Architect's decision station and its integration with project-driven supply chains

Sustainability poses challenges to building design as it requires the use of multiple and interrelated sources of knowledge and expertise. This paper posits similarities between the building design process and supply chains established on an ad hoc basis. The supply chain is project-driven and this needs to be reflected by the associated information network that is used by all members of the chain. From the perspective of the architect and other participants the information environment they function in is complex and dynamic. Their decision-making can be supported with decision stations that are situated in the environment and capable of providing active and comprehensive support. The architecture of the decision station and its situating in the information environment is presented. The stations associated with the project participants form a project-specific network. Its effective functioning depends on the use of multiple ontologies, which make effective communication possible. Decision stations’ situatedness, the network, its nodes and the local environments, and the ontologies are illustrated by examples.