Wikibuilder - a knowledge base covering the design and construction of
the built environment, in its entirety, in all languages.
Project proposal page:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikibuilder
See also:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Proposals_for_new_projects
== Basic idea ==
To create a knowledge base covering the design and construction of the
built environment, in its entirety, in all languages.
== Scope ==
Much, if not most, of the information could be presented as text (and
could start off as just that), but text presents profound and obvious
limits for describing the built environment, so much of the information
would be pictorial. With the drawing expertise of designers and
draughtspeople around the world who are intimate with CAD (computer
aided draughting) there should be no shortage of people to get the ball
rolling.
There are currently efforts going on in the graphics and architecture
industries to standardise pictorial file formats (see links below) and
the main topic of initial discussion on Wikibuilder may well revolve
around the kind of file formats to use for presenting and distributing
sketch, 2D, 3D and other kinds of pictorial information. Carrying on
from this might be discussion on graphical styles and style
standardisation.
There are a few open-content repository-type websites around for
sharing building details, et cetera, but most of them are woeful and
narrowly focused on CAD technicians looking for details to use at work.
There're a myriad of websites dotted around the internet offering
information on design but this is extremely fragmented.
== Why? ==
Ever since we as a species started manipulating our environment we have
built a vast knowledge of designing and constructing the built
environment. This knowledge belongs to everyone, but much of it is is
locked away in people's heads with no easy way to share such
information except for books (usually expensive ones) and
apprenticeship. A wiki focused on the built environment could help
unlock this knowledge and make it accessible to vast numbers of people
(builders, designers, inventors, diy'ers, knowledge lovers) who could
put it to use and continue to build on it in a open way. A wiki could
also help the push for open standards in the presentation of pictorial
information via the internet.
Kind regards,
Christiaan