What has disappeared and often is lost forever is the purpose and value of the project.

Platforms solution.Open and shared information is integral to the platforms approach: across projects and across sectors..

Weight on upfront design is made viable by the digitised process: automated design and updates speed up the process and have delivery ‘built in’..Complete and integrated design to prove compliance at the earliest stages..However simplified, this is still construction, and the process still involves big data.

However, the digital library can mobilise this wealth of data available.No longer overwhelming, it becomes easy to manage and utilise.

Designers can consider the most complex and vast strands of data and options immediately and simultaneously..

This data helps designers plan for the fullest range of complex requirements at the earliest stages, from safety to stakeholder requirements, from operations to maintenance, from re-use and net zero to wider sustainability goals..They try to formulate the solution as precisely as possible and then appoint a design consultant to turn that into a good design.

Stakeholders are consulted along the way and experts review the design at certain points, but have little control over a concept that is put forward by the lead designer and is not always based on a full understanding of all relevant aspects.Changes in the design are discouraged because that only leads to delay..

This is understandable, but it’s a missed opportunity.It’s wrong to think of designers as glorified technicians who turn project briefs into drawings and specifications that can be handed over to a contractor.