In a global economy, design is becoming a critical competitive advantage

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• In a global economy, design is becoming a
  critical competitive advantage
• Roger Martin, Dean, Rotman School of Management,
  
• University of Toronto Fast Company, April 2005

Canadian Design Research NetworkRéseau canadien
de recherche en design
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Research Opportunities in Design

• Design is the first step in the process by which
  ideas become reality
• Small changes in design can have large impacts
• Design has a direct and immediate effect on the
  health and well-being of all Canadians
• Design is the most effective means of addressing
  Canadian productivity and sustainability
• More interdisciplinary research is needed in
  design
• The Canadian Design Research Network will provide
  the research to realize the potential of design

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Network Overview

• 1991 - Individual researchers began working
  together on multi-institutional projects
• April 2005 - CDRN formed and began building an
  interdisciplinary research capacity
• March 2006 - Network of Centres of Excellence,
  New Initiatives grant to build and manage the
  network
• Next Step - An infrastructure to support the
  research and researchers

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A Pan-Canadian Network
Building Regional Capacity to enhance and
contribute to pan-Canadian Cooperation
Expertise
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Key Strengths

• Pan-Canadian
• 14 institutions
• 6 provinces
• 6 government agencies
• 10 industrial Partners
• 10 NGOs
• Interdisciplinary
• 10 disciplines
• No single discipline owns design
• Inclusive
• Over 1000 researchers working together
• Active program of recruitment
• Comprehensive
• Life cycle approach to design
• Direct and immediate benefits

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Research Focus

• The CDRN will focus on productivity and
  sustainability in the built environment
• The built environment comprises the surroundings
  that we create to accommodate our lives

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Research Program
Theme 1 Advanced Design Technologies
Theme 3 Rapid Prototyping Fabrication
Theme 2 Interactive Collaborative Design
Visualization
Theme 4 The Design Pipeline
Research Initiative A DESIGN FOR PRODUCTIVITY
Research Initiative B DESIGN FOR SUSTAINABILITY
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Innovation
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Innovation
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Infrastructure Components
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Management Operations
Membership (137)
Board of Directors (9)
Network Staff (2)
Network Steering Committee (16)
Research Themes Initiatives Group (6)
Project Committees at each Institution (15)
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• Safer, healthier, more productive and more
  sustainable environments in which to live and
  work
• Improved productivity for the design/construction
  industry
• Enhanced global competitiveness
• Significant increase in the quality and quantity
  of design researchers

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• "Design has emerged as one of the world's most
  powerful forces.
• It has placed us at the beginning of a new period
  of human possibility, where all economies and
  ecologies are becoming global, relational, and
  interconnected."
• Bruce Mau, Massive Change The Future of Global
  Design (2005)

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Importance of CDRN

• The CDRN research program addresses 2 critical
  Canadian issues
• Sustainability
• Productivity
• By so doing it
• Increases the global competitiveness of the
  Canadian design and construction industry
• Nurtures Highly Qualified Personnel in the
  emerging field of design research
• Creates healthier, safer, sustainable and more
  productive environments for Canadians

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Industrial Partners

• Sun Microsystems
• Alias
• Bentley Systems
• Canadian Architect Magazine
• I-MMERSION Studios
• Virtools
• Discussions are now also underway with
• Autodesk Canada
• Gehry Technologies

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Design Practices

• Bruce Mau Design
• Diamond and Schmitt Architects
• Robbie/Young Wright Architects
• Zeidler Partnership
• duToit Allsopp Hillier

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10 Non-Governmental Agencies

• Architecture Radio
• CAADFutures
• Calgary Centre for Innovative Technology
• CANARIE
• Friends of Fort York
• Nectar Communications Network
• Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
• Toronto Society of Architects
• SmartGeometry Group
• SmartGraphics

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Government Agencies

• Natural Resources Canada
• City of Kitchener
• City of Waterloo
• National Capital Commission
• Region of Waterloo
• Ville de Québec

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Other CFI Projects

• The CDRN has initiated discussions with 3 other
  CFI projects
• National Design and Engineering Infrastructure
  Project
• Across Methodology Boundaries-Art, Design,
  Engineering, Medicine, Social Science, Science
  Collaboration (ADEMSSSC)
• Design for Innovation Centre
• If successful we have agreed to
• Share expertise and resources
• Eliminate duplication of facilities where
  possible
• Meet regularly to explore common goals and
  research initiatives
• Cooperate and collaborate to further the role of
  design in all its forms

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Other Projects

• The CDRN has also consulted with
• National Platform Fund to create a HPC
  infrastructure for Canada
• CANARIEs CyberInfrastructure Project
• Library and Archives Digital Content Strategy
• Canada Council on Learnings E-Learning Blueprint
• Canadian Design Engineering Network (CDEN)

