Modern Building Services

12 MODERN BUILDING SERVICES FEBRUARY 2022 FEATURE SMART BUILDINGS SMART BUILDINGS M arch 2020 saw the UK undergo the most seismic shift in attitudes towards the workplace in living memory. Overnight, business owners were faced with enforced remoteworking for their staff. The need to adapt office spaces to the challenges of hybrid working became increasingly apparent as lockdowns continued and staff became used to a new way of working. There have naturally been challenges during this time of change – including the lack of smart infrastructure - that hadn’t previously been at the forefront of minds or adequately considered in terms of the value it can add to the work environment. Smart buildings as a concept have been hampered by poor execution, which usually comes down to a lack of supporting technology infrastructure. However, if you engage early, plan well and design intelligently, “the office of the future” can benefit both your business, and the working environment of your clients. A little more than a decade ago, smart offices were still seen as pipe dreams and solely for large multi- national businesses such as Google and Facebook, with the ideas and principles behind the creation of this type of workplace exceeding the limitations of the technology that was available and – more importantly – affordable. That has now changed - the explosive growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the connected device market has meant that it is now almost expected that offices incorporate at least some elements of smart technology. Believe in green One of the main reasons for creating a smart office is the positive impact it can have on sustainability. In addition to the material benefits, sustainability is one of the key concerns of both businesses and individuals and - with an increased focus on being sustainable permeating government policy and business planning alike - ambitious targets for reducing emissions and hitting carbon net zero are now the norm. Alongside this, people are becoming even more acutely aware of their personal responsibility towards the environment and are making sure that they are doing what they can to reduce their own impact on the planet. Blending those two complementary aims together is the workplace, and this for many businesses is the key driver towards smart solutions. Through intelligent use of infrastructure, sensors and smart devices, businesses and end users alike can have total control over lighting, heating, security and AV, as well as numerous other elements of their technologies. The benefits of this are two- fold. The use of sensors and their supporting infrastructure gives your clients full visibility of how and when energy is consumed, allowing them to adjust as required. It also means that the end user can make use of the smart office safe in the knowledge that lights won’t be left on overnight, or the heating won’t be running unnecessarily, helping contribute to a more sustainable office environment and reducing cost. COVID-19 has caused a complete re-evaluation of how office spaces work. The previously glacial shift towards flexible working and smarter office spaces was suddenly turbo-charged as the “the office of the future” became “the office of now”. George Pritchard , Technical Director at Scenariio, believes this change means that businesses must pivot their thinking towards increasingly smart design, which has now become a critical way to attract and retain clients. Forget the Office of the Future – The Time is Now