The rise of open-plan offices has increased over the past decade, aiming for collaborative environments but decreasing personal space from 23m2 per employee to just 6m2. However, private offices are making a comeback, supported by smart building technology, offering benefits like privacy, improved productivity, and personal space customization. These offices are proving essential post-pandemic, facilitating social distancing and enhanced cleaning regimes. Matthew Marson, in his monthly column, discusses these shifts in office dynamics and the integration of smart technology in building management.
A Single Pain in the Ass
The Single Pane of Glass concept in smart buildings, which purports a unified system management interface, frequently falls short, offering complexity and inflexibility instead of simplicity. Integration of diverse systems is challenging, often creating more problems than solutions. The industry must pivot towards a hybrid approach, utilizing specialized, interconnected microservices to truly realize smart building potential. Matthew Marson, a leader in technology and sustainability, will explore these issues in his monthly column.
When Success is Shared, It Grows
In his column, Dr. Marson addresses the smart building industry’s culture of secrecy, which hinders collective innovation and learning. He argues that sharing project successes is crucial for advancing the industry, fostering collaboration, and establishing benchmarks. Marson advocates for a shift towards openness, suggesting that collective wisdom and shared achievements would catalyze faster progress and forge a more interconnected, dynamic sector.
4 Predictions for 2024
In his January 2024 column, Dr. Marson predicts trends in the smart buildings industry:
1. Widespread adoption of generative AI
2. Formation of more in-house smart building teams
3. Rationalization of the PropTech start-up market
4. Delays in achieving net zero carbon targets due to the pandemic. These changes will shape the future leaders in the industry.
How to Stop Your Smart Technology from Ageing
In the December 2023 column, Matthew Marson discusses strategies to prevent smart technology obsolescence in buildings, drawing from his experience with Europe’s largest commercial building. He highlights the need for a proactive approach, suggesting lifespan expectations for building elements and advocating for a microservices architecture to enhance agility and relevance.
Retrofit reasons to be cheerful
The Smart Buildings Show discussed the challenges and opportunities of retrofitting. Retrofits have the potential to enhance building capabilities, but face barriers like confusion over the term and resistance to digital transformation. Collaboration among industry bodies and sharing of case studies could help define strategies, while repurposing existing technology can reduce costs and boost sustainability.
The 3 Sensors You Need for a Sustainable Building
COLUMN – November 2023 The 3 Sensors You Need for a Sustainable Building At a cheeky lunch the other week, James Palmer from Metrikus, quite rightly, told me I was stupid. Being the engineering nerds that we are, we were fighting over the best way to measure the efficiency of a building… I’m a disciple […]
Come With AI If You Want To Live
In his August 2023 column, Matthew Marson reflects on the parallels between modern AI capabilities and those of the Terminator’s Cyberdyne Systems Model T101. He expresses a mix of optimism and cynicism about AI’s potential in smart building design, expressing concern about potential drawbacks and the impact on design uniqueness.