A Design Framework for Digital Buildings
Paul leads the user experience design team in the Los Angeles office of @ArupAmericas
Digital technology has enabled buildings to become more flexible and dynamic in the past decade. Some of the most rapidly changing elements of a building are the sensors, interfaces and audiovisual components that enable people to interact with a building. Unlike more traditional building interaction elements such as doors, windows and furniture, digital products are constantly evolving with more features and capability while software updates come at an even more frequent pace. These “layers” of digital product that are embedded into buildings need special consideration in their design, construction and operation in order to deliver optimal user experiences. The framework described below differentiates the digital layers of a building and incorporates the unique lifespan of each layer into the design process so that architects, builders and owners can better understand how to support and maintain a building’s impermanent digital elements.
These “layers” of digital product that are embedded into buildings need special consideration in their design, construction and operation in order to deliver optimal user experiences.
The key consideration for how to incorporate technology into a building is to first understand that all technology should not be incorporated into a building in the same way. The digital products that are typically embedded into a building represents a variety of technological maturities. Some elements have been around for decades and are quite stable such as the cabling and connectors that interconnect digital equipment. Other elements, such as software, are constantly being refined and updated. Drivers are continuously improved and new capabilities are added to digital hardware every day. User habits and expectations change too when new interactions are introduced in the consumer world such as voice agents (e.g. Alexa). The digital design framework incorporates a variety of a building’s digital system components and separates them into categories based on their function and lifecycle illustrating how permanently each layer should be built into a building.
In order to understand this in the context of architecture, the framework created by Francis Duffy and made popular by Steward Brand in his 1994 book, How Buildings Learn is used as a starting point. The “pace layering” framework that Brand describes was made of traditional building elements (e.g., Site, Structure, Skin, etc.). Brand wrote that the evolution of a building was influenced by the lifespan of the various layers. This framework adds multiple digital layers to this concept in order to derive similar insights into how buildings will change in the near future. It is important to understand the level of maturity and rate-of-change of any particular layer in order to understand when an element may need to be upgraded.
The digital building layers are as follows:
It is the last four layers of this building framework that are the most important for the digital designer. Let’s go through the basics of each layer:
Building Layer
Designing the building layer includes allocating and locating spaces that will support the digital network such as the Main Distribution Frame (MDF) and Intermediate Distribution Frame (IDF) spaces as well as specialized technology support spaces. The minimum, or main point of entry (MPOE) is also an important space to consider in the massing of a building. These spaces are often located around a building’s core and are also spaces that are very difficult to relocate once systems are installed. They will probably last for 20–30 years although the equipment within the rooms may be changed-out more frequently.
Infrastructure Layer
Infrastructure in this context generally refers to the signal interconnections and power distribution that is required for digital hardware to be interconnected. It refers to both the cabling paths as well as the cabling, fiber, conduit, cable chases, and any other non-wireless systems that enables signal distribution throughout a building.
Mechanical Layer
Mechanical layer systems that include traditional systems such as racks and projector mounts have worked for decades and continue to work well. This layer is also worth considering as a place for innovation. A mechanical building layer that supports frequent technology upgrades is desirable to afford rapidly changing interfaces and sensors of all sorts. The ideal mechanical layer will enable devices to be easily attached, detached and retrofitted. Architects and interior designers must balance designing “minimal” interiors with creating spaces that allow for maximum technological flexibility.
Architects and interior designers must balance designing “minimal” interiors with creating spaces that allow for maximum technological flexibility.
Processing Layer
The processing layer consists of the servers, switching and routing devices that are generally behind the scenes and installed into the mechanical layer (i.e. racks). In the future, much of the processing layer may migrate to the cloud or to more capable end-point sensors. However, basic routers, switches and servers will be with us for some time, and they generally have a longer lifespan than the devices on the other layers, often in excess of 5 years.
Data Layer
The data layer is the least architectural and most virtual of the layers. It is included here because it is important for a building to have a data strategy to achieve an integrated digital building (sometimes referred to as a “smart” building). One of the primary problems with many buildings is that the technologies embedded within them are siloed and are not designed to be interoperable. Some Building Management Systems (BMS) attempt wider data integration, but they don’t often integrate all building data which can hinder optimization and improvements over time. Building owners should consider what data is being generated and how long it is stored. Owners should also consider how some data can be communicated to occupants such as air quality and energy usage.
Sensory Layer
If you consider a building as a somewhat anthropomorphized “being”, the processing layer is like the brain and the sensory layer is the eyes, ears, mouth, nose of the building. Cameras, microphones, loudspeakers, air quality sensors, and touch-sensitive screens in modern buildings are part of the sensory layer. These elements also act as the building’s interface to the human occupants. Screens are only one element that can be leveraged in the building’s “dialogue” with its occupants. Digital designers should consider all sensors as elements of the user interface.
Designers also need to design this layer to adapt quickly to changing technologies. A key consideration is how much time and cost will be required when it comes time to upgrade this element and whether the level of integration is appropriate for the life span of the technology. It may make sense to spend more time, effort and money on making the mechanical layer adaptable for future upgrades, rather than spending time and money to create special millwork for a sensory element that will only have a two-year lifespan.
Interaction Layer
The interaction layer is where a building becomes similar to a computer or mobile device. A building’s sensory layer is enabled through software which animates the building and the interaction between people and the building. Because buildings are also incredibly complex compared to a laptop computer or mobile device and don’t benefit from the economies of mass production, they require levels of software integration and development that are yet to be achieved in the AEC industry.
It may become common for property developers or owners to have full-time software developers as part of building engineering teams, managing the code along with the more traditional building engineers. Complex operational interaction will be expected between building occupants, HVAC systems, lighting systems, window shading and media systems. Voice interactions could allow the room to summon participants of a meeting and guide them via their AR visors to the right location. Even health and wellness sensors that monitor environmental health, occupant body temperature and illness records could track contagious outbreaks in the office. The interaction layer will need no fewer software updates than the typical mobile phone.
Building Dialogues
The user/occupant interactions that buildings are capable of achieving in the future will require a new approach to designing the digital layers of a building. Because these systems are digital, designs will require a human-centered approach to understand the identities and specific goals of the occupants. Offices and airports will require completely different digital layer designs with diverse technologies and distinctive interactions. Eventually, some of these integrated systems may become more commoditized, but today, buildings are probably in the place that the PC was in the late 80s — containing a lot of components that aren’t always interoperable and too many operating systems to make all of the elements work together. Considering the building’s digital layers and developing a strategy for how the design team can integrate these layers will lead to more flexible, resilient buildings that will be able to adapt rapidly to our unpredictable future.
Find out more
If any of the content in this article is of interest, please get in touch with our Los Angeles, California Digital Services Team via paul.chavez@arup.com
