publications and important business theorists. Portions of this article are from the paper presented in Hong Kong.
CIB is the acronym of the former French name, “Conseil International du Bātiment” (International Council for Building). The acronym was kept but the full name was changed in 1998 into the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction. The CIB had been established in 1953 with the support of the United Nations. Its objectives were to stimulate and facilitate international collaboration
and information exchange between governmental research institutes and to assist in the reconstruction of the European infrastructure
following World War II. The mission of Working Commission W70 has evolved to its present-day
concerns with effective resources management under the broad | umbrella of facilities management and asset maintenance. As noted on the official CIB website, “It is no exaggeration to say that at present CIB is the world’s foremost platform
for international cooperation and information exchange in the area of building and construction research and innovation.” Corporations and institutions have tended to outsource real estate
functions. However, some fraction of the internal real estate management team usually remains. Whether real estate is managed wholly internally or with some outsourced support,
improving communication and including real estate functions as part of the primary corporate and institutional business processes should improve short and long-term real estate utilization. The question remains: who will take the lead to encourage changes to help facility functions to be more
| inclusive in the business process? Academic institutions and real estaterelated professional associations are helping by providing research and
forums for discussion. However, architects, governmental agencies,
corporations, and institutions need to embrace organizational programs that enable facility managers to
take a more proactive role. It could help the architectural profession to
enhance its leadership role by first taking steps to better understand the organizational behavioral
issues associated with obtaining comprehensive programming information. As a start, architectural
schools need to develop more diverse academic curricula and practicing
architects should gain knowledge through continuing education.
Architectural professional societies could provide forums for discussion
and present key issues to their members for discussion and debate.
q |
