Sharing and learning is becoming the driver of radical innovation
Open source in the construction industry
The construction industry is characterized by numerous small and medium-sized companies that operate locally, adhere to existing standards, and have limited or no budget for research and development – certainly not for the development of digital solutions. Consequently, each company attempts to independently invent and implement solutions with constrained resources and only within their silo. As a result, it becomes challenging to effectively address the upcoming challenges related to ambitious cost and sustainability goals.
However, this situation can serve as an exciting starting point for developing user-oriented tools that transcend individual companies, adopting an open-source mindset.
Because open source has evolved into a movement that extends beyond software development. The open source movement leverages the principles and the decentralized production model of open source software to discover novel approaches for addressing challenges within other communities and industries.
This approach doesn’t imply that everyone in the construction industry must learn programming and become a geek. Quite the opposite, collaborative development allows individuals to contribute their unique strengths in the most effective manner possible. For some, this may involve providing feedback on content while others may contribute in project organization, software development or financial support to specific projects.
Together for an open, innovative construction industry.
It’s time for a change. The aim of the opensource.construction initiative is to accelerate the transformation toward a more digital and innovative construction industry through the power of the open source movement.
Accordingly, the initiative’s activities revolve around the following initiatives:
Making the potential of open source tangible
The concept of open source has many facets. The initiative organises events and communicates via website and social media with the aim of making the potential behind open source code, tools and mindset tangible for all stakeholders in the construction industry.
Connecting people
People with ideas are looking for people to help them implement them. Because they lack technical know-how. Because they lack the finishing touches for the idea. Because they lack resources and know that it is easier to do it together than alone.
For this reason, opensource.construction facilitates networking among its members, other interested parties, experts, sponsors, private companies, public institutions, other initiatives, and political figures.
Enabling open projects
An open source solution is only a good solution if it is used. The main goal of the initiative is to turn ideas into concrete solutions.
To this end, the initiative provides the technical and organisational infrastructure that is needed to set up a project that often spans several companies. Another important aid: access to funding that facilitates implementation.
Who is behind the initiative?
Architects, urban developers, investors, engineers and planners as well as software engineers and tech geeks are behind the opensource.construction initiative. Together, they have the goal of advancing the topic of open source in the construction industry and developing collaborative projects in participatory processes. The community meets regularly digitally and physically to discuss and further develop concrete approaches.
The initiative is organised as a working group of CH Open. With over 350 member companies, the association has been promoting open source software and open standards in Switzerland for 40 years. Thus, CH Open is the ideal platform to bring the construction industry and the ICT sector together.
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