Design boundary dynamics in infrastructure projects: Issues of resource allocation, path dependency and problem-solving

•I address cross-boundary coordination in the design of infrastructure projects.•I introduce the notion of design boundary dynamics to describe this phenomenon.•I present findings of qualitative research on an infrastructure project case study.•Findings illustrate the nature of design boundaries and the process of their genesis.•I discuss strategic recommendations to deal with design boundary dynamics.

Due to their complexity and high social impact, urban infrastructure projects often face challenges in managing the design decision-making processes across disparate disciplinary and knowledge domain boundaries. This paper introduces the notion of design boundary dynamics to describe the various cross-boundary coordination phenomena associated with organising the design of infrastructure projects. Taking a practice-based theoretical stance, the paper presents findings of qualitative research on the nature and genesis of design boundaries and their relation to the strategic decision-making on a transportation infrastructure project. Findings illustrate the entangled processes, through which the disciplinary, knowledge-domain and stage-based design boundaries emerged as a result of unfolding project practices. Paper identifies the key role of resource allocation constraints, path dependency of project decisions, and problem-solving nature of design and concludes with strategic recommendations for upstream operational integration to mitigate the impact of design boundary dynamics on infrastructure projects.