body and how it is spatially related to external things [22]. A space is by most of us thought of as an empty volume, enclosed in some respect — materially or experientially. For example, an air-raid shelter is materially enclosed to air, light and intrusion, and even from shells, by thick walls of concrete; most of us experience a feeling of compact enclosedness in such a space. In contrast with this, space at other times is more subtle and may lack material boundaries, still we may experience a spatial demarcation, as for example when we divide a beach into sunbathing spaces and walking paths. Here the enclosing boundary is more subjective and often culturally dependent.

The everyday understanding of space may be self-evident and unproblematic. However, as soon as we are asked for a formal definition, e.g., in the context of building classification or product modelling, the concept of space is subject of controversy. To some, space is the emptiness in which things are embedded, i.e., an entity with an immaterial existence. To others, space has no separate existence but is a property, alongside others, of the material world.

Space has become an important concept in computer-based information systems, both for the building construction process [1]and the facility management process [24]. An organisation or enterprise is located in and uses the building's spaces. Many of the building's spatial properties are determined on the basis of user organisation requirements. This is to a large extent done early in the design process, independently of and before the loadbearing structure or the installation systems are determined. If computer-aided modelling is to be introduced at these early stages, it is necessary that spatial properties of the building can be represented before other properties are determined. It is also necessary to observe the difference between the organisation's spatial properties or “activity spaces” and the spatial properties of the built environment [8].

In order to enable communication among actors and computer systems in the construction process, the concepts used in model development have to be formally defined and standardised. This is also recognised in the development of domain specific standards, and information models based on these standards, by among others ISO TC59/SC13 [12], and STEP [13], both working committees of the International Standardization Organization (ISO). In our opinion, information models must not only be based on standardised concepts, but they should also be scientifically true representations of the universe of discourse. Such models will have a long lifespan as well as a high degree of versatility. For a representation to be scientifically true, it must adhere to scientific knowledge.

The definition of the concept “space” as applied in information systems for building classification and building product modelling today is unclear. In building classification, spaces are classified according to their functions [16], but the concept is sometimes defined without reference to a material substance that may contribute to the function [12]. Most building product modelling projects lack an explicit definition of the concept “space”, see e.g., the works of Björk [1], Eastman and Siabiris [6], COMBINE [20]and the Building Construction Core Model, of STEP [15]. More detailed accounts for the two former works are presented in Section 3.2.1Section 3.2.2, respectively.

It is of interest to view the building both as composed of spaces in different scales, and as composed of material entities of different complexity. The problem of co-ordinating the different viewpoints in a product model is recognised by Björk [1](p. 206) who states that “A basic dilemma in many product models seems to be to reconcile the material and construction method viewpoint with the space-centred viewpoint”. The problem of integrating these separate views has also been dealt with by Eastman and Siabiris [6](see Section 3.2).

Another problem with contemporary building product models, e.g., the models of Björk [1]and Industry Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) [10], is the uncertainty caused by the absence of a separate entity for the user organisation and therefore the lack of a clear distinction between the spatial properties of the building on the one hand and of the user organisation on the other hand.

The aim of the research presented here is to deal with the dilemma of reconciling the material and construction method viewpoint with the space-centred viewpoint, observed by Björk, and show how this can be dissolved by building a concept of space on the basis of an explicit ontological framework. In this article, we propose a generic solution to the problem, that makes it possible to represent space as a property of things, in this case of buildings and their parts, as well as of user organisations and their “activity units”. The referents2 of this concept of space are things, e.g., building elements, and user organisations.

We believe that our definition of space will help in creating and using information systems that are in accordance with the scientific view of space, and relevant to the information needs of the construction sector.

Section 1of the article has discussed the use of the concept of space in different contexts. Section 2develops a definition of the concept of space based on ontological theory. Section 3of the article discusses the use of the concept of space in some influential scientific papers and in some important standardisation efforts concerning spatial modelling in the construction context. In Section 4a framework for building space information that can be applied in information systems for building modelling and design is presented. The framework expresses how space related concepts from the previous sections can be represented in a consistent way. Finally, conclusions of the work are drawn in Section 5.

Section snippets

Different concepts of space

The Latin term spatium designates several different concepts like “area”, “room”, and “interval of space or time” [25]. Neither in the old Latin language nor in everyday speech today does the term space have a single or clear-cut meaning. According to dictionaries like Collins [5]and Webster's [25], a space may be, for example: (1) the unlimited three-dimensional expanse in which all material objects are located, (2) an interval of distance or time between two points, objects, or events, (3) a

ISO construction classification

A building's spaces are designed for occupancy by, e.g., users, machinery and other equipment. In current work within construction classification such spaces are classified by their basic function5 in relation to the users and other agents; examples of classes are office and communication spaces, and climate- and fire-zones. In this context a factual concept of

A schema for space in the construction context

In the introduction of this article we reminded of Björk's statement about the dilemma in many product models to reconcile the material and construction method viewpoint with the space-centred viewpoint. This section presents our view of how these viewpoints can be accommodated in the same schema.

Conclusions

In the introduction of this article we referred to Björk's statement about the dilemma in many product models of reconciling a material and construction methods view with a space-centred view on the building. In this article we have shown a way to solve the dilemma by, on the one hand, developing a comprehensive definition of space for the construction context, and on the other hand, developing the concept of aspectual unit which makes it possible to integrate different aspect views in the same

Acknowledgements

This research has been financed by the Swedish National Council for Building Research.

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    In this text, the term `user organisation' denotes the users of a building, their activities and the equipment used.

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