Buildings on demand: Shaping the course of intelligent building design in Asia
Issue 23 - Sept 06

There was a time when having an elevator would have
classified a building as technologically advanced. Now the
bar has been raised and a combination of technology and user
demands are pushing it higher still.

Intelligent Buildings (IBs) are evolving, but what are the driving forces pushing, pulling and shaping them? The answer is simple – everything and everybody.
From occupiers, owners and developers, to employees, lawyers, and associations; from advances in new technologies, to improved awareness and market forces; the very environment we live in is shaping ever newer, ever smarter buildings.

A look at the Intelligent Building Index developed by the Asian Institute of Intelligent Buildings (AIIB), gives some idea of the breadth of demands developers of
today’s IBs must meet. The index has ten criteria. “Green” – split into 75 elements – sits at the top of this list of categories, followed by space, comfort, working efficiency, culture, high-tech image, safety and structure, management practices, security, cost effectiveness, and health and safety.

where demand is coming from
IBs are developed to meet demands, yet these demands are sometimes difficult to pin down. Even experts prioritise these demands on potential IB developers
differently.

“Companies and contractors are paying attention to changing building regulations
driven by the green agenda”, says Professor D Clements-Croome of Reading
University’s Department of Construction Management and Engineering. “Media
involvement is helping to push up expectations...and separately, increased knowledge about non-renewable resources, water consumption and pollution is driving up the demand for sustainable buildings.”

Ben Hau, Business Development Manager, Hospitality Industry and Intelligent
Buildings, Cisco Systems, sees a demand for buildings that add value directly to
occupiers’ lives. He told RFP that in Singapore, the likes of the Ministry of Manpower, National University of Singapore (NUS), Alexander Hospital and Raffles Hotel, to take a broad cross section, are moving into buildings that can be classed as IBs to “positively transform the company culture and improve the lives of all its occupants”.

Meanwhile, in a study of connectivity and office occupier’s decision-making, Tien Foo Sing, Deputy Head (Research), NUS, found that the image and prestige of an office location, rather than the “intelligent” infrastructure, were the most important factors influencing firms moving in to an IB.

And underlying all these expectations that an IB will be green and prestigious, are
market forces brought on by economic development, says Chan Kit Kai, Course
Manager for Integrated Facility Design and Management at Tamasek Polytechnic,
Singapore.

Even though the explanations and emphasis are different, all these factors add up
to one thing. There are many demands and expectations placed on IBs and their
combined effect will continue to fuel changes.

IBs in practice
Since 1999, Singapore’s Suntec City has been seeking to attract high quality tenants by installing almost every communication related, high-tech innovation available. This has included fibre optic broadband access, instant networking, digital offices, common telecommunication connection, an internet call
centre, plug and play environment, 4G network, wireless broadband services, and many others, according to Tien Foo Sing, who studied the relocation decisions of its occupiers.

One result of this connectivity is that complimentary and competing business occupiers are linked to each other in a network within the building. This means “the landlord’s role is transformed into one that facilitates partnerships
and links with new tenants”, or as Tien further explains, “a new way of creating value in real estate projects in the digital age”. This method of recruiting tenants has become a building management strategy patented by Suntec City under the term “Facilities Service Provider”.

The practical benefits of a high-tech environment were obviously important in
influencing the decisions of companies that moved into Suntec City. Yet when firms were asked to evaluate factors influencing their decision, broadband connection and wireless access came sixth, ahead of competitive rents but behind ample parking lots, responsive management and flexible lease terms. Top of the list were image and prestige, followed by connection to public transport.

However, image and prestige are inherently linked with the way existing tenants in
Suntec City are connected to each other. Tien explains: “Firms with a well established network in the building will likely value this connectivity factor...” and “these firms will also be the magnet that draws new firms or complimentary businesses to the building. This network connectivity effect will grow when more firms are connected into the existing network.” So image and prestige are important demands, and a prestigious image is created by the prestigious tenants, who place the most importance on a building’s high-tech credentials.

economic drivers
For Chan Kit Kai, emphasis needs to be placed on economic development to explain how IBs are changing and meeting demands from occupiers. Economic development creates both the feasibility for innovations, as well as expectations for them. It also creates competition, which adds fuel to the frenzied pursuit for new and improved buildings.

In this chain of demand and change, technology plays an essential role by providing property occupants with new options but also by putting them in a new environment that forces changes to business practices. It begs the question, are we inventing new technologies to satisfy real demand, or is new technology creating demands of a new kind? “Many of these demands are driving technology, which in turn drives demand – it becomes a cycle,” says Chan.

Occupational health and safety, for example, has improved with IB innovations, through improved office designs, sanitation and air-quality control, but that in turn has made expectations rise. Chan says that in many jurisdictions, an increased risk of litigation for not providing occupational health features and services that are now readily available becomes something building owners should consider. Even if concerns over health and safety never reach litigation stage, the pressure is already on, with developers and owners competing to provide best-in-class facilities.

Security has also transformed with technological advancement, especially after a rise in awareness of how horribly things can go wrong, following the September 11 attacks in the US. Biometric access control systems, including fingerprinting and facial recognition devices, have made huge gains in popularity
since 2001. Cameras with sensors able to detect motion can find hazards, such as people starting fires or leaving bags unattended, and automatically trigger
alarms.

Post-September 11 shock is often cited as the impetus for developments in security systems, but other factors have also contributed. “A lot of these innovations are fuelled by competition among technology companies,”
Chan points out.

Competition, pushed by economic development is just another demand on any building developer, particularly those who want to build an IB. Demands will grow
faster, however, when awareness of IB potential increases and it becomes better understood.

awareness
Professor Clements-Croome described a shift in focus for IB demand, which has taken place in recent years: “Saving in costs used to be a stronger selling point, but now there is more emphasis on maximising productivity and also an increased environmental awareness.”

But at the same time Professor Clements-Croome acknowledges that a lot of work needs to be done to improve awareness and demand for sustainable
buildings. “The outcome of spreading awareness is to push the average up.”

There are more groups, Ben Hau says, that should be moving into IBs, especially owner-occupied corporate buildings, but they are not doing so because of a
“general lack of awareness of the benefits of IBs.” Developments, such as building automation systems’ vendors turning to open platforms instead of proprietary systems and improved access to IB training for corporations, will help improve demand, he explains.

IB demand will also increase when the vital steps are taken to improve communications within corporations. Hau points out: “The IT and Real Estate departments in many organisations are still operating independently of
each other.” Groups like the AIIB aim to deal with such communication blockages and push IB potential and “raise awareness of the benefits of IBs”, he says. RFP

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