Here’s a list of some of the world’s most technologically advanced buildings that push the envelope when it comes to responsiveness, well-being, sustainability and construction costs.

The Top 10 Technologically Advanced Buildings:

#1 The Edge by PLP Architecture

Described as the world’s greenest, most intelligent building, Deloitte’s new Amsterdam head office, the Edge, has received the highest sustainability score ever awarded by the British rating agency BREEAM. The building, designed by PLP Architecture, uses technology to achieve an unprecedented level of resource efficiency, but also create a collaborative work environment in tune with its users. Its LED panels pack about 28,000 sensors that track motion, light, temperature and humidity, creating a unique artificial neural network.

Surprisingly, the building comprises only 1,000 desks. The concept of hot desking–using desks only when they’re needed– increases occupancy efficiency and boosts productivity. The rest of the spaces designated for work are informal meeting spaces and lounge areas.

A smartphone app, developed with Deloitte, is connected to the building which directs you to a free parking spot, finds you a free desk and caters to your preference in lighting and temperature.

#2 Taipei 101 Tower by C.Y. Lee & Partners

Named for its 101 floors, Taipei 101 held the record as the world’s highest building for six years after its completion in 2004. Its sustainable construction has also made it the world’s tallest green building. The building received LEED Platinum Certification in 2012 and has some of the most advanced disaster prevention features ever built.

Taiwan is heavily affected by typhoons, which makes building tall buildings a tricky business, to say the least. Massive storms hit the East Asian coastline each year, bringing wind and rainfall strong enough to take down entire buildings. Taipei 101 tackles this with unprecedented inventiveness. The building’s most notable engineering feature is its tuned mass damper. This element functions as a large pendulum that counterbalances the sway of the building by swinging in the opposite way on hydraulically controlled suspension cables. This movement is controlled and reacts precisely to the movement of the building.

#3 Apple Campus 2 –Cupertino- by Foster+Partners

Apple’s new spaceship-shaped campus in Cupertino, California, has been a hot topic of debate in the AEC community ever since the release of its first images. The heavily-publicized project has a ring-shaped layout enveloping a patch of greenery. It is outfitted with solar panels and will be powered mainly by an “on-site low carbon Central Plant”.

Foster+Partners included a 100,000-square-foot fitness center, 300,000 square feet of research and development facilities, and two miles of walkways and running paths for employees, underground parking, as well as an orchard, meadow and pond. The staff can also navigate the campus on bikes, electric golf carts and commuter shuttles. The building will feature the world’s largest panels of curved glass which will limit glare and provide views of the outdoors from any location inside.

The project received some criticism due to its inward-oriented design that reflects Apple’s notorious secrecy. Some critics have called it ““anti-urban, anti-social, and anti-environmental”. As the first images and impressions of the completed building emerge, we are curious to see if the project will fulfill its ambitions.

#4 Bullitt Center by Miller Hull

The Bullitt Center in Seattle features several systems that make it one-of-a-kind and justify its status of the world’s greenest commercial building. A third of the building’s roof is covered in photovoltaic panels that produce around 230,000 kilowatt-hours per year. Rainwater is collected in a 56,000-gallon cistern and reused throughout the building. It features composting toilets and none of the 350 common toxic chemicals, including PVC, lead, mercury and BPA.

All systems are monitored and the real-time measurements of indoor air quality, energy consumption and photovoltaic power production are available to visitors. One of the most prominent features of the building is the fact that these innovative engineering solutions are visible and celebrated through the building’s architectural style.

#5 Powerhouse Kjørbo by Snohetta

Norwegian architecture firm Snohetta undertook a renovation of an existing 1980s building in Bærum, just outside Oslo, and transformed it into the world’s first “energy positive building” (EPB) or “net positive” building. The 200,000 kWh of on-site photovoltaics produce twice as much energy required to meet the needs of the building. According to predictions, the building will generate enough power in the next 60 years to cover the total amount of energy used to manufacture all the building materials, as well the construction, operation and waste disposal. This is something that is often omitted when considering energy efficiency of contemporary buildings that strive for sustainable performance.

