One of these aspects relates to the an ever-shifting flow of different occupants in office spaces: employees, temporary occupants, partners, customers, suppliers, clients, etc. Over the last few decades, it has become obvious that, in order to stay competitive and increase productivity, companies need to embrace the idea that physical spaces have to adapt to the concept of fluidity. This flexibility has already become a staple in the organization of many forward-thinking enterprises which created workplaces that facilitate a way of operating in which team sizes and way of collaborating vary from project to project, and depend on specific tasks and project stage.

Data collection to analyze the use of office spaces

Deloitte’s new HQ in Amsterdam, named The Edge, epitomizes this smart utilization of new tech which affects office design in terms of organization and energy efficiency. Designed by PLP Architecture, the building is described as the world’s greenest, most intelligent building. The project, which promotes a new way of smart-enabled agile working, has also received the highest sustainability score ever awarded by the British rating agency BREEAM. It provides 1,000 desks for 2,500 Deloitte workers who interact with it – for anything from parking to desk allocation, instant locker access and food ordering – through a dedicated app which connects with 30,000 sensors embedded in the building’s LED lighting system.

As a result, Deloitte’s talent attraction and retention has rocketed, with a four-fold increase in job applications and 60% fewer absentees. Data collection allowed company to analyze the use of their office spaces and helped push forward the concept of hot desking–using desks only when they’re needed. This greatly increases occupancy efficiency and boosts productivity. Meeting rooms may be moved, merged, or eliminated entirely, providing a more efficient use of any available office space.

It is only a matter of time before the new standard for meeting and presentations is immediate interaction. Presenters will be able to send information directly to participants’ personal devices or collaborative interactive displays such as smart whiteboards. Telepresence is already here and will be further advanced through the proliferation of virtual reality. VR allows companies to hold interactive presentations and get fast and accurate feedback on their products and concepts. Attendees can “travel” to remote locations with their colleagues or customers, with motion controllers and positional tracking of the headsets bringing hands and body movement into long-distance meetings, making communication more natural and effective. The increasing use of VR in meetings reduces the need for physical meeting and conference rooms.

It is only a matter of time before the new standard for meeting and presentations is immediate interaction. Presenters will be able to send information directly to participants’ personal devices or collaborative interactive displays such as smart whiteboards. Telepresence is already here and will be further advanced through the proliferation of virtual reality. VR allows companies to hold interactive presentations and get fast and accurate feedback on their products and concepts. Attendees can “travel” to remote locations with their colleagues or customers, with motion controllers and positional tracking of the headsets bringing hands and body movement into long-distance meetings, making communication more natural and effective. The increasing use of VR in meetings reduces the need for physical meeting and conference rooms.

Sharing information and knowledge

Another important aspect of the use of IoT in office design is its contribution to sharing information and knowledge. The future of modern workplaces lies in seamless collaboration across departments and continents. Studios, incubators, pop-ups are just a few new workplace types that evolved with the emergence of digital technology. These new spaces reflect the fast-paced economy that is pushing out the old concept of hierarchical structure manifested through space. The anachronistic model of centralized decision-making is being replaced with a more transparent setup that reinforces different cultural values and caters to a whole new generation of young professionals that put great value on well-being and at-work comfort.

Large companies build their office buildings equipped with smart sensors and heating systems that can regulate micro-environments to suit individual employees makes the occupants of the building more comfortable, and they can do their work more productively. This ability of the workplace to boost user satisfaction is particularly important with millennials. Tech giants like Facebook and Google are leading examples of companies that embraced campus-style workspace aimed for young talents.

In designing Apple’s new spaceship-shaped campus in Cupertino, California, 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 at Apple’s new spaceship-shaped campus in Cupertino, California. They also included an 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 use of environmental sensors tracking the interior temperature, humidity, air quality, barometric pressure, ambient light levels and occupancy turns a building into an intelligent ecosystem that is both cost-efficient and increases productivity.

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Intelligent office design is already embraced as cutting-edge innovation and a smart business investment that improves workplace dynamics. How do you see your workplace evolving in the future?

The post How the Internet of Things (IoT) is Changing Modern Office Design appeared first on Archipreneur.

BIMMUNITY is a cloud-based system that aims at empowering all parties concerned with the efficient management of the built environment. It utilizes state-of-the-art concepts of building information modeling (BIM), geographic information systems (GIS), and database and server technology, to provide smart and real-time solutions, involving a variety of building types and stakeholders, within a fully integrated and customized platform.

BIMMUNITY solutions range from managing not only spaces and buildings, but also communities and cities, using its flexible and scalable “city-to-room” services. Rather than a “one-size-fits-all” platform, its fully customizable features address the needs of a wide variety of building types, including residential, commercial, educational, and mixed-use buildings, as well as stakeholders, including property holders, facility managers, service providers, and building tenants.

All stakeholders can navigate seamlessly through BIMMUNITY’s dynamic and user-friendly visual interface using its interconnected portals. Property holders can manage their properties worldwide and track income, expenses, and performances on their PCs or smart devices. Facility managers can issue tickets and work orders to service providers and monitor all building systems and operations. Service providers can monitor their stocks and inventory and conduct their assigned work orders. Building tenants can visually navigate through their units and perform a variety of requests including services, bookings, and maintenance and operation requests.

