We know you’ve all had clients that want the ‘smart building’ but don’t truly understand what a smart building really means. And the truth is, ‘Smart’ isn’t enough.
These types of clients like the idea of a smart building, but don’t know exactly why they need it or want it. As the Technology Master Planner, it’s our job to give clients a macro view so they can understand the difference between smart and Future-Ready.
The term “smart building” has been so over-used. Without a universally accepted standard for smart buildings, almost any building upgrade can be called ‘smart’ for sales and marketing purposes. Much like “all-natural” on a food label, the term has become a marketing gimmick. This makes it difficult to communicate the tangible, measurable value of these properties.
Without the oversight of a Technology General Contractor, a beautifully designed “smart” project can quickly become a Save-a-Buck building. This “Old World” approach is focused on cost savings and often results in components critical to the vision and Technology Master Plan being value-engineered out. We know how frustrating it is when this happens. Because when those ‘smart’ upgrades fail to deliver, customers lose faith in the technology, which undermines the entire PropTech industry.
Techmenity applauds organizations like the Smart Building Certification and SmartScore who are paving the way for meaningful adoption and transformation by standardizing a methodology for assessing and rating smart buildings. But we want to take their definition a step further because in this age of rapid digital transformation your building needs to be smart and Future-Ready. The successful execution of this requires both a new role and a new mindset within the real estate and construction industries.
Techmenity takes smart buildings to the next level by bringing a Future-Ready mindset to every project. We educate clients, developers, architects, designers, and key stakeholders about the types of technology available today, then help them conceptualize what may be available in the future.
Innovations in smart technology are accelerating faster than ever. By conceptualizing a long-term technology roadmap upfront, we’re better able to anticipate challenges and accommodate the many technological advances and occupant demands that will occur throughout the lifecycle of your smart building, home, or office.
Techmenity’s Future-Ready approach is built upon the Digital Foundation. As the Technology Master Planner, we design a secure, scalable network that allows for non-invasive upgrades to ensure the property’s relevance for its entire lifecycle. Our role as the Technology General Contractor is to deliver your smart building as envisioned. We do this by managing timelines and deliverables from the various tech vendors and providing insight into the value engineering process to ensure that economic decisions will not impact the holistic vision and performance of the Technology Master Plan.
A property with a secure, converged IP network supporting interconnected systems that share data and accommodate evolving technologies.
During the Concept and Planning Phase, we always design with budget, cybersecurity, and operational efficiencies in mind. Here, we’re assessing the network and how it allows for communication, integration, and control of disparate systems — and how this contributes to the overall building ecosystem. AI platforms will become a major driver here, providing insights that optimize the operations, economics, and experience of our buildings.
A property that is extensible.
We’re anticipating future upgrades that the risers, pathways, and network will need to accommodate to allow for easy, minimally invasive updates. We’re also looking through an operator’s lens to consider the features impacting them. Here we address the durability, sustainability, performance, maintainability, and serviceability of the property. As AI applications mature, they will lead the way for buildings to become nearly self-maintaining and will simply alert humans when intervention is required.
A property that is healthy and sustainable.
We’re always thinking about occupants and anticipating changing tenant demands over time to meet their future needs and expectations in terms of health, safety, and comfort. Right now, we are witnessing how the pandemic is accelerating the WELL building movement because people are now hyper-aware of the impacts that the built environment has on our health. Rising demands for building health will play a crucial role in defining the future of smart buildings.
Bringing a Technology General Contractor into the early core and shell planning stages is essential to building a strong digital foundation for your property. Techmenity's Future-Ready approach can be applied to any type of project from mixed-use to single-family.
New construction usually sees the greatest opportunity for cost savings because you’re building the technology infrastructure directly into the floor plans. But renovations are also fertile ground for innovation. We approach an office or residential project with the same Future-Ready fundamentals that we would bring to a large-scale commercial development. Techmentiy’s scalable solutions add value at every stage of a property’s life cycle; whether renovating your townhouse, developing a new building, or repositioning an existing office space.
Even if you don't decide to fully integrate all of the systems today, investing CapEx in your network infrastructure at the start will allow you to easily and cost-effectively upgrade your building in the future; saving you lots of money, and headaches, down the road.
Schedule a call to discuss how we can help you Future-Ready your next renovation or new construction project.
This post is Part I of our three-part series on Future-Ready Buildings:
Part II: Replacing the Old World Mindset
Part III: 4 Steps to Building a Strong Digital Foundation