A Web Environment to Support User Participation in the Development of Apartment Buildings

In Taiwan, apartments are sold before ever been built. Apartment buyers can customize their units until the construction takes place. This customization process has become a very unique form of user participation in the development of apartment buildings in Taiwan. However, in all customizations, large amount of information has to be documented and exchanged between related agencies for each apartment unit. For an apartment building that contains over 40 units, managing the information can be a daunting task. We are developing a web environment to support the customization process and enable efficient management and timely exchanges of information. The environment provides three levels of design interaction to encourage user participation in a controlled customization process. This paper describes the framework of this web environment, illustrates its functionality through a running prototype, and discusses technical issues encountered during its implementation