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task. Detailed analysis can be continuously made.

Media is moving into a subscription model; we pay a monthly amount to listen to music or watch movies rather than buying them to own. Perhaps the aftercare that a mature BIM model provides could see architects and contractors kept on subscription to ensure the building is performing well and thus being able to offer intervention if not, or if requirements change. The data can also help the building to be deconstructed and recycled responsibly at the end of its life, particularly if care has gone into design for deconstruction.

There are as many ways of approaching design for time as there are for the design for space. Certain factors might create a desire to build something to last millennia; other factors might suggest that a building designed for eventual demolition is best. Sometimes a building that can completely decompose might be desirable. A sustainable world is one that will continue into the future; sustainable buildings, or at least their materials, must do the same.

So let’s step beyond asking the question of ‘what is my building’ to ‘where did my building come from’ and ‘where is my building going’.