COVER ARTICLE
By Patti Fisher, RCDD,
DCDC, OSP, RTPM, WD
March/April 2019 I7
Society is in the midst of rapidly advancing
technologies. These technologies are shaping
the world in ways unimagined just a few
years ago. One of the areas of rapid change
is Intelligent Building (IB) design.
Those in the ICT industry hear frequently
about connected, intelligent or smart
buildings. These terms are often used
interchangeably. While many have not had
the opportunity to work on an IB project,
the time to get smart about how to design for
an IB and understand the implications to the
data and voice systems is now. The alternative
is that ICT professionals who do not plan for
building intelligence could be thought of the
way designers of those miniscule phone closets
of the not so distant past are recalled.
In hindsight some muse, “If only they knew
what the future would bring, they could
have made our lives so much easier.”
The information about IBs provided
through the media focuses on different buzz
words depending on the author’s expertise
and target audience. When addressing ICT
professionals, it is important to define what
an IB is, suggest how ICT professionals can
bring value to the design and implementation
processes of a building with integrated
systems, and also provide some thoughts
on positioning ICT to support IBs on day
one and into the future.