Construction on Display: Exploring Types and Purpose of Public Displays on Construction Sites

Abstract

Construction sites are a common part of a city landscape, e.g., website Urban Toronto reports on 650+ registered works for the city of Toronto, while New London Architecture reports on 195 in London. Up until now there has been little research looking into how public displays are used at these settings. This paper reports on an exploratory study that looked into understanding the use of public displays on construction sites. By analyzing types of displays and their purpose on 38 construction sites located on 2 continents and 4 cities, I have uncovered 10 different types of displays that serve to fulfill 9 identified objectives. Based on this I provide 5 general design implications for pervasive public displays. Overall, the contribution of this paper lies in describing the use of public displays in a new context and providing design implications for them.