A future driven by data and technology

Five experts at DSPIB elucidate on the role of technology and data on the buildings of the future and how design intertwines itself in this beautiful arrangement.

Nvidia Workplace by DSP Design |  Photography Credits: Andre Fanthome, Noughts & Crosses

How has the pandemic brought out the importance of architecture & smart building design?  

Rob Murchison, (Co-Founder & Principal – Intelligent Buildings):It has shocked the industry in to remote work, evolving into hybrid work, which changes the view of the traditional office space for example and brings forward more flexible, collaborative and less permanent work spaces. We are also seeing the pandemic legacy of intensified attention to the indoor environmental conditions referred to above.  

What’s in it for multinational corporations looking to set up responsive campuses & spaces? 

Rob Murchison, (Co-Founder & Principal – Intelligent Buildings):Multinational Corporations must have a design that is technology driven and offers ultimate flexibility in both short-term and long-term use of the space. This requires physical changes and virtual changes ranging from spaces that are shaped to guide occupant’s behavior and choices  to building systems that react to presence, reservations and  density. The added dimension of time to the design equation  is much more important since workers will not be as “9-5” as  before and may be more shift oriented or prone to come in  based on ad hoc collaboration opportunities.

What are some of the issues that have caused this  combination of design and technology? 

Bimal Desai, (Founder & Principal – DSP Design): While the  pandemic has been a tremendous catalyst, the advancement of building systems and overall prop tech has  imbued nearly every project going forward  with a technology heartbeat in the occupant  experience, as well as the building performance  approach and more urgently the risk  management from a cybersecurity and vendor  risk management perspective.

What role will data and technology play in  achieving sustainability and wellness in the  built environment?  

Yatin Patel (Founder & Principal – DSP Design):  To have lasting sustainability as opposed to a  one-time certification or designation and to  have an enhanced indoor environment the use of data and technology become imperative. The  buildings are constantly changing along with  new occupants, use types, use cases and even  weather and environmental seasonality. One  must (by original design and specification)  be able to get data, integrate systems and  provide for better manual and automated  decision making.  

How is India and the world utilizing these  technologies to create habitats of the future? 

Yatin Patel (Founder & Principal – DSP Design):  Nearly everything needs to be measured with  systems and sensors including indoor air quality  (IAQ) such as CO2, CO, PM, humidity, daylight,  water conditions in potable and process  water, surface and cleaning schedules, space  utilization and many others. Furthermore,  the systems are required to be connected and  integrated for reacting to this data to sequence  one system to another for achieving a changing  use case in performance, experience and risk  management. The DSPIB culmination commits  in driving a transition from these activities that are currently being performed in silos  and as fragmented approaches by initiating a  change via design! 

Ascendas India Campus by DSP Design

What is DSPIB all about? 

Bimal Desai, (Founder & Principal – DSP  Design): The real estate industry has been faced  with an unprecedented convergence of issues  accounting for energy, sustainability public  health, occupant experience for attraction and  retention, cyber security, hybrid working among  others. This has become untenable for owners  and operators and they must have fewer  “moving parts” and fewer so-called experts. We  have already seen this play out with examples  of large projects or portfolios that are led  by strategic resources that drive most other  downstream tactical construction, technology  and property management. The leaders at  DSP and IB have seen this developing and  have admirably grasped and anticipated the  client-endrequirements. This coming together  of Design & Technology forces has resulted in leading edge real estate solutions for across the  spectrum spatial complexities.

What are the tangibles to this unified Design  + Technology wave that you have endeavored  to have the industry experience with DSPIB? 

Tom Schircliff, (Co-Founder & Principal – Intelligent Buildings):The tangibles are that for  the first time in the industry the clients can have  a single contract and single set of deliverables  with design and technology combined. This will  allow the design lead to guide technology and  engineering requirements in a seamless way as  opposed to the historically disjointed process.  How does this relate to environmental sensitivity?  Environmental sensitivity and stewardship  requires a comprehensive view using design,  materials, sensors, systems and knowledge of  property and facility management process and  workflows. We have not only blended design and  technology but the recommendations go deeper  into the ongoing management impact that any design approach in the industry. 

Together with DSP, one of the celebrated  leaders in Indian architecture and design,  what kind of projects are you executing?

Tom Schircliff, (Co-Founder & Principal –  Intelligent Buildings): This is having been a  thoughtful multi-year process that was more  of a measure twice, cut once approach. Since  it was an innovation in real estate services, we  owed it to our customers to be thorough in  our thought process and now post-pandemic  we are beginning a number of engagement  conversations with large real estate companies  and organizations including multi-nationals  and in-country real estate developers and  managers. 

What’s your “Innovation Bet” to the industry  as the first movers on this front having seen  it all through the pre-pandemic to post pandemic times? 

Mehul Shah,(Founder & Principal – DSP  Design): These are obvious but real “innovation  bets” of Internet of Things (IoT), artificial  intelligent (AI), machine learning (ML) and  virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR)!  This is not meant to be cliché’ but rather  acknowledging what is already happening in  the industry to existing buildings and new  designs that are ill-equipped for it. In other  words, our building systems, basic analytics,  new dashboards, building sensors, occupant  technology, and design software are all  using IoT, AI, ML and VR/AR. However, we  are building on a house of cards without the  basics of data ownership contracts, system  integration and cybersecurity/privacy plans  and policies. The industry has been woefully behind on these issues and there is much to do with this to get up to a starting point to be able to adequately leverage the innovation alphabet soup. You only have to read the headlines today about ransomware and other cybersecurity attacks to quickly understand that commercial real estate is as vulnerable and any industry and the risks can be compounded when you consider that in real estate the technology implications are literally physical in the form of elevators, HVAC, access control, lighting, parking and more. The DSPIB design and technology partnership leads the world in real estate cybersecurity and vendor risk management. 

29