Building a better future

Intelligence is fast becoming an overrated way in which to describe modern buildings. It seems that fitting an office with lighting dimmer switches qualifies as an intelligent building in some eyes.

Yet a truly intelligent building needs to be much more than that – it must provide a responsive, effective and supportive environment for a business to achieve its objectives. The starting point for establishing a model of an intelligent building is people. The building's services contribute to the well-being of people within an organisation. Productivity relies on a general sense of satisfaction in the workplace and it is this concept that should be the driving force behind intelligent buildings.

An IBE (1992)¹ report described a mismatch between what users expect from an intelligent building and what the suppliers can deliver. One reason for this mismatch is that the intelligent building has generally been defined in terms of its technologies, rather than in terms of the goals of its occupants.

If the user is subservient to the technologies it can lead to situations where the technology is inappropriate. The building shell must be adaptable to cope with change over time, both in terms of a single space evolving or different organisations moving into the space.

Building a jigsaw
Intelligence is not necessarily building based. As patterns of work change to include a wider variety of work settings, and as the use of portable communications increases still further, it may be more useful to think of intelligent systems or intelligent networks rather than buildings. The building, thus, becomes a node in an organisational network.

The concept of a distributed building intelligence network extends to linking a number of buildings belonging to a single organisation, both in terms of communications systems and building automation systems, creating a virtual building that maximises efficiency and effectiveness gains.

From the point of view of the user there are three principal areas that are fundamentally important. They can be grouped under the headings of the senses; convenience; and sustainable economics. Intelligent buildings need to address all of these issues.

The building's environment needs to have variety in order to satisfy the senses. It is often referred to as 'contrast pattern recognition' and can be described as the building's response to the outside environment as well as the needs of people within the building. There are many aspects in the environment that can be designed to make the interaction between the senses and the building pleasing and stimulating. These include daylight, colours, views from windows, air quality, texture of surfaces, aromas and quality of space.

A personal touch
There is a very practical level to be attained for the building to be 'convenient' to use. The aim is to provide simple systems and controls so that people may have some way to alter their conditions and to some extent create a personal environment. Embedded sensors give feedback to the user about consumption of water, energy, or even food supplies and at the same time help to provide a secure environment and also ensure that the basic standards are met Finally, 'sustainable economics' means attention needs to be given to minimising water use, minimising energy consumption and also minimising waste production, or at the very least ensuring that any waste is recycled or used in a sustainable way.

The future drivers for intelligent buildings will be information technology, robotics, smart materials, sustainable issues and also the impacts of social change. There will also be many additional pressures that will influence the built environment, besides the developments in technologies.

There will be a considerable impact resulting from climate change; impacts of developments in other industries; changing customer aspirations that will influence client needs; changes in regulations; and most importantly, the influence of changes in society on the way buildings are conceived, designed and managed. Intelligent clothing presents the merging of advanced electronics with new textile materials that possess special properties. It is expected that they will have a big impact in all walks of life as integrated fabric sensors can monitor and display blood pressure, body temperature as well as interact with microchips set in the surrounding building fabric.

Here today, for tomorrow
Most of the information technologies we will be using in ten years time exist today. We will be increasing computer power with a decreasing unit cost. The vocabulary of information technology is already established and the keywords include: virtual reality, interconnectivity, cordless technology, fibre optics and universal cabling systems.

The evolution of fibre optics is rapid and has resulted in a ten-fold increase in transmission capacity every four years since the 1970s.

New materials are bringing about a major revolution in world architecture. Materials can now be embedded with microchips making them responsive to frequent changes in their requirements.

Sensor technology, super-conductivity at low room temperatures and refined prefabrication techniques all play a highly influential role in the way that materials are arranged and handled in design and construction.

Vision of the future
Buildings affect people in various ways. They can help us to work more effectively; they also present a wide range of stimuli for our senses. If there is to be a common vision then it follows that it is essential for architects, engineers and clients to work closely together throughout the design, construction and operational stages of the conception, birth and life of the building. This means that consultants, contractors, manufacturers and clients alike all share a common vision and value system from the outset of the project.

There has to be an understanding of how patterns of work are best suited to a particular building form served by an appropriate environmental system. There are a host of modern technologies emerging that help these processes but in the end it is how we think about achieving responsive buildings that matters. 'Intelligent buildings can cope with social and technological change and are adaptable to short-term and long-term human needs' is the fundamental meaning of the term intelligent building.

New technology is a liberating force opening up many new opportunities at personal and business levels. This flexibility allows for the '24-hour society' we are heading towards – and the impact of this on services and facilities will be immense.