All the mod cons

For the study, some of the most technologically advanced buildings in the world, such as The Edge in Amsterdam, were used as a benchmark. The study’s eleven criteria were divided into two categories ‘energy & efficiency’ and ‘tenant experience, security & safety’.

The energy & efficiency category looks at the use of all utilities: heating, cooling, electricity, and water, since these days the most advanced buildings will not only continuously monitor and optimise their electricity consumption, but also generate their own power from renewable sources using solar panels on the roof or even geothermal heating. Modern buildings can continuously monitor light levels, humidity temperature, and occupancy levels and may also include such features as automated shading.

The second category looks at the occupier experience and includes fire safety and security. It examines Integrated office space management systems such as conference reservation systems, office space analysis, the working environment, parking space reservation systems, visitor management and even food deliveries from nearby restaurants. In many buildings, users can control all of these systems through a single mobile app and in the most advanced buildings such an app can even be used to alter the lighting and heating.

Each building examined could score one point if it met a given criteria, which meant that high rise buildings could score a maximum of eleven points as there is an addition criterion for lifts while lower buildings could score a maximum of ten.

Most of the buildings in the study are in the Central Business District (the rectangle area bounded by al. Jana Pawła II, al. Solidarności, Krakowskie Przedmieście, ul. Nowy Świat and ul.Hoża) and in the City Centre West district.

Energy efficiency

The first five criteria were part of the energy and efficiency category and these were:

1) BMS – All 25 buildings have building management systems so BMS can now be considered standard. A BMS will include the control and monitoring of heating, cooling, electricity and water installations, while the most advanced systems will also optimise the usage of such utilities.

2) Power monitoring systems – PMS is an additional part of a BMS and 44 pct of the buildings met the criterion. PMS controls electrical power systems and the majority of those buildings that met the criteria were completed in or after 2012.

3) Energy efficiency and renewable energy systems – Energy efficiency systems are becoming more common in Warsaw’s offices. This is mainly being driven by the cost savings. The most frequently used systems include movement sensors in toilets, aerators, light management and automated sunshades. In Warsaw only one building among all those examined made use of renewable energy, which was Q22, which has photovoltaic cells integrated with its façade.

4) Intelligent building skins – The majority of the buildings (76 pct of the sample) do not have intelligent façades. Those that do are mainly those that have automated exterior blinds or façades that can be used as screens for coloured light displays (such as Warsaw Spire).

5) Sensors – A total of 80 pct of the buildings in the sample are equipped with sensors, including daylight sensors for optimising interior lighting and humidity sensors. Movement and occupancy sensors are not a equipped as standard, but are rather added to meet the needs of particular tenants.

Tenant experience

The next six criteria are grouped under the tenant experience category and include:

6/) Integrated office space management systems – such systems are currently rarely used in Warsaw throughout an entire building. Both Skanska (with its Connected by Skanska system) and Ghelamco (with its Warsaw Hub integrated smartphone app) have been busy marketing their new systems and big developers know that such systems will become commonplace. Currently such systems are not universally in demand from tenants and companies such as banks with stricter access control requirement are hesitant to entrust their security to a smartphone app. A number of Proptech start-ups are trying to enter the Polish real estate market and are trying to introduce such apps to the market. One example is Blue Bolt which is marketing a system that allows specific doors in a building to be opened via its app. Once installed further functionality can be added such as push notifications and analysis of how space is used.

7) User personalisation – A total of 32 pct of the buildings in Warsaw give building users direct control of the lighting, temperature and window blinds for each room or office. The most advanced systems allow users to even control the humidity and Siemens has introduced a system whereby when the system has been set to suboptimal settings a user can reset it by simply pressing a green leaf button. No buildings in Warsaw allow single users to use a smartphone app to control the HVAC and lighting settings of the room they are in.

8) Access control systems – Only three buildings have or will have advanced access control systems, which allow people to use their smartphones to enter rather than an access card.

9) Car parking systems – Over half of the office buildings in the study use automatic number plate recognition systems, which is mainly used for access control with the system opening the doors to the car park for only those vehicles it recognises. Very few buildings in Warsaw use green lights to show which parking spaces are free, but this system is more often used by shopping centres.

10) Evacuation management systems – Intelligent evacuation management systems are not used in Poland due to regulatory difficulties. In Poland, all systems need the approval of CNBOP (the Scientific and Research Centre for Fire Protection). But CNBOP will not approve any additional or non-standard intelligent evacuations system elements such as crowd monitoring, and evacuation modelling. Although developers and fund managers may use such additional systems, none do so in Poland.

11) Elevator systems – Out of the 25 buildings examined 13 were towers with 20 floors or more, and ten had advanced elevator systems, such as group controlled lifts.

Warsaw at the rear

Compared to the rest of the region Poland was a little below the average. The critrium in which it scored highest was for sensors (with 80 pct of building meeting the standard), energy efficiency 52 pct, and advanced parking systems 52 pct. Of the 13 high-rise buildings with more than 20 floors 77 pct had advanced elevator systems. Although similar studies in Prague, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest and Vienna resulted in higher average scores, the building samples of the other cities were all smaller and the results from Bratislava have yet to be confirmed. The technological revolution for buildings has begun but the question remains, who and when will the process be standardised.