Session 2: The Future of Occupant-Responsive Buildings

Florian Troesch
VP, Business Innovation
Schindler, Zurich

The clear trend in building the urban habitat of the next 50 years will be to produce structures that have a deep understanding of the needs of their occupants, are able to anticipate those needs and act accordingly. In 1990, Schindler introduced an elevator system that allowed passengers to communicate their destination floor before boarding. It was later refined to reflect more customer needs and serve them beyond the confines of the elevator.

The effort culminated, a few years ago, with the PORT Technology, a system reflecting Schindler’s understanding that indoor mobility is much more than vertical transportation. With myPORT, touchpoints such as parking barriers, main entrances, speed gates, doors, letterboxes, video-intercom, and visitor management integrate into one seamless transit experience.

One of the major challenges of the next 50 years are aging populations and their need for safe environments. This technology will allow those with limited mobility to travel through and experience a building while taking care of them by, for example, detecting falls. It therefore becomes an important pillar in enabling people to live longer, more independent, healthier and happier lives in a preferred location.

This is a major step but is only the beginning. Several lessons have already been learned in the development of buildings that can anticipate and serve the needs of their occupants; how those lessons are being and will be incorporated into next generation products will significantly advance the ability of developers everywhere to produce truly “occupant responsive” buildings.