Distributed Object environment : Using international standards for data exchange in the construction industry

As a contribution to the international efforts toward the development of an integrated technology (IT) for managing project information, a major research project has been undertaken at the University of Salford. Based on advances in international standards in data models, i.e., the Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs), and communication protocols, i.e., the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), this project has successfully developed and implemented a three-tier computer architecture environment to integrated design and construction applications. The IFC data model has been implemented as the single project database in an open and distributed computer environment whereby the World Wide Web has been used as the delivery medium. This article explains the background of this project, outlines other international efforts in this field, introduces the concept of the three-tier computer architecture, and discusses the proposed structure for the integrated environment along with its implementation issues.