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Similar Initiatives

• UC Berkeley - Centre for Design Visualization
• MITs Centre for Bits and Atoms
• RMITs Centre for Design
• Bartlett School of Architecture
• Cooperative Research Centre in Interaction
  Design, Australia
• Cooperative Research Centre in Construction
  Innovation, Australia

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Essential Infrastructure Components at each Site
Rapid Prototyping
Design Data Collection Package
CAnet 4
Immersive Virtual Design Studio
Networked Interoperable Visual Computing
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Highly Qualified Personnel

• 137 Faculty Researchers
• 29 Full-time Project Researchers
• 12 Post-Doctoral Researchers
• 19 Visiting Faculty
• 44 Staff
• 72 PhD Students
• 297 Research Focus Masters Students
• 210 Professional Focus Masters Students
• 167 Undergraduate Research Assistants
• 23 Other (Post-professional masters)
• TOTAL 1010

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CDRN Researchers
Over 1000 Researchers at 14 Institutions across
Canada
UofA
SFU
UofC
UBC
UofM
Dal
UdeL
Nscad
McG
Ocad
UofW
ETS
RU
UofT
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Disciplines

• Architecture
• Landscape Architecture
• Engineering
• Urban Design
• Planning
• Industrial and Product Design
• Interaction Design
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Fine Arts
• Computer Graphics

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Researchers - Pioneers
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Researchers - Leaders
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Researchers - Emerging Talent
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Knowledge Exchange Activities

• Theme Events
• Networked seminars
• Placement of student interns in industrial
  settings
• Hands-on workshops
• Academic planning meeting
• Networking event
• Professional Symposium
• Technology Demonstration
• Online Exhibition
• Design Knowledge Repositories
• Professional Publications
• Special issue of Canadian Architect
• Conference Presentations
• Subtle Technologies
• CDEN
• ACADIA
• Architecture Radio

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ResearchProjects
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Research Theme 1 Advanced Design Technologies

• Projects
• Design Space Exploration
• Design Workflows
• Design Interfaces
• Generative and Parametric Modeling

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Research Theme 2 Interactive, Collaborative,
Design Visualization

• Projects
• Data Capture of Design Information
• Virtual Cities and Communities
• Advanced Simulations of the Built Environment
• Virtual Design Studios

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Research Theme 3 Rapid Prototyping and
Fabrication

• Projects
• 21st Century Construction
• Integration

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Research Theme 4 The Design Pipeline

• Services
• Custom Software Development
• Testbed Deployment
• Sensor Networks
• Design Knowledge Repositories
• Immersive Design Studios

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Research Initiatives Productivity
Sustainability

• Activities
• Data Collection
• Analysis
• Integration
• Knowledge Exchange

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The Impact of Design Research
Productivity in the Canadian Construction
Industry has declined by 8.3 in the last 3 years
(TD Bank, 2005)
The heating and cooling of buildings emits 30 of
Canadas greenhouse gases (NRCAN, 2003)
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The Impact of Design Research
63 Companies identified as effective users of
design outperformed the FTSE 100 index over the
full period by 200.
Design Index Emerging Index FTSE 100 FTSE All
Share
10 Year Performance of the U.K. Design Index
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Innovative Transformative Research

• Enables a new class of research
• The proposed research and network will re-define
  design because it
• Connects a critical mass of people, disciplines,
  projects and practices
• Integrates key issues such as sustainability and
  productivity
• Considers the entire life cycle of design
• Actively disseminates the results to key
  stakeholders
• Combines technology with practice

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Research Program

• Research Initiative A Design for Productivity
• Research Initiative B Design for Sustainability

Theme 3 Rapid Prototyping and Fabrication
Theme 2 Interactive Collaborative Design
Visualization
Theme 1 Advanced Design Technologies
Theme 4 The Design Pipeline
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Ecological building monitoring laboratory
A New Building
A living laboratory
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Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability
(CIRS)

• A source of inspiration
• A living laboratory
• Research and evaluation of current and future
  building systems and technologies for
  sustainaible buildings.
• A joint project among University of British
  Columbia, Simon Fraser University, BC Institute
  of Technology, et Emily Carr Institute of Art and
  Design.

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Concept of the proposed laboratory
Solar Electrical Gas
Drinking Rain Waste
Products Recycling Waste Composting
Control volume
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Some of the Monitoring Components

• Continued and comprehensive monitoring of
• Meteorological station on the roof
• Temperature, Relative humidity, Wind, Rain, Solar
  gain
• Energy
• Energy balance, Energy consumption, Energy
  storage
• Water usage
• Drinking water, Rain water, Waste water
• Indoor air quality
• Gases, VOC, microbes, etc.
• Waste matters
• Recycling, Garbage, Composting
• People behavior
• People counter through entrance, demand on
  building
• Data acquisition and analysis system