“Our main goal in building Hausmanns Hus was not to build a smart building but to build a great building, smart just came out as the best way to do that. And foundation and relationships were paramount to success; it’s not just what you see, it has to be built well from the bottom up. As they say, don’t forget leg day! ”

– Martin Almerud, CTO, Hathon

First and foremost, decide on and commit to creating a smart building and the process of achieving that goal, knowing that it will be different and challenging but that the rewards in the end will be worth it. This means committing 100% from the start, not in increments or partially.

“Creating a seamless yet dynamic experience where things just work and individuals see what they want but otherwise flow through a space that is intuitive and natural, that is the power of fusion between great audio-visual and smart technology”

-Patrick Edwards, CEO Neowit

These steps are important to do early in the process to be sure that the smart features work from the first day the building is in operation. For many buildings, smart technologies are added later in the design process or even once the building is operating. This can lead to complications or inefficiencies in the long run. An early focus on technology provides a better result and a smarter building because the use of the smart features is intentional and in line with the building features and goals. This allows the smart technologies to live up to their intended potential.

As previously stated, a smart building is not simply sensors and technology, a smart building encompasses how technologies and building systems are integrated and managed to allow for monitoring and improvements. If you start by asking, “What systems in the building do we want to monitor with the goal of improving performance based on the data collected?”, the list can quickly become overwhelming.

Because of the large amount of data being collected in a smart building, it is important to have building owners and building managers that have ownership over the data and are actively involved and interested in data management. This includes not being scared of data or overwhelmed by it. Only by getting up close and personal with the building’s technologies and data can you get a clear picture of what is working well, what isn’t working well, and where there are new opportunities to push technologies further. This will fundamentally mean that current building management expertise will need to be extended to include smart functionality (10).

"Filling buildings with a lot of sensors in the belief that 'more is always better' is a misconception. An abundance of data without clear direction or purpose only leads to confusion rather than clarity. True value is achieved through carefully selected monitoring, based on precise needs. Expand collecting of data when the time is right and you know your needs. Ultimately, it is the human who must make the wise decisions and adapt the operation, where less, but targeted data, is often the key to success."

-Magnus Steffensen, CEO FDVhuset//FAMAC

For owners of smart buildings with tenants, this also means that when a tenant signs a contract for a space in a smart building they are also committing to the smart building and the features that it entails. This means that data about their energy usage and other parameters measured by the smart system are shared with the owner so they can effectively monitor the building and make adjustments as needed. Tenants may not even be aware of all the smart features available or working behind the scenes but it is important to be completely transparent with tenants about the building performance and how the smart technologies are working. By providing tenants with this kind of insight, building users will become conscious about how they use the building and be empowered to make changes to improve their environmental, economic and social outcomes. The more stakeholders are involved and included, with transparent systems, smart building certification, and documentation, the more the longevity of a smart building program is ensured.

“We are honored to have our AI-driven document platform play a pivotal role in securing and organising the technical documentation for Hausmanns Hus. Our software ensures that all essential documents are meticulously organized and seamlessly synchronized with their facility management system, contributing significantly to the building's operational excellence and sustainability.”

-Sondre Malde Pedersen, CCO Findable

Building a smart building takes a lot of planning and effort. Technical specifications for the building will be different than those of a conventional building and therefore require additional time and expense to prepare and will require changes and adjustments during the engineering phase. The concept of implementing smart features will be new to a lot of people involved in the process and may seem like a chore or a burden if they don’t understand what is required or the vision behind it. Time (and money) must be dedicated to helping all stakeholders understand the impact of the smart features on the final quality of the building, but eventually these stakeholders (e.g., contractors, designers, installers) will begin to see the benefits in quality when you have smart features.

Make sure you are comfortable and satisfied with what is being measured in the building. If you see gaps, talk to your technology providers – they should be willing to work with you (and with each other) to optimize and innovate.

Like building anything there is great room for error if stakeholders, tools, and expert parties aren’t aligned. Communication, setting goals and expectations can not only make things work and run smoothly it can also open up new opportunities. What we were able to accomplish together (Hathon Sponsorship) was far beyond what would happen as a siloed project.

-Eirik Bjørnstad, Automation Advisor EvoTek

Plan for transparency about smart features and data with the building tenants and occupants. Show them and tell them what data is being collected and why. When you are open and honest then tenants will be happier with their experience in the building. By sharing data with tenants you can also show them make them conscious about how they use the building - what they are doing well and what they could improve. The building usage could even be gamified to allow for competition between tenants.

Although this may seem like an overwhelming and costly endeavour, lessons learned can provide valuable insights for future projects. Also, there is value for the industry as a whole in advancing knowledge and awareness of the power and impact of smart buildings.

It is important that once the smart building is in operation there is proper follow-up in the form of research to make sure the positive impacts of smart infrastructure are realized. This means quantifying and qualifying the realized economic, environmental and social impacts of smart infrastructure compared to a baseline or reference case. Partnering with academic researchers is a good way to collaborate to evaluate and improve your building’s performance and the situation is win-win: the researchers have access to your data (which they need to do their studies) and you gain insights into and evaluation of your building performance that might not have been accessible to you otherwise.

“What we see is the builders of the best smart buildings are usually the most curious, willing to learn, willing to be transparent and share their knowledge with others. That is why we created the collective, to go to the next step, whether that be including a new technology, utilizing existing tech in a different way, or innovating the space beyond its current function. It’s exciting to see what the collective can accomplish together and that is why we are so selective.”

-Elizabeth Nelson, Co-founder Smart Building Collective|Certification & PhD Candidate, Biomedical Engineering, University of Twente

As mentioned previously, make sure you have access to and permission to collect and use the building data so you can share it with researchers. You can also meet researchers by participating in conferences and industry events where they are presenting or attending. Smart technology providers and Smart Building Certification bodies may also be a bridge to quantifying and qualifying the actual smartness of your building in an academic and more scientific way.

If you want to claim to be a smart building, it’s a good idea to have an independent third-party expert back up that claim. A Smart Building Certification can assess the level of smartness of a building based on key areas, including indoor environmental quality, governance, safety and security. With third-party verification of the “smartness” of the building, a better view of the impact of the smart features can also be gained and communicated to all those working on the project.

The classic benefits of a certification are higher rent or sales, prestige, higher demand for space thus faster rental or purchase, which is already quite an achievement. Where we keep going is optimizing the space, improving operation and increasing business models/ ROI. Hathon was eager to push the limits and create a space that functioned beyond what had been done before.

- Nicholas White Co-founder and Managing Director Smart Building Collective|Certification

“A (Platinum-level) Smart Building Certification for Hausmanns Hus helps us to disseminate knowledge in the industry and ultimately open the eyes of stakeholders and make them more aware of the benefits of smart buildings. But it also forces us to go back and optimize to see if we did it the right way, where we can optimize. For instance, do we need so many clouds for our data? You know what they say about too many clouds, it gets cloudy.”

-Martin Almerud, Technical Manager Sustainability, Hathon

It is important to recognize that all smart buildings are different and can’t be evaluated appropriately with a simple checklist - especially for such a new trend where best practices and new lessons are constantly being learned as smarter and smarter buildings are being designed and constructed. Evaluation of the smartness of buildings must be flexible and rooted in science, an approach that Smart Building Certification adopts. In addition, while a building can be certified as “smart” during design/construction, it is also important to work with your certification provider during building operation as a means of actually testing, proving and improving the level of “smartness” of your building.