An Ontology for Analysing Cognition in Geometric and Parametric Design Platforms: A Review

Abstract

Things are changing. Designers are now torn between the geometric modeling environment (GME) and the parametric design environment (PDE). Neither of these is a replacement or a substitute for the other. Moreover, non-design disciplines are also responding to this change. Construction managers and estimators are now required to have the ability to interact with CAD drawings and design models. This has become necessary so that they can distill the robustness of digital design platforms as they ingrain the compatibility and accuracy of their deliverables (e.g. object-based estimating, virtual reality and process simulation). In essence, new theories on digital processes and methods are being primed for the management of data in digital platforms rather than the iteration of conventions as in manual processes. The aim of this study, therefore, is to add to the evolving knowledge on this subject by evocating an ontology for analyzing cognitive processes in geometric modeling and parametric project environments. The significance of this is critical. It adds value to the framework for multidisciplinary interaction within a BIM project team towards a synchronous cognition processes within design and non-design disciplines. It also adds depth to extant methodological debates in multidisciplinary research studies. Further areas of research are elicited in the conclusion of the study.