X-House - a Game to Improve Collaboration in Architectural Design. How to distill a CD Based Model into an E-learning Tool.

The current research we are conducting refers to a general model of architectural design. The complexity of the present-day design process is such that new ICT tools are required to consciously and appropriately govern the design choices. In particular, the tools that involve the early phases of the design process, when the choices crucial to the entire building process are made. In this perspective we are developing, together with a general model of architectural design based on Collaborative Design (CD), a simplified version of it – the -House game – that can be used to help university students appreciate the complexity of doing architecture and building. This “simplified version” of the general model is therefore a useful ‘design training tool’ in the case of complex and intertwined problems that can be solved by means of iterations, trade-offs, creativity and group work; and at the same time makes it possible to highlight, define and link relatively little known aspects of design, such as scheduling, relations among operators, decision-making mechanisms, and process and design priorities.