Future of UK Cities: What data does next

The power of data is not new. Simply defined as the collection of facts and statistics for analysis, we have been using it to make informed decisions since the beginning of time. The only difference now is that, as the sophistication and quality of that data has evolved and improved, so too has our ability to make those informed decisions. However, while there has been a growing acceptance within the real estate sector that data is the key to lucrative and business-critical decision making, there has also been an undercurrent of nervousness around it. Questions have been raised about privacy, security and governance. Where is the information going? Is there a danger we will collect the wrong information? How do we know what to use and what not to use? How do we learn how to use it at all? All fair questions, but as we navigate our way through one of the most unprecedented years in modern history, many in real estate are having to find the answers to those questions through action rather than prior research. The time to fully embrace the power of data is now and, as part of EG’s Future of UK Cities event, two tech and data experts explained why there is no more time to waste. Rupert Green, technology architect at Lendlease, focuses on buildings and places. For him there is no question that data is the driving force behind the successful running of buildings and, more widely, cities. “Data use and digital technology span everything from run-of-the-mill building systems like lighting, access control and security through to helping us understand the operation of buildings and the public realm,” he says. “We can decide how we want to use that data to improve the experience that we provide to people who live, work and play in the spaces that we create. Also, crucially for us as a developer and a contractor, we need to use that data to understand the performance gap between what we design and what we deliver.” In short, he adds, the collection and analysis of data allows Lendlease to make improvements around operational cost and sustainability. And ensuring that energy is optimised based on an intrinsic understanding of how buildings are being used is particularly important at a time of rapid change in the way we live and work. Digital twins Dan Drogman, chief executive of Smart Spaces, agrees that now is the time for the real estate sector to be upping its building data game. With the future of real estate, particularly offices in the centres of cities, looking so uncertain, having the tools to be able to make swift decisions about building usage could be a real game-changer. “Digital twin technology is a good example,” he says. “It’s a replica of the building in a digital format with all the sensor data available so you can access everything from lighting control to energy management. This 3D representation also enables you to look at historical data and really learn from and understand how a certain building behaves. Once you have all of this data in front of you, then you can start to deploy automation and machine learning, which will see the building self-improve to become as efficient and cost-effective as possible. “You can roll this out across an entire portfolio and you don’t need to be in the bowels of the building either. It’s accessible via a web browser, so you can do it all from the comfort of your own home, or wherever you are and always know how your building is performing.” Useful at a time when so many questions are being raised around how offices can be made safer and more flexible in preparation for life and work during – and on the other side of – the pandemic. Digital twins are not only useful for managing and improving existing buildings says Lendlease’s Green. They can play a vital role in making sure that future projects stand the test of time – something that is more likely to be achieved the more data can be employed. “This technology can play a key role in the whole lifecycle of a building right from this early stage of development,” says Green. “For us, it is critical to build that feedback loop from the operation of an asset back into future design. We focus very heavily on using the data from operations to really optimise the design and delivery of buildings in the first place. This is the sweet spot. You run with your body of data, you start to drive an understanding of where the performance gaps exist. If they exist, you understand where inefficiencies lie so you can start to hone that whole development, construction and operation process. That’s so powerful.” So, these guys get it. But does the rest of the industry? Three years ago, Smart Space’s clients understood how its technology could be passed on to their tenants but didn’t appreciate the value for themselves as landlords. “They struggled to understand the relevance back then,” says Drogman. But things are changing. “We will show them a digital twin demo now and they will say ‘wow, this is exactly what we need and didn’t know existed’ so it seems to be a lack of understanding as to what is on offer. Once they have seen it, they get it.” Drogman adds that since Covid hit, the need to understand how buildings operate has become even more crucial. “Landlords need to know how many people can safely be in a building or how much fresh air that building is circulating and there is tech that provides all of that data in real time. We are definitely feeling as though interest is growing all the time,” he says. Things to come In terms of what this might mean for wider cities, both in the UK and globally, Green says the use of data across larger projects is potentially an indication of things to come. “We are working on a number of very large schemes in cities across the UK where we need to be able to communicate pretty complex messages to a number of different players,” he says. “We are communicating very complex technical messages so that people can understand the interfaces between new development and existing infrastructure and existing buildings. But we also need to bring the local communities on board. “Increasingly we are seeing that this sort of introduction of data on a wider scale can work. It’s very nuanced and all of the various socio-economic, environmental, economic and political impacts of these developments are critical. A piece of the work that we are doing at the moment is developing tools to help with this masterplanning process, to help run through various options and compress the time frame for both sides to go from a blank sheet of paper through to resolve and planning and then move on to the development of individual buildings and plots much more quickly. “The power to use data to understand how, at a far greater scale, the development you are looking at impacts not only that district, but the wider district is very exciting.” To send feedback, e-mail emily.wright@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmilyW_9 or @estatesgazette