3 Trends Transforming Commercial Buildings

The advent of technology and artificial intelligence has transformed the way we live and work and has heralded an era of smart buildings. For a long time, commercial real estate (CRE) was all about location but now information and technology hold the key to its success. New designs and technologies are being integrated with our workspaces to lessen their impact on the environment while simultaneously making them more efficient.

Here are three smart building design trends to watch for:

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics

Artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and other technologies are not only the corner stones of our future smart cities, but these innovations are also rewriting the rules of the commercial real estate industry. These technologies are creating smart buildings that can function as a comfortable environment without human intervention.

For example, technology is being used to automatically predict and control lighting as well as room temperature. A centralized computer system picks up data from sensors installed all over the office and controls temperature like a traditional thermostat. These systems can fetch high returns for building owners by reducing high operational costs such as lighting and air-conditioning. 8.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide in 2017 (Gartner report)

IoT Technology

The Internet of Things (IoT) creates an ecosystem of connected objects and devices accessible through the internet. This path-breaking technology analyzes data generated by devices spread all across the office space and initiates ‘smart’ action. IoT-enabled building management systems (BMS) are instrumental in making building performance more efficient and use the data to improve user experience. For instance, with the predictive capability of IoT-enabled buildings, CRE owners can anticipate a repair or maintenance issue even before a tenant notices any problem.

Sustainable Smart Solutions

CRE owners are waking up to the importance of adopting sustainable features to enhance tenant attraction. Sustainability is an integral part of the overall business strategy of many international tenants. Moreover, sustainable features are known to enhance the productivity of employees and also reduce operational costs. Some smart solutions adopted by companies include self-adjusting lighting and window shades and personalized heat and light settings. Apart from these, circadian lighting systems that mimic natural daylight and heat and lighting systems that adjust automatically according to weather and occupancy are also helping companies reduce their carbon footprint.

The connectivity and data generated by IoT and AI-enabled buildings can greatly empower CRE owners. They can leverage this information to identify consumer demands, provide better services to their tenants and enhance the overall tenant and user experience. Depending upon the needs of a commercial building, the inclusion of some of these smart features could transform their businesses and surely boost bottom lines.

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