1MODELLING MULTIPLE VIEWS OF DESIGN OBJECTS IN A COLLABORATIVE CAD ENVIRONMENT

Collaboration between designers in different disciplines is an increasingly important aspect in complex design situations, as exemplified in the AEC domain. CAD systems are essential for handling this complexity but current CAD modelling technology is directed towards the production of a single product model. In the AEC environment, many disciplines are involved, each with its own concept of the design object. Each such concept must be accommodated in any representation and this paper argues that a single model approach is inadequate. The ideas in this paper are based upon an assumption that different concepts of an object are based on different functional contexts. Thus the representation of the functional properties of design objects is the underlying basis for the formation of different concepts. Keywords conceptual modelling, multiple abstraction representation, CAD modelling, collaborative design, functional representatio