Due to the spread of telecommuting and other workstyle changes, what people need from offices and buildings has dramatically changed in recent years. Greater comfort for employees and support for diversified workstyles are some requirements that are receiving more attention.
While smart buildings – buildings that utilize technology and communication systems to optimize facility performance – are recognized as one way to address these challenges, their implementation in Japan remains limited. Integrating existing building systems with the latest applications, not to mention a shortage of personnel familiar with building facilities and digitalization, are some of the barriers to smart building adoption.
Against this backdrop, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) and architectural firm Nikken Sekkei Ltd. established a joint venture, SynapSpark Ltd., on December 1, 2023. SynapSpark is now working to help make buildings “Autonomous Buildings” – smart buildings that continue to evolve through the utilization of data.
Masahiro Furusawa of SynapSpark explained how the SynapSpark is enhancing the value of buildings.
Masahiro Furusawa
Solution Planning Department, SynapSpark Ltd.
Masahiro Furusawa began his career at SoftBank’s mobile phone business in call center planning. In 2019, he transitioned to the Digital Transformation Division to conduct business planning for smart buildings. After planning the launch of SynapSpark, he now heads solution planning for the company.
Involvement from the design phase needed to create ideal facilities
While Nikken Sekkei and SoftBank established SynapSpark in 2023 to lead the smart building market, our partnership first began in 2017 with collaborations in various field trials, where we successfully optimized personnel for building operations and enhanced energy efficiencies, for example. The landscape has since changed significantly, with accelerated efforts to decarbonize, facilitate diversified workstyles, and mitigate the potential impact of increasingly severe natural disasters.
We came to the conclusion that truly smart buildings are needed to solve these complex problems. SynapSpark was established to address these new challenges.
SoftBank's headquarters in Takeshiba, Tokyo, is equipped with 1,400 IoT sensors, and it features a full-spec 5G network and entry system that uses facial recognition. However, as the decision to relocate was made after the design was already done, we’ve seen that it’s a challenge to fully utilize the data obtained from these IoT sensors due to the difficulty of integrating them with building facilities. Learning from this lesson, SynapSpark is deeply involved from the initial design phases of new buildings, or older buildings to be renovated, and we examine and implement ways to optimize building operations.
The core of a smart building, or Autonomous Building, is its operational control system, or its “Building OS.” By introducing a Building OS and utilizing accumulated data, solutions for building operators and tenants can be provided. Some solutions we offer are autonomous cleaning robots and air conditioning controls, for example. If occupant density and room temperature can be automatically managed without human intervention, operational costs and power consumption can be reduced.
Adding value to buildings, even as they age
Typically, the value of various buildings, such as office buildings and apartments, depreciates over time.
There are three major types of deterioration that occur in buildings: physical deterioration, functional deterioration, and social deterioration. Physical deterioration includes issues like concrete becoming brittle or paint peeling off. Functional deterioration refers to aspects like elevators and security systems becoming less effective compared to when the building was brand new. Social deterioration happens when changes in the surrounding environment make the building less suited to current needs.
While buildings inevitably suffer from wear and tear, the reality is that many are rebuilt due to social deterioration before they physically deteriorate. This is often due to changes in the surrounding environment and the needs of tenants making the building outdated, leading to lower rental incomes and occupancy rates.
It seems wasteful to tear down and rebuild a building that is still structurally sound just because it no longer meets current needs.
Erecting a building requires long-term construction work, human resources, materials, and considerable costs. Recently, labor shortages in the construction industry have become a significant issue, making it extremely challenging to secure workers. Additionally, construction processes emit a large amount of CO2, which is not good for the environment.
So how can we prevent rebuilding due to social deterioration? One answer is to transform existing buildings into smart buildings. Buildings equipped with a Building OS accumulate a lot of data. By effectively utilizing this data to update the entire building, it can be made less susceptible to aging. Even after 10 years of use, a smart building can be more valuable than when it was first constructed. A Building OS can play a crucial role in ensuring that a building's value is not solely dependent on surrounding environmental factors like proximity to a station or new facilities.
The idea of sensing occupant movements with sensors has various applications. For example, it can be used for adjusting the frequency of cleaning based on restroom usage, automatically controlling air conditioning according to human movement, and changing the garbage collection cycle based on occupancy. These things can only be achieved by acquiring and utilizing data.
Simply installing IoT sensors and implementing Building OS is not the ultimate goal of smart buildings. The true goal is to make buildings genuinely user-friendly for tenants, workers, and operators. For instance, if the person managing the air conditioning system finds it cumbersome, it will not be used for the long-term. We aim to create systems and mechanisms that please users and, through this work, alleviate labor shortages and reduce CO2 emissions.
(Posted on August 21, 2024, Original Article Posted on May 20, 2024)
by SoftBank News Editors