Introduction

PART ONE Interdisciplinary design in practice

During the last five years, the UK construction industry has entered a period of rapid and irreversible change. New legislation, new Govern-ment guidance, new alliances, new working practices and new attitudes have all begun to change the way construction projects are formulated, designed and built.

Interdisciplinary working is at the heart of these changes. Both of the two most influential government reports which have contributed to the process of change (Latham, 1994; DETR, 1998) have urged greater collaboration between disciplines, between professions and between different parts of the supply chain, on an industry previously character-ized by debilitating and cost-inflating conflict.