Exploring Knowledge Management In The Practice Of Architecture: A Pilot Study In The Turkish Capital

Abstract

The Architecture-Engineering-Construction industry has recently been altering the ways of managing its resources. Knowledge is considered to be among the most precious of these resources. Knowledge is a critical factor in choosing the right projects, preparing the winning bids and successfully realizing the projects. It is also a critical factor for organizations because of the fact that - due to its nature that it exists as tacit or explicit, or in between - it is hard to record and reuse. This paper provides a pilot study in order to investigate the knowledge management issue in the practice of architecture. The study has been carried out in the Cankaya district of Ankara. Face-to-face interviews have been carried out with the head architects of 15 architectural offices. The subject domain is assumed to be experiencing the problems such as managing knowledge at a strategic level. This is due to the facts that the amount and importance of tacit knowledge is significant and communication of this knowledge to other parties is the responsibility of the architectural partners. The survey found out that management of architectural knowledge is considered to be beneficial for the overall productivity of architectural offices. However, challenges such as lack of standard procedures and low profit margins in the AEC industry render knowledge management to be less effective on overall profit and innovation in design.