Buckman, A H; Mayfield, M and Beck, S B M (2014) What is a smart building? Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 3(2), pp. 92-109. ISSN 2046-6099
Abstract
Purpose – Within the building sector a lack of clarity in terminology does not help designers, clients or researchers. Non-domestic buildings have shown rapid increases in the use of advanced technology and control systems with varying drivers, many of which are labelled as intelligent. The term smart has been used interchangeably with intelligent without any clear distinction between the two. If the term Smart Buildings represented a separate, more advanced grouping, it would provide an opportunity to focus the future progress of non-domestic building development. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing upon academic and industrial literature and experience, this paper reviews the scope of Intelligent Buildings and the current available definitions of Smart Buildings to form a clear definition of both smart and Intelligent Buildings. Findings – These definitions define the border between the intelligent and the (more advanced) Smart Building. The upper bound of the Smart Building is defined by (the future development of) the predictive building. Originality/value – This work provides a clear focus which will allow the progression of the non-domestic building sector by providing guidance and aspiration, as well as providing a platform upon which a large amount of technical work can be based.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | building performance; intelligent buildings; building progression; non-domestic building; smart buildings; thinking buildings |
| Index terms: | non-domestic building, designer, platform, building progression, thinking building, intelligent building, building performance, drawing, methodology, upper bound, smart building, control system |
| Subjects: | quality assurance, digital design, probability and distributions, monitoring and control, research methods, design practice, architectural design, technical documentation, smart buildings, profession, construction type |
| Topics: | Quality Management, Design Practice, Digital Applications, Construction Technology, Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Business Strategy |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here