Weekly Briefing

The Smart Building (R)evolution

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The term 'smart building' is becoming increasingly mainstream, but what does it actually mean? It covers, in fact, a wide range of definitions and will differ from building to building, as each one is unique and has different requirements.

Most people place technology as the central concept, but it is important to remember that this is only a means to an end. The key driver, and reason for being is making them people-centric, so the goal is creating an optimum environment for people and their evolving needs. This means both enhancing their experience of the building and optimising the opportunities for productivity gains in all senses, as well as considering innovation requirements.

It should be noted that the phrase smart building is often primarily considered alongside office projects, while in reality, many warehouses, logistics centres, and science parks are “smarter” in many ways than their office counterparts in cities.

The fundamentals of smart buildings should include automation and integration of energy management, lighting and HVAC. Smarter offices should provide high degrees of personalisation and flexibility through digital means, as well as frictionless access and seamless wayfinding from common areas through to the occupier’s areas and clearly defined connectivity. Ultimately, such a building will be one that potentially goes almost unnoticed by the user, as it has either predicted or provided their needs on demand.

In terms of specific technologies being implemented, the priorities will depend on the user. For architects and facilities managers, digital twins might be most useful in the design and proactive maintenance of sites, allowing for predictive analysis of potential faults and therefore pre-emptive maintenance. This underlying infrastructure often goes unnoticed by occupiers, but is critical to providing an always on environment.

Whereas for users, front end inputs are often perceived to be more critical. Occupier portals, connected to access controls and IoT devices that monitor air quality and lighting conditions, as well as occupancy levels, desk bookings and payment solutions might be a key requirement.

For example, MAPP works closely with a data analytics platform provider that provides live intelligence on HVAC, utility meters and internal environmental sensors for temperature, CO2, air-quality, humidity and occupancy, amongst other factors.

One of the primary reasons for buildings overconsuming energy is manual HVAC systems. If HVAC systems have no dynamic settings based on the building occupancy, they are simply controlled by fixed time schedules. In contrast, smarter buildings offer occupancy-based HVAC control. Using occupier sensor networks, managers can understand key patterns and optimise system settings, lighting, and even cleaning frequency. Occupancy sensors are estimated to reduce energy waste by 68% and result in savings of up to 60%. With post-COVID hybrid working becoming the norm, a real-time oversight of building usage and adaptation capability takes on extra benefits.

Innovations that support superior ventilation and air quality are also on the rise. Smart HVAC technology has the power to automatically control inputs to building management systems, for example increasing or decreasing outdoor air flow rates in line with changes in occupation rates, or even with varying outdoor pollution levels or weather conditions. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning can be layered on to trigger automated changes to the HVAC system, making adjustments to coincide with changing environmental conditions, as well as reacting to fluctuations in the quality of the inside air.

Smart technology such as this helps us to not only generate efficiencies for occupiers and clients, but deliver wider benefits such as making quantifiable cost savings, optimising the workplace environment, reducing plant maintenance time and enhancing overall occupier satisfaction.

Cybersecurity is also coming to the forefront amongst smart building professionals, as a key component of access and entry systems. There is a growing plethora of mobile-first software providers that offer access control solutions at the user's fingertips. Capabilities include physical and logical access, user identification and temporary building passes.

Given this level of sophistication, it would be natural to assume that the smart buildings descriptor can only be applied to new buildings, however as technology has become increasingly cloud based and flexible, it is possible to retrofit existing buildings to make them smart(er). Installing a SaaS solution into an existing building means that the level of “smart” can be adjusted incrementally and according to the occupier requirements, allowing for a higher degree of flexibility, which can be helpful from a planning and budgeting perspective.

Retrofitting capability is good news given the role that smart buildings have to play in future-proofing the built environment and climate change adaptation. Building optimisation goes hand in hand with energy efficiency which will help older buildings meet increasingly strict regulations around sustainability performance. It will also help owners and landlords to prevent their buildings becoming stranded assets.

According to Statistica, the number of IoT devices worldwide is forecast to almost triple from 9.7 billion in 2020 to more than 29 billion IoT devices in 2030. This points to a smart building revolution, however the wider macroeconomic picture has dampened investors' approach to built world technologies slightly. We believe that updates will be incremental but perhaps more purposeful, as investors tune in to the specific requirements of the sites and the occupier mix, as well as wider sector challenges (i.e. energy prices) in order to achieve specific goals.

Built world technologies are playing a crucial role in the decarbonisation of the real estate sector which is increasingly being viewed as the industry’s top priority. Software that enables landlords and property managers to track, benchmark and reduce carbon emissions are particularly extremely important. Moreover, a strong IoT digital architecture makes it easier to create a continuous cycle of improvement, take meaningful action, improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions and create safer and more pleasant workplaces.

Learn more about smart buildings, technology and innovation from thought leaders like Robert Stark and others at IBcon, the world’s leading event on the next generation of smart, connected, high performance, net zero, sustainable, intelligent buildings, on June 14-15 in Las Vegas. Register today!

Robert Stark, Sr. Executive Director, Strategy & Operations, MAPP With strategic oversight of MAPP's Property Management functions, Robert ensures that people, technology and processes are effectively structured and connected. He explores and implements new technology to aid growth, and works with clients to identify their requirements and interpret that into action, ensuring excellence in service delivery and an occupier centric approach. Robert has over 20 years' experience in managing significant client portfolio mandates and working with sector leading organisations to deliver change, engagement and performance.

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