Can virtual workspaces enhance team communication and collaboration in design review meetings?

The development of software to facilitate collaborative working among project teams has been an active research area for the last two decades. However, the recent impetus in deploying Building Information Models (BIMs) in construction has brought teamwork to the forefront and, therefore, it is important to conduct an in-depth study as to how BIM could be complemented with advances in visualisation and interaction technology to enhance team communication and collaboration. Effective tools that bring critical data and stakeholders together to solve design challenges have the potential to produce optimised solutions, reduce the number of meetings, improve communication and, consequently, delivery times. This paper explores how virtual workspaces supported with advanced visualisation and interaction techniques can enhance team communication and collaboration. It explores the type of communication channels necessary for supporting team collaboration with the use of both public and private workspaces that are essential for supporting individual and team exploration. These features are then implemented and tested using a collaborative design scenario. This research shows that the implementation of direct and indirect communication channels within virtual workspaces can significantly enhance team communication and collaboration. Furthermore, it shows that the use of a private workspace can assist individuals to contribute creatively to team activities.