This paper discusses how distributed object technology can profitably be put to use in the construction industry. It begins by outlining the potential benefits distributed object technology and standards can bring to construction, particularly when considering the integration of existing and future information systems. It then describes research that has applied this technology to the COMMIT (COnstruction Modelling and Methodologies for the Intelligent inTegration of information) project. This project aims to provide new levels of support for integrated building information systems by dealing with issues such as versioning, notification, the representation of intent and the definition of object rights. To this end, a generic information management model has been proposed, a brief description of which is given here. The architecture and distributed implementation of this information management model are then described, and a framework proposed in which the model acts as a bridge between services provided by the CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) distribution standard and objects in a computer integrated construction environment. Examples, illustrating the implementation of information management concepts as distributed components complying to the CORBA standard, are given. Several techniques for integrating existing CIC systems and legacy applications are proposed before finally presenting the user interface through which project participants interact with the distributed components of the integrated environment. The research presented in this paper is ongoing; a primary aim is to refine the prototypes that demonstrate the new levels of integration we can expect in the coming component-based era.
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