From Systems Thinking to Project Decisions: Bridging the Gap in Building Practice

Best Practices in Building Systems (BPiBS): The Living Compendium (BC Housing 2026)

Azam Khan and Simon Breslav

March 2026
2 Pages (Abstract)

Housing systems are increasingly understood as complex, interconnected systems shaped by economic, social, technical, and regulatory forces. Despite growing awareness of this complexity, outcomes across the housing sector remain inconsistent. Some housing builders develop innovative best practices and thrive despite increasing regulatory burdens, while others seem to be disconnected from these advances and cannot adapt their businesses accordingly. We suggest that the core challenge is not a lack of knowledge, but the difficulty of translating knowledge into consistent decisions across the lifecycle of a building project. Drawing on prior work in system dynamics, recent research on data supply chains, and advances in construction informatics, we explore the gap between understanding housing systems and operationalizing that understanding in practice. We propose that a building systems-first, decision-centered perspective is required to bridge this gap and improve outcomes in building delivery.