Formalising building requirements using an Activity/Space Model

Abstract

The specification of the spatial requirements for a building is the basis for the architectural design of the building. The specification usually takes the form of an extensive text-based document, a briefing database for large projects, or informal discussion between the architect and the client for a small project. The specification of a building is still a hand-crafted presentation of information that is neither carried forward to the next stage of the life cycle of the building, nor formalised so that it can be effectively used for another project. This paper presents a model, specifically developed to capture the idiosyncrasies of specifying buildings, that has the potential to provide the basis for specifying buildings more generally and could provide the basis for facilitating the generation of new designs or the reuse of existing designs. The model makes explicit the representation of activities, spaces and their relationships. The continued development of the Activity/Space (A/S) Model not only provides a formal representation of requirements, but could provide a standard for product modelling of buildings.