Building a Better BRIK: Building Research Information Knowledgebase Vastly Expands Its Research Offerings

he Building Research Information Knowledgebase (BRIK), a joint venture of the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) and The American Institute of Architects (AJA), is an interactive portal that offers online access to professionally reviewed research projects and case studies in all facets of the built environment. Provided information spans from predesign, design and construction through occupancy and re-use. In March 2015, the BRIK searchable database was widely expanded through the addition of the EBSCO Discovery Service, which adds thousands of titles in three databases-all searchable through BRIK.

Now two years old, BRIK has been developed under the auspices of the AIA/NIBS BRIK Council, a multidisciplinary group directed by NIBS. Currently, an 18-person Building Research Council (BRC) Steering Committee guides the development of BRIK. "[We hope BRIK will] be the impetus for equipping a generation of practitioner-researchers ' says Ray Pentecost, DrPH, FAIA, FACHA, LEED AP, chair of the BRC Steering Committee. "The success of BRIK as a repository of research and a portal for the interaction of those interested in research will, at least in part, be shaped by the ability of visitors to effectively tap the content available on the site:'