FOCUS M&E
BLOWING HOT AND COLD
Giles Korner, Head of Smart Buildings at engineering consultancy Hurley Palmer Flatt, explains how the latest
technologies can improve environmental conditions for building occupants
The design of buildings is becoming
more focused on the wellbeing of
occupants, creating comfortable and secure
working environments. With this change of
emphasis and the adoption of smart building
technologies, building and facilities teams
are able to adapt their processes to allow
them to become more proactive, driving
e iciency in the management and control of
the building.
Historically we have designed buildings based
on standard metrics such as size, purpose, fire
regulations and so on. However, organisations
are now focusing their attention on costs and
benefits. JLL has created a rule adopted by
the real estate industry for measuring costs:
3:30:300. This represents proportionate unit
costs for energy (3), property (30), and people
(300). It’s no surprise that people have become
a high priority when designing a new or
refurbished working environment.
This is reflected in terms such as people- or
human-centric design, aimed at enhancing the
user experience. Organisations are now focusing
on the wellbeing of their people and how they
can create working environments that support
health and wellness.
The digitisation of building systems
has enabled the industry to integrate
historically disparate systems via a common
communications platform that enables building
and facilities managers to measure and monitor
the working environment in real time. These
smart building technologies allow for a more
40 FEBRUARY 2020
responsive service that improves conditions for
occupants.
For example, many people have found
themselves sitting in an open-plan workplace
which is too cold for comfort, or spent time in
an overheated meeting room trying to fend
o drowsiness. Yet complaints to the facilities
manager have been met with the response that
the temperature is centrally controlled and
cannot be changed. The chilly employee has to
put on warmer clothing or find somewhere else
to work, while meetings in the overheated room
are likely to be unproductive. In either case, the
result is dissatisfied people unable to perform at
their best, which is bad for the business.
CARBON DIOXIDE
Another issue is carbon dioxide and the way it
can impact on people’s cognitive performance.
Guidelines suggest that CO levels should not
exceed 1000 ppm. However, some individuals
are sensitive to CO concentrations as low as
600 ppm, so action may be warranted at lower
levels. Certainly above 1000 ppm, most of us will
feel drowsy.
Studies show that higher levels of carbon
dioxide cause brain metabolism and neural
activity to plummet (see References, note 1).
Research by Harvard, State University of New
York and Syracuse University (2) reveals that
when people breathe in too much carbon
dioxide at their desks their performance su ers.
With real-time monitoring, FMs are able to
spot areas where temperature, humidity or
CO concentration have exceeded acceptable
levels and make adjustments in real time. The
introduction of smart apps allows control of
some aspects of the working environment to be
passed to the individual.
In this way the adoption of smart building
technologies can drive e iciencies, enable more
proactive control of M&E processes by FMs, and
deliver an enriched user experience conducive
to increased happiness and productivity.
SMART HOTELS
Matthew Voaden leads the leisure and
entertainment division of Hurley Palmer Flatt.
He discusses the use of smart technology in
hotels seeking to improve space e iciency and
the guest experience.
“There is a growing trend within the hotel
industry to utilise the front of house areas
to expand their o ering beyond the more
traditional services. As part of this innovation
the hotel doors are being opened to the general
public, o ering a range of food and beverage
services, luxury shops and multifunction
spaces within the more traditional quiet and
underutilised public lobby areas.
In achieving such a diverse use, especially
in large open-plan areas, there are many new
challenges for the design team to consider. In
designing systems with multiple uses, smart
technology is now being implemented to
monitor and maintain the correct lighting, audio
and CO levels to improve the environment and
enhance the overall guest experience.
With the potential for many operators
to embrace smart technology, there is the
opportunity to go one step further and
personalise the surrounding environment
to the hotel guest. In the ‘on demand’ world
the hotel guestroom could be personalised
upon check-in to the guest’s favourite music
and entertainment channels, lighting levels
and colours adjusted accordingly, the co ee
machine turned on and much more, to take
the experience beyond the one room fits all of
today.
To achieve this, the way in which the building
services systems are designed, controlled and
operated becomes more important than ever.”
REFERENCE NOTES
(1) https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/
pdf/10.1038/jcbfm.2010.153
(2) www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/pressreleases/
green-o ice-environments-linked-withhigher
cognitive-function-scores/
(C) BDG architecture + design, responsible for the interior architecture for Ogilvy
/jcbfm.2010.153
/
