Building the future: How data informs smarter design decisions

In current practices, design decisions often rely on design assumptions and conceptual thinking than on actual operational insights. As a result, the disconnect between building design and Operation & Maintenance (O&M) stages remains a persistent challenge in today’s building industry. This disconnection creates a critical knowledge gap in the decision-making process, leading to the loss of valuable operational insights for new building designs and limiting the potential to address O&M challenges within modern complexities. Therefore, integrating multidisciplinary knowledge from existing buildings into new designs is crucial for supporting current design activities, enabling better-informed design decisions. To address this challenge, my research introduces the concept of Experiential Design Decision-Making (EDDM), which facilitates learning from existing buildings and applying these insights to improve future building designs in a systematic manner. This approach ensures that design decisions are supported by evidence-based knowledge from existing buildings, making them more adaptable, practical and high performing within the increased complexities and industry demands.