#6 Ten Thousand by Handel Architects

Ten Thousand Santa Monica is a 283-unit, 767,240 square-foot residential tower in Los Angeles comprising four crystalline masses topped with a dramatic angled roof. The building offers an amazing array of tech-infused amenities, including a relay delivery robot named CHARLEY programmed to navigate the building, deliver packages, meals, drinks, etc.

Each resident has an iPad mini that features the Ten Thousand app. They can access the main menu and choose the item to be delivered by CHARLEY. Besides providing connection to the delivery robot, the app also integrates a beacon technology system throughout the building that predicts the residents’ needs. The residents can also use the app-based valet system to pay for training sessions, drinks at the bar, reserve private dining rooms and event spaces, request vehicles, and pay rent.

#7 Ng Teng Fong General Hospital by HOK

The Ng Teng Fong General Hospital is a community college science building in Singapore that uses 38% less energy than a typical Singaporean hospital and 69% less than a typical U.S. hospital. Its design, conceived by HOK, is based on passive sustainability principles aided by several active systems that curb its carbon emissions and power consumption. It is rare for buildings of this type to achieve net zero energy.

The hospital also is the first medical campus to combine continuing care from outpatient to post-acute care in Singapore. Its focus on patient well-being was the driving force behind many of its features, including its heavy reliance on natural ventilation and the presence of vegetation throughout the campus.

#8 Bahrain World Trade Center by Atkins

The 50-story Bahrain World Trade Center (BWTC), known as the country’s first ‘intelligent’ building with integrated SMART IT systems, boasts a unique feature – 3 huge wind turbines tying its two sail-shaped volumes together. The 29 meter wind turbines, each supported by a 30-meter bridge spanning between the two towers funnel and accelerate the wind going in-between the sails. The building is the first building in the world to incorporate this type of technology–and at this large a scale– into its design.

The development also incorporates the use of heat recovery systems, variable-volume chilled water pumps, energy efficient fluorescent lighting, solar-powered roads and amenity lighting, as well as reflective pools at the entrances which provide local evaporative cooling.

#9 IBM Watson IoT HQ by Universal Design Studio

IBM’s new headquarters in Munich is the company’s largest investment ever in Europe, and will serve as a research hub for artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and Blockchain, among other things. The building, designed by Universal Design Studio, will gather software engineers, programmers, architects, designers, cognitive scientists, researchers and clients working together to bring cognitive computing to IoT. Distributed across more than 25 floors, collaborative spaces will be equipped with IoT devices, occupancy sensors, and voice activation automated interfaces.

As one of the most technologically advanced buildings it can automatically adjust temperature and lighting to users’ preferences, and detect free spots which enables hot-desking. Server rooms are left visible to show the technology driving the experiences communicating transparency and openness.

#10 Sacramento Kings’ Golden 1 Center by AECOM

The solar-powered Sacramento Kings’ Golden 1 Center by AECOM is the first arena of its size to use a displacement ventilation system that directs fresh air upward from floor openings under the seating, instead of pumping forced air down into the arena from overhead diffusers. This kind of ventilation allows for cooling only the space around people instead of the entire building, which makes it more efficient and flexible compared to other ventilation systems. This means that the arena maintains stable temperatures at all times and during both hot and cold-weather sporting events. There is no need to pre-cool the building, so the building can host two events on the same day.

Furthermore, the air conditioning can be crowd-sourced, which means that the audience can use an in-game app to mark whether they’re too hot or cold in real time. The arena is the first to receive approval for the use of this kind of technology, and the first LEED Platinum–certified NBA arena expected to curb its carbon emissions by 24 percent compared to its predecessor–the Sleep Train Arena. The structure is powered entirely by a 1.2-megawatt solar array installed on its roof surface, and an 11-megawatt solar farm located 40 miles away.

Which technologically advanced buildings do you know?

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The fast-paced advancement of technology and globalization has introduced new business models, more efficient coordination and, above all, an environment where the evolution of industries can no longer be a linear process. Crosscutting disciplines are emerging as a new business paradigm in the age of digital economy. This trend for interlinking disciplines is also penetrating the AEC industry – but at what rate?

We are seeing great advancements in the fields of Building Information Modeling (BIM), artificial intelligence, 3D printing, nanomaterials and communications (Airbnb and Uber are two of many similar ventures that are remapping our cities) but the AEC profession is struggling to keep up. Even today, the majority of architecture studios essentially operate within a 50-year old framework, project funding mechanisms seem outdated, turnaround is slow and most construction work is still performed manually.

