Real Estate, Design and Construction to Be Transformed by Digital Technology - Key Pioneers Debate the Issues

Executives from Arup, Bank of America, Boston Properties, DEGW, Gale, Hochtief and MIT Among Those Discussing Economic Impact of Connectivity in New Book Published by Cisco

SAN JOSE,- A book exploring the way digital technology will transform the way we create and use the places where we live, work, play and learn has been published today by Cisco®. In a collection of essays by industry leaders from around the world, “Connected Real Estate” examines the pivotal role of connectivity in improving the built environment. Specifically, the authors say, as connectivity enables all the participating parties in the life cycle of a building to collaborate, it can transform user experiences, streamline and enhance operations, reduce the cost of the building’s life cycle, and foster environmental sustainability.

The 16 essays in the book examine global real estate trends and the views, experiences and predictions of the industry’s pioneers* who are applying digital technologies to the built environment. “Connected Real Estate” is divided into three sections, “Transforming Buildings”, “Transforming Workplaces” and “Transforming Communities,” and it analyzes and debates the effect of new technologies as they:

* reduce the cost of construction and maintenance by redefining traditional business models

* create a market differentiator and open new revenue streams for landlords

* change the industry’s traditional silo structure by enabling the collaboration of all players in the life cycle of a building: architects, designers, engineers, construction supervisors, space planners, facilities managers, developers, owners and tenants

* significantly affect environmental sustainability

* transform the way workplaces are used and increase workers’ productivity

* attract investments to connected cities and communities

“We are standing at the cusp of a an exciting transformation of both our industry and our physical environment,” explains “Connected Real Estate” editor Wolfgang Wagener, head of real estate innovation for the Worldwide Real Estate and Workplace Resources Group at Cisco. “Real estate contributes 10 percent to the worldwide GDP and employs more than 100 million people, so we cannot ignore the impact digital technology will have on the way the industry collaborates and the final realization of the ’smart building.’ Internationally renowned professionals from across the globe have contributed their views to this book, and all agree that new technologies are changing the industry’s landscape. Margins are traditionally tight in this business, and those companies that recognize the financial opportunities arising from connectivity will be the winners.”

In his essay, Stanley C. Gale, chairman of Gale International, one of the largest commercial development firms in the United States, discusses the potential of technology to generate additional revenue for his business. Of the company’s $25 billion master-planned development, New Songdo City in Korea, he says: “A key differentiator ... is that technology is viewed not just as a necessary infrastructure, but as a profit generator, and that it will act as a profit center.”

Another contributing author, A. Eugene Kohn, chairman of international architects Kohn Pedersen Fox, explains how digital technology is fundamentally changing his company’s methodology: “Technology innovation has led to advanced information management and 3-D modeling techniques that help us improve our understanding of the architectural, cost construction and operational implications of our designs.”

Discussing the potential impact on environmental sustainability, author Volker Hartkopf of Carnegie Mellon University comments: “The vision of information-technology-integrated buildings that produce more energy on-site than is brought to them in the form of nonrenewable resources is today realizable.”

“This book in itself marks the importance of integrating technology into our built environment,” comments Windsor Richards, director at Macquarie Goodman Europe, in a review. “It strengthens the belief that the continuous advances in technology have to be harnessed into our buildings and the world in which we live. There is no doubt in my mind that making every effort to advance technology, by pushing the boundaries of innovation, is the only way forward.”

“Connected Real Estate” is the latest in a series of books produced by the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group giving up-to-the minute analysis, by international visionaries, of a selection of private and public sectors. Others in the series are “Connected Heath,” “Connected Cities,” “Connected Schools,” “Connected Homes,” “Connected Government,” “Connected Workforce” “Connected Transportation” and “Connected Manufacturing.” All the books in the series are available from www.cisco.com/go/connectedseries