Delta Game

Scope

Team or group work is central to the design process. Amongst the advantages of working in a team is that the project benefits from different ideas and points of view and different expertise. These differences, on the other hand, have to be dealt with and resolved in an optimal manner. This requires negotiation. Negotiation is particularly challenging when it involves not only different interests but different expertise. The Delta Game introduces you to such negotiations amongst experts.

The Delta Game is played in teams of four people. Each person will be a specialist in one of the following disciplines: Architecture, Structural Engineering, Thermal Engineering and Project Management.

Assignment

The four files below include both the design task and the primer for one particular specialist's role:

  • Architect (PDF)
  • Project manager (PDF)
  • Structural engineer (PDF)
  • Thermal engineer (PDF)

 

First, read the design task. Each specialist will then have to read the corresponding primer. It is very important that you are competent in your discipline and are able to make decisions quickly. Primers should only be read by the particular specialist and not by the other members of the team. This contradicts in a way the "complete openness" required of good teams; the restriction is important in the context of the Delta Game to make the negotiation more pointed.

Before the actual game, we will hold "specialist's meetings". In these meetings the specialists will get additional training in their fields of expertise. In order to be prepared for the meeting you have to read the primer and solve example A before the lab time. There are no examples for architects. Instead they are to prepare an initial layout for the meeting. You will have the chance to ask questions and solve example B during the specialist meeting.

It is absolutely essential that you prepare yourselves and show up on time!

Instructor's Guide

  • Instructor's guide (PDF)