Projecting an Infrastructure - Shaping a community

Paper in proceeding, 2013

The classification of building information is often seen as a key enabler for interoperability and a common information infrastructure in the sector. This paper studies how a community develops an infrastructure using standards and classification. It takes issue with inclusion/exclusion of actors and analyzes relations between the technical and the social. The paper draws on a longitudinal case study of three attempts to create a classification and standards for interoperability of building information within a particular socio-material community – the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) community in Denmark. This involved examining the interdependencies between human and material elements in the two failed attempts – embodied in a series of socio-material ruptures and conflicts – along with the third, ongoing attempt of designing a standard for building information classification, property data, information levels and metrics. Our analysis shows the crucial role played by the technical approaches to classification in mobilising support and excluding social players in the endeavour to develop this information infrastructure. The contribution of this paper lies in extending our understanding of information infrastructure as a socio-material community.