Intelligent designs

ON AVERAGE, people spend 80% of their lives inside buildings – office buildings, schools, hospitals - and not forgetting our homes. From a business perspective, buildings represent one of the largest capital expenses, second only to salaries paid to employees.

So it’s no surprise that property owners and managers, alongside homeowners are constantly seeking new ways to make buildings ‘smarter’ and creating more ‘personal’, efficient, sustainable and safer environments for those who occupy them.

The utopian vision is that ‘smart’ buildings will adapt to us. Instead of coming home and turning off the alarm, adapting the heating and even making a cup of tea, it will all be prepared before we get there. 

In the workplace, instead of going into a meeting room and discovering the cables required to connect a laptop to a screen are missing, the room is automatically set to your exact preferences that are stored in a room booking system.

Voice recognition will allow a more responsive and adaptive building environment. Projection, audio and video requirements will be prepared beforehand to make it easier and faster to start meetings.

Building operations will also improve significantly. A building’s central system will guide users to their desks based on the predicted numbers expected, allowing it to decide the optimal spread of users across the floor, to ensure the most efficient energy. 

Certainly The Internet of Things (IoT) is ensuring these scenarios are increasingly coming into the realms of possibility.

It’s making it easier and more cost effective to connect all the devices and systems within a work facility or the home, to give people such greater control. 

But undoubtedly, fitting today’s mobile-connected lifestyles, the real draw to Smart Buildings is the ability to connect with and manage all these different systems from one place – be that onsite or potentially anywhere in the world. And in terms of security, the industry is working hard to adopt the fast pace evolution in technology, which is making this a reality.

Smart homes

We only have to think of our home automation experience where the ‘utopian vision’ is almost with us in smart homes set and prepared for our return. Essentially, enabling this vision is the fact that, if the device can be networked, it can be accessed remotely.

It’s for this reason, and to offer installers the opportunity to present this lifestyle with a simply upgrade opportunity, using Comelit’s mini handsfree monitors, with integrated Wifi, allowing homeowners to benefit from instant intercom control and smart door entry capability.

Prospective purchasers have already seen the benefit at Aubury Place, a luxury gated brand new build development of four, five and six bedroom homes, where residents can respond to door entry requests from any compatible mobile and benefit from video memory, to record missed calls.

Visto is another example, which we launched in the desire to enter the video doorbell market, with a solution that presents cutting edge technology without compromising style. 

And we’ve seen its success, not least in an environment where the media has highlighted the consequences of budget constraints on Police Forces, Neighbourhood Watch Teams are calling on homeowners with effective CCTV or doorbell video cameras to join teams, or ‘watches’ and assist in combatting crime.

Smart workplace

It’s not hard to see the appeal of transferring this ‘convenience’ enabled by smart technology to the workplace. An operator, often time, budget and resource stretched, can oversee all the systems in a facility (or number of facilities) in one central location.

The security industry has embraced IoT and Smart Buildings technology. It makes sense to use an IP connection to link various security systems. Integrated security systems have revolutionised the sector and made it possible (and preferable) to link all these systems together.

Comelit is increasingly responding to demands for presenting an integrated solution, combining all elements of security, fire and CCTV to create a bespoke all-encompassing smart solution.

Any kind of incident (such as an intruder, theft or emergency) can be monitored and managed by one team or individual to ensure it is addressed and resolved swiftly and effectively.

Case examples

Showing the true extent and adaptation of integrated security, is perhaps the variety of projects Comelit has been involved to help create such smart building experiences.

Project Light

In the first phase of Project Light, a major mixed-use development partnership of Notting Hill Genesis and Sellar,Comelit Group was specified with its specialist VIP door entry solution, including 33 bespoke digital stainless steel entry panels and mini handsfree monitors fitted to all 234 properties.

A lift integration system was requested to create a connected effect throughout the property for the benefit of all homeowners and guests alongside a concierge unit to enable two way audio communication, whether from a single apartment or to all homes to ensure updates on property maintenance schedules are shared.

Systems manager of Ardmore Group and main contractor Martin Smith says, “When it came to door entry, we knew Comelit Group could deliver, but what really exceeded expectation was its capability to integrate the lift functionality. The result will enable a seamless guest experience right from the front door entry throughout the development, without compromising on aesthetics or security.” 

Omagh Hospital

Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex opened in 2017, designed by Todd Architects has recently won Building of the Year – Public Award at the Building & Architect of the Year Awards. 

The overall solution was the integration of an Intercom to communicate across the Trust’s IT Network. Door entrance panels were connected and the system programmed to ensure out of hours calls are automatically transferred. This covers main entrances to the building and also Car Parking Barrier Help Stations to assist with car park barrier issues.

As a result, the hospital security and facilities management team canachieve maximum communication with no signal loss over the complete grounds. And this is on a 24 / 7 / 365 basis, including car park facilities, for the benefit and security of all staff, patients and visitors.

Whilst these two examples may only show one aspect of the smart building design, they clearly demonstrate how networked devices and powerful analytics can be used to drive efficiencies and how technology has opened the door to new opportunities for both sustainability and savings.

Ultimately, traditional offices are changing and so too are the people working in them. They now expect a level of smart integration in the workplace, increasingly to a personal level, as much as they would in their own home. 

IoT is presenting new opportunities for creating, operating and delivering on such requirements, and is leading the way for new business value delivery. 

And in security, the use of smart technology and devices with user control at its core, enabling compatibility with mobile apps is increasingly in demand. The industry must acknowledge the fast pace we need to develop.

Certainly for Comelit, as a manufacturer of bespoke security solutions, we are very aware of the need to stay at least one page ahead to embrace the smart technologies on offer and develop them into life-changing devices for our customers, across every sector, residential and commercial, to benefit.

Francesca Boeris is managing director of Comelit Group UK at Comelit. For more information, visit www.comelitgroup.com