Do Handstorm Principles Support Creative BIM Collaboration?

Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Internet-based tools are communication aids. During the product and process design phase partners must coordinate, cooperate and collaborate with stakeholders. Creative and collaborative work is necessary in order to create value for the end consumer and society and to develop smart buildings. Forth is type of work design managers must have collective skills, expertise, understanding and knowledge. Furthermore, there must be an atmosphere of openness, honesty, trust and mutual respect. Merely using the current BIM tools may not be enough for future creative and collaborative work. To enhance creative and collaborative work, the Handstorm principles have been developed based on a literature review and empirical research on collaborative design. The Handstorm principles are interventions that encourage professionals to be creative, to work collaboratively, and to support each other during design meetings. To help professionals learn and practice these skills, a creativity facilitation course has been developed, tested and validated. The research question in this paper has been formulated as follows: Do the Handstorm principles support creative BIM collaboration? During the first phases of BIM, the collaboration can be effectively realized by using models and internet-based tools. However, subsequent phases must involve more of the knowledge and experiences of the stakeholders. To encourage this involvement, design managers must have specific skills to plan, organize and lead creative processes. These skills can be learned in a creativity facilitation course based on the Handstorm principles.