With an increasingly mobile and flexible workforce, the growing need for collaboration across geographies and time zones, and greater demands on individual productivity, the world is seeing the next generation digital infrastructure in buildings such as always on wireless Internet access, video conferencing and multimedia signage.

Beyond offering the latest in digital infrastructure, an Intelligent Building must support the effective and efficient day-to-day management of business processes in regard to operations and maintenance. Examples include: visitor and meeting management, security, environmental control, maintenance, car parking, energy management, life safety and crisis management.

Intelligent Buildings are becoming an intrinsic part of the cityscape in the Asia Pacific. A good example is Capital Tower, a 52-story office complex that has become a benchmark for Intelligent Buildings in Asia. Capital Tower’s tenants include the Singapore Government Investment Corporation, Cisco and JP Morgan. Implemented by Eutech Cybernetics and NTT Japan, it has an integrated Intelligent Building Management System that is built on top of a 5km fiber optic backbone. Over 20 automated sub systems, including mechanical and electrical systems, CCTV, video on demand, multimedia signage and kiosks- are managed from a single, unmanned command center.

Tenants can access intelligent building features from their desktop such as the VIP car park system: A tenant can book a car park slot from his office desktop computer; the car park’s vision system automatically detects the visitor’s car and directs him to the slot, brings down the VIP lift and alerts the tenant to the visitor’s arrival. Billing to the tenant is done automatically. The building also provides automated 24x7 security and surveillance that integrates access control, CCTV, telephony and alarm management.

Another example of a next generation Intelligent Building is Acrovista in Seoul, Korea. Recently implemented by Eutech and its Korean partner, Mostech, for one of Korea’s leading companies, Daesang Corporation, Acrovista sets a new standard for condominium living. The central command center is also an unmanned system that enables the integrated, and autonomous management of fifteen facility and building systems including home automation, access and video surveillance, energy, lift safety and car park systems to name a few.

At Acrovista, facility and maintenance personnel are freed from mundane tasks so that they can provide greater front-line customer (tenant) relationship management. Tenants can interact directly with the Intelligent Building system to enable management and scheduling of specific systems within their unit as well as the common amenities and facilities through the telephone or Web Browser.

In Asia, the idea of an Intelligent Building is no longer a “nice to have” branding but a “need to have” infrastructure for quality tenants. With globalization, the same will undoubtedly become true in Australia.