George Mokhtar, head of digital at Turner & Townsend Real Estate, examines the factors to consider in order to successfully deliver smart buildings
Not so long ago, smart buildings were seen as an outlier. Building the business case for an intelligent asset required careful consideration and being prepared for challenge. Fast forward to today, and demand has taken over.
A growing number of occupiers now expect investors and developers to build intelligent systems into the fabric of their assets as standard, and it’s critical to understand the purpose and approach.
In today’s market, the value of intelligent assets has now been proven to bring benefits beyond operational efficiency, providing the strategy is well executed. A high performing smart building can reduce whole-life carbon, better manage energy in an age of rising costs, transform user experience and underpin both the productivity and wellbeing of the people who live, work and play in our built environment.
Increasingly, the market is also looking beyond single buildings, recognising the long-term value and insight that can be gained by taking a portfolio-level approach.
However, successful delivery of smart projects is still far from guaranteed. Ambition at the outset can often be undermined by errors or gaps in planning, design and construction. The end result may still be a smart building, but it can fall short of the original vision in terms of performance, data collection and futureproofing.
This matters because poorly delivered assets do not just underperform – they can actively create risk.
As buildings become more digitally complex, they can also become more vulnerable if they haven’t been conceived or delivered without security in mind. Enhanced connectivity increases the potential for cyber threats, while the productivity and information gains of smart systems could increase risks of data leaks, litigation, reputational damage and operational disruption.
To gain the most value from assets and manage the security risks that come with digital systems, we need effective planning, resilience testing and security checks during their delivery.
Executing the vision
In the past, technology was often treated as something that could be bolted on, rather than a foundational priority for any asset. The market has now started to substantially
mature on this front.
The strategic objectives, business goals and day-to-day journeys of visitors, residents, patients or occupiers should be carefully considered from the start. There needs to be a clear understanding of how integrated digital systems can drive better performance and experience.
If the vision isn’t properly executed, the true purpose of a smart building can be lost. Attempts to re-inject purpose later down the line become costly, disruptive and can fail to
recapture the value of what’s already been taken away.
Identifying and developing the vision for the asset is just the first step. From there, it’s a case of ensuring aspirations and requirements are well communicated to and understood by the whole value chain, from procurement through to the design team and contractors.
Guardianship is key. Ideally, responsibility for maintaining the overarching purpose and specification for the building’s digital infrastructure should be defined and independent.
We’re seeing the role of design guardian is emerging to provide assurance and support to the team, while collaborating with the Master Systems Integrator.
Such oversight is crucial. Even simple value engineering decisions, such as swapping fibre cables for copper, can have profound consequences to the final long-term performance and value of the building. There is often also a lack of futureproofing in the initial base build of a project that has not considered the fit-out requirements, leading to waste through retrofitting equipment and networks.
Futureproofing to maximise long-term value
With technology advancing faster than ever, smart buildings must be designed for flexibility and scalability to avoid expensive change or lost value down the line. Consultants need to consider details like additional space in containment and risers, including spare fibre cores, separating networks and utilising open-source standards and protocols for building management systems and equipment.
By embedding this resilience, adaptability and agility, smart buildings are better equipped to unlock long-term value as individual assets, or as part of a wider portfolio.
In fact, it’s in portfolios where smart buildings really present the most potential. Within a connected group, smart buildings can pool insight from larger data sources to better inform strategic planning, investment and the design of future assets.
Smart hospitals are a good example: they have a clear vision for their outcomes, offering next generation healthcare and patient experience alongside the ability to capture data on how assets are used and how they perform. By looking at a range of metrics at a portfolio-level, trusts and private operators can take a programmatic view of the relationships between building performance, health, productivity and wellbeing.
The nature of smart assets is that they’re continuing to evolve as technology changes. However, the principles are now firmly in place. By establishing a clearly defined purpose from the outset and following that up through intelligent delivery, we can develop smart buildings that deliver long-term value for all those who use them.
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