The system infrastructure comprises several cloud servers and databases, including MySQL database, Google Maps for general map navigation, BIM server for managing data translation from 3D BIM models, and GIS server for creating and managing GIS data, web services and applications related to worldwide maps. All server outputs are communicated through an API gateway to serve any type of devices including desktop and mobile applications.

One of the key added values of the system is the BIM/GIS integration, where GIS augments the value of BIM design data through the analysis and management of infrastructure and project elements. Using the analytical power of both BIM and GIS, building users, managers and owners can better understand the issues and impacts of their decisions. Other strengths include the support of data retrieval, tracking of component development and maintenance history, dataset availability for maximum on-demand use and recall, therefore supporting integration with other collaboration platforms.

The integration of BIMMUNITY and existing Internet of Things (IoT) systems including smart systems, home automation and sensor network technology offers yet a further competitive edge, where real-time data and feedback from existing operations are detected, monitored and processed to provide comprehensive and accurate data representation. BIMMUNITY introduces a solution that is much more than an efficient management tool. It extends to deliver smart solutions that involve enhanced scenarios of operation, automated workflows, performance monitoring and tracking, optimized management of building facilities and spaces, and informed real time decision-making.

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Over the last two decades, the construction industry has been subject to dramatic changes, paving the way for a future in which traditional spatial concepts are longer valid. Now, compost is being used for building materials, crowdfunding and collaborative design have become increasingly popular approaches to architectural projects, there is a focus on the importance of green infrastructure and energy efficiency, and the line between private and public space is becoming increasingly blurred. These new approaches are foreshadowing the ways in which our urban environment will evolve over the next few decades. Here’s a rundown of the new trends that have already started to affect the way we build:

#1 – No More ‘Public vs. Private’ Space

An increasing number of buildings not only address the needs of its users by function but also aim to incorporate public and commercial amenities. Architects are becoming aware of the need for creating inclusive spaces that share the same palpable values as their neighborhoods and the general public.

With the emergence of new technologies, it has become possible to design large developments as micro-cities that offer a range of diverse services (think Google, Facebook and Linkedin headquarters). Private buildings often include recycling and composting facilities and other public domain functions.

Excess energy that has been generated by private residences, offices and other buildings is now often fed into the public power grid. As Adriana Seserin writes in her article “The Publicly Private And The Privately Public”, “The dichotomy of public vs. private is limping in its ability to describe the complexity of today’s society.”

#2 – Design Will Become More Collaborative

Architecture as we know it is likely to disappear and, in the future, the role of architects may be very different to how we recognize it today. Specialists in, for example, environmental science and social anthropology will become active team members in design studios, working on complex projects that require knowledge in different fields.

It is reasonable to expect that the emergence of specialists from various fields will eliminate many of the job profiles currently existing in the construction industry. “Small ‘design-led’ practices will face increasingly stiff competition from multidisciplinary giants and must become more business savvy in order to survive in the future,” claims a 2011 RIBA report.

The rule of starchitects is likely to come to an end, as both private and public clients are starting to expect much more than iconic spaces and structures. Interaction, inclusiveness, easy maintenance and energy efficiency are getting priority over extravagance for extravagance’s sake.

#3 – Internet of Things Becomes Internet of Spaces

The “sharing economy” (or, “collaborative consumption”) has had the greatest impact on the housing and real estate market. Peer-to-peer online platforms like AirBnB, as well as shared workspaces and driverless cars are paving the way towards a future in which infrastructure is the dominant aspect of the built environment.

Regarding residential architecture, the concepts of interconnectivity and smart design will redefine the way living spaces are created. Transformable spaces that adapt to the homeowner’s age, economic status and personal preference are well on their way to becoming mainstream.

#4 – Buildings Will Be Funded by the Many

The concept of  is radically changing the way projects are financed. Since it was first introduced, Kickstarter has funneled more than $66 million into a varied number of projects, from food through movies to technology. Architectural projects, including Lowline and the BD Bacata Tower, have also made use of crowdfunding to advance their plans.

Certain areas of the construction industry – standardized designs and prototype housing, chain stores and retail office buildings, and schools – could see more competitive bidding in getting their plans funded, while more complex structures requiring unique designs such as stadiums, power plants, bridges, museums and medical buildings are less likely to be built through an open-bid approach.

#5 – Going Tall, Small and Temporary

Breaking the pattern of the urban sprawl we’ve seen over the last century, the new trend of building super-tall structures will make cities grow upwards rather than outwards. These tall buildings combine living, playing, shopping and working in one area and are made possible thanks to the advances in material technology, like electronic glass panels. As developments in technology change the size of our gadgets, so too may these developments also affect the size of our living spaces.

This change would be made through modular design, which has increasingly been used in different building typologies. Additionally, many architects are now recognizing that the shorter a building’s lifespan is, the more sustainable it can be. Therefore, ‘prefab’ houses that are easily replaced could be the future of architecture.

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The recent phenomenon of technology altering the physical world and permeating every aspect of our daily lives is symptomatic of a larger social and cultural shift. The way buildings are financed, designed, built, used and removed continuously changes architectural discourse and introduces an entirely new vocabulary into the construction industry. We are excited to see how it will all pan out in the coming years.

What do you think the future of architecture will look like?

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