Why smart and healthy buildings will get us back to work and play – faster and happier
Source: Smart Cities World Published: July 14, 2020
The phrase a “new normal” is one I’ve heard several times in my career, including after the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and during the recession that followed. Today’s version in the wake of Covid-19, however, is about far more than economics, potential layoffs and lost bonuses. The current pandemic has re-shaped our most fundamental interactions with the world around us, leaving many of us fearful of normal everyday activities, such as heading into the office or having drinks and dinner in a restaurant after work. This is a very different kind of new normal where how we interact with our places of work and other public gathering places is dramatically changed and destined to remain that way for months – or maybe even years – to come.
Leaning into technology
Some Silicon Valley giants have made media waves by granting employees indefinite permission to work from home. Most business leaders, however, don’t believe that universal remote work is realistic for a full economic recovery. At the same time, no one really knows how to make the buildings we use every day safe enough to lure the majority of people back to them. Yes, taking temperatures, installing plexiglass dividers, and wearing gloves and masks will play a role. True economic recovery, though, demands that we get much closer to pre-Covid normal.
And so we turn to technology.
Smart building solutions were gaining traction before the pandemic, but the focus was on efficiencies and making dumb buildings smart. Today, smart building focus is quickly shifting to how we can use the technology we have, or will soon have, to protect individual health and safety. Sensor technology already allows us to monitor the health of people entering buildings, space utilization, air and water quality, and more. New solutions even detect and kill pathogens through ventilation systems.