Information in Architecture in the Digital Age

Abstract

Information technologies are so ubiquitous these days that we rarely question ourselves about what information is. Historically, the architecture became a profession when medieval master builders stopped the practice of designing and constructing the facility directly on the construction site and instead began to make plans for the future building, leaving the job of construction to other professions. Those drawings, plans, sections, elevations, details, represented information about future building. Today, like many other professions, architecture is facing a digital transformation. All information that has been traditionally used is now converted to digital form, and information technologies are becoming the basic tool for their creation, modification, maintenance and updating. The whole process takes place on the assumption that there is a general agreement on what information represents. The paper analyzes the concept of information and shows that there is no single definition that all professions accept. A review of different definitions is given with the main focus on the architectural information and its current use in digital technology. A detailed overview of the use of information in BIM technology and the efforts to unify it through the development of numerous standards is given. As the transition of architectural practice to the use of digital technologies becomes a necessity, it is useful to create a better understanding of the nature of information and information technologies. New ways of creating, transmitting and using information need to be mastered in order to achieve a successful digital transformation of architectural practice.