Any improvements, however, are noticeable, and they are mostly in the area of new software and automation. While the latter usually occurs under the patronage of institutes and corporate businesses, when it comes to software, the innovators are mostly teams of young professionals who combine their architectural background with their knowledge of coding.

The following details the developments currently underway in the categories of design, presentation and construction, and demonstrates how architects, engineers and construction managers can benefit from these innovations:

Design

A myriad of new architecture apps have started to make a difference in creating efficient and versatile designs. These new tools allow architects to reexamine floor plans, make quick design changes and reposition virtual furniture using nothing more than their smartphones and tablets. Some of these apps allow architects to measure a room’s dimensions and draw plans on-site, like MagicPlan. Native Rhino 3D models can be viewed and shared on a mobile or tablet using iRhino, while the Floored iPad app targets the real estate market and displays 3D floor plans using next-generation 3D cameras.

The Zurich-based founders of Archilogic have developed a way to produce interactive environments through advanced algorithms that turn real estate floor plans into scalable 3D models. The models don’t require any software, apps, or prior knowledge for using Archilogic. The team plans to introduce an option to enable external users to upload their own content onto the platform and so build an extensive 3D database online.

The cloud-based green app Plangrid is aiming to revamp the construction industry by allowing its users to store blueprints and construction documents on iPads and iPhones, which will save contractors’ time and, crucially, paper. Users of the app can share plans, markups, photos and reports. All project drawings are stored in the cloud and can be used by general contractors, construction workers, architects, engineers and other project team members, so completely removing the need for paper.

Presentation

Taking their cue from interactive and immersive videogame environments, young architects have started to use 3D as more than a set of hyper-realistic design stills. A game-changer in this field is the IrisVR, which has taken 3D into the world of virtual reality and allowed architects to convert and view their 3D SketchUp, Revit, and BIM models in virtual reality using Oculus Rift. Architects can use IrisVR during the design process but its greatest potential lies in showing clients new buildings or other types of projects on the application itself rather than having to resort to costly and time-consuming on-site visits. The app is still in its prototype phase but it promises to revolutionize the way we visualize architecture before construction work takes place.

In architecture, drones are now providing an abundance of information on context and visual representation. Remote-controlled technology allows architects, photographers, videographers and planners to gain a greater insight into built environments. Although the use of unmanned aerial vehicles has officially been sanctioned, numerous examples of valuable drone footage, including the building of Apple’s sprawling corporate headquarters in California, prove the benefits of this new trend.

Construction

In terms of construction, automated and autonomous machines are becoming mainstream and transforming the ways materials are made. Innovative use of robots bridges the gap between old construction techniques and more advanced design tools, as well as the gap between the architecture industry and academia. The now famous industrial robot KUKA is equipped for the (pre-)fabrication of building elements and parts, as well as molds for laminating fiber composites and mock-ups for furniture, car and industrial design. KUKA has made experimental design possible by introducing cutting-edge technology to the world. Students at ICD Stuttgart, for example, used a 6-axis KUKA to design innovative pavilion structures each year by implementing various lightweight carbon fiber composites.

An even more radical approach to fabrication has been taken up by young professionals and studios like Gramazio & Kohler and Raffaello d’Andrea. This studio built a 6-meter tall tower using a small quad-rotor helicopter. Automated building facades are currently being researched by architects Stephen A. Gage and Will Thorn, while students at Sci/Arc are configuring robotic arms in choreographed collaborative movements.

3D printing technology has become a significant trend in building construction. One of the most advanced examples is a project by Behrokh Khoshnevis, whose revolutionary robot can 3D print an entire 2,500-square-foot home in just 24 hours. This 3D printer has two crane-like arms and a crossbeam to carry the printhead. The entire machine runs along a set of tracks and can work simultaneously on all parts of the house. This process, named contour crafting, caught NASA’s eye, which has since given Khoshnevis a grant to experiment with lunar structures and buildings that could potentially be erected on other Earth-like planets.

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Although we are yet to see a substantial movement toward an organic approach to building spaces, the above examples provide glimpses into a more collaborative, versatile and adaptable future for the AEC industry. This prospect is closely tied with archipreneurship, an emerging service that specifically explores the ways for synergizing technological advancements and globalization.

