RIBA Knowledge Communities are web supported

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

groups for facilitating capturing, sharing, and applying of professional knowledge relating to

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

and the

built environment The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human ac ...

. The Knowledge Communities initiative provides a knowledge community platform developed by the

RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

. It is a non-commercial collaborative resource, open to all built environment professionals and anyone with interrelated knowledge to share. Its purpose is to connect and engage these professionals in the advancement of their specific subjects of interest.

Communities

There are currently RIBA Knowledge Communities for the following subject areas: ;Sustainability: For built environment professionals to discuss the

sustainable Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

production of architecture and to engage with the RIBA Sustainable Futures Group. ;Integrated Project Working: To engage an interdisciplinary professional base in the advancement of

CAD Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve co ...

BIM ''Bim'' is a 1974 Trinidad and Tobago film written by Raoul Pantin and directed by Hugh A. Robertson. It was described by Bruce Paddington as "one of the most important films to be produced in Trinidad and Tobago and... one of the classics of Ca ...

and the mutual distribution of technical information between all areas of the built environment. ;Education Building Design: Helping to deliver intelligent

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

and

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...

school design and providing a forum for this discussion. ;Students of Architecture: For architecture students to share news, experience and events while keeping in touch with architectural research and progression. ;Regulations and Standards: To involve members in the production of building regulations and

standards Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

and to support the ongoing work of the joint BRE CIAT RIBA Technical Task Force. ;Traditional Architecture: The RIBA Traditional Architecture group’s space to disseminate their research and to capture the experience of their members. ;International: For the RIBA’s International department to build a knowledge bank from around the world. ;Small Practice: Providing a platform for architects in small practice to share their experience while having the opportunity to be a part of the consultations for the RIBA Small Practice Group papers. ;Development and Disaster Relief: To explore the difference that innovative design and construction can make in the lives of some of the most vulnerable people on earth (facilitated by Article 25). ;Urban Greening: To create the pre-conditions necessary for trees to be considered as an integral part of development at the earliest conceptual and design stages of any scheme (facilitated by the Trees and Design Action Group).

Structure

The RIBA Knowledge Communities website is supported by the RIBA Research & Development department as an architectural

knowledge management Knowledge management (KM) is the collection of methods relating to creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organization. It refers to a multidisciplinary approach to achieve organisational objectives by making ...

initiative. The communities are structured around the pre-existing RIBA committees. These groups are tasked with creating and initiating an agenda for the development of their respective subjects related to the built environment. ;Champion: An appointed RIBA Knowledge Champion acts as a focal point for the governance of their respective RIBA Knowledge Community. They are selected on the basis of their expertise and active involvement in the community’s field of knowledge. ;Expert Peer Group/Committee: The Peer Group consists of approximately 5-8 individuals. They are selected for their expertise and active involvement in their community's field of knowledge. The group delegates responsibilities in liaison with the community Facilitators and community members for routine tasks and responsibilities as well as one-off activities. ;Community Facilitators: Facilitators will support the creation and maintenance of the communities. They are the main administrative focus for the work of the community. They receive support from the RIBA Research & Development department and provide assistance to ‘Knowledge Champions’ and ‘Expert Peer Groups’. ;Community Members: Knowledge Communities are organised as collections of architects and other professionals who are committed to collaborations within specialist areas of

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

and

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

Applications

The RIBA Knowledge Communities website provides applications designed to engage the members in their subjects of interest, these include: *Personal

blogs A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

*Community

discussion forums An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...

*Community events calendars *Contacts *Members directory *Resources (uploading files to share with other community members) * Tags *

RSS feeds RSS ( RDF Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is a web feed that allows users and applications to access updates to websites in a standardized, computer-readable format. Subscribing to RSS feeds can allow a user to keep track of many di ...

The RIBA Knowledge Communities is powered by

Elgg (software) Elgg is open source social networking software that provides individuals and organizations with the components needed to create an online social environment. It offers blogging, microblogging, file sharing, networking, groups and a number of other ...

which is an

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

networking platform. The applications are installed as plugins that can be downloaded from the Elgg community website or created by

PHP PHP is a general-purpose scripting language geared toward web development. It was originally created by Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf in 1993 and released in 1995. The PHP reference implementation is now produced by The PHP Group ...

developers.

Communities

Structure

Applications

References

External links