Computing on the Scaffolds: The Coming Transformation of Architecture and Construction with Digital Technologies

We are at the dawn of a digital age in architecture and construction, one of the world's largest industries, and the architect Frank O. Gehry is leading that transformation. The Experience Music Project in Seattle is a recent and advanced example of the undulating forms and complex surfaces made possible by his use of three-dimensional digital representations. Bringing computing to the scaffolds promises to change the work practices, organizational structures, and productivity of all of the actors involved in construction projects, including architects, contractors, subcontractors, and labor groups. This panel will bring together Frank Gehry's senior partner along with a specialty contractor who has worked on many Gehry buildings with two academics who have extensive backgrounds in technological innovations and industrial transformations. The questions they will address are: • What forces will drive versus inhibit this digital transformation? • What changes in organization structures will be required? • What challenges and opportunities will labor experience? • What actions and policies will help bring fruition to the promised benefits of computing on the scaffolds?