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3D printing, or “additive manufacturing” is a process of making objects from digital models by gradually layering materials over each other to create a replica of the digital original. The technology has existed since the 1980s but, until recently, has mostly been used by large companies for rapid prototyping.

Its recent proliferation has brought the technology’s potential, or at least glimmers of it, to consumers and professionals outside the large conglomerates, stirring excitement in entrepreneurs looking to get a foothold in the A/E/C industry. Some say that the hype surrounding 3D printing has not yet been justified by any concrete successes, while others swear that the technology has the potential to become a significant tour de force in the cultural and business sectors.

Over the last ten years, 3D printers have become much more affordable for small businesses and entrepreneurs, and there now number over 200 startups worldwide that figure 3D printing in their work. Some use 3D printing to create product components, while others create products entirely from 3D printing tools. The technology’s ability to economize production time and create prototypes as well as individual parts of a product are the major reasons for the skyrocketing number of keen investors.

If we look beyond the possibility of 3D printed belt buckles, toys, smartphone cases and other trinkets, there are complex issues surrounding 3D printing. Undoubtedly, the world has never before seen a technology that has been able to translate our ideas into tangible objects with such ease and efficiency. Yet 3D printing is still in its infancy and due caution is advised for utilizing it over the next decade of its development. Discretion may be particularly necessary for archipreneurs, who are some of the most likely users of this new technology in their business pursuits.

While 3D printing offers solutions for creating complex objects, the technology remains hindered by cost and scale. Consumer-type 3D printers are still too expensive for the average buyer, with costs rising exponentially with printer sizes. These high costs are having a knock-on effect for companies that are making and selling 3D printers.

Earlier this year, 3D printing pioneer MakerBot had to close several of its retail shops and lay off 20 percent of its staff. The company, founded in 2009, initially had a period of rapid growth but had to downsize after falling short of its financial targets in 2014. MakerBot’s decline proves that although the future of 3D printing seems bright when looking at the potential of the technology itself, a lot of groundwork has to be laid for it to be a viable financial solution for smaller companies.

For 3D printing to be adopted across the architectural industry, there has to be an entrepreneurial environment for companies trying to overcome the current limitations of the technology and broaden its use through new business models. When it comes to architecture, 3D printing hasn’t yet made much of an impact. It is reasonable to assume that the technology will need to reach a certain level of maturity before it’s implemented in any viable way.

Having said that, there are several examples of young architects who are experimenting with 3D printing. Dutch firm Dus is working on a project called Canal House, with the goal to 3D print an entire house. The architects at Dus plan to use a purpose-built printer called the KamerMaker and 3D print the house on-site. They will test print each component at a scale of 1:20 before switching to a 1:1 scale.

3D printing technology also plays a significant part in new building construction trends. One of the most advanced examples of this is a project by Behrokh Khoshnevis, who built a computer-controlled injection system that pours concrete according to a pre-loaded set of blueprints. The machine has two crane-like arms and a crossbeam that carries the printhead. The entire machine runs along a set of tracks and can work on all parts of the house simultaneously, in a process called “contour crafting”.

Contour crafting technology has great potential for automating the construction of entire structures as well as their sub-components, and its development could make a significant impact on the construction industry by reducing manual labor and speeding up the building process.

The largest printer in the world, D-Shape, was built by Enrico Dini and stacks layers of sand and binding materials to make instant sandstone that, according to Dini, requires no steel reinforcements and is more durable than concrete. The European Space Agency is testing D-Shape for building their lunar bases, and architect Adam Kushner has received the go-ahead to use D-Shape for 3D printing an entire estate in upstate New York.

Despite these promising developments, we are still far from implementing 3D printing in the A/E/C industry in a systemic, financially viable way. It is more probable that the technology will first have to revolutionize the way that smaller objects are manufactured. The potential to customize objects through 3D printing is vast, although most enterprises currently only use it to prototype objects.

A/E/C professionals remain skeptical about the idea of scaling up 3D printing technology, which has so far only been used to make small objects. Even so, those working on the possibility of 3D printing entire houses and housing blocks are convinced that additive manufacturing will transform the industry.

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