The smart buildings of today not only need to provide pleasing and functional architecture, but they must also have a work environment that provides proper temperature, humidity, noise control, reliable electrical power, efficient lighting and automatic system controls. The design, construction and delivery of smart buildings require talented, experienced and dedicated professionals committed to providing practical and efficient integrated solutions to their clients. Smart building engineering requires a building designer committed to understanding the client's technical needs and integrating those requirements into building systems. Engineering design and construction management methods have to be customized to meet a company's present day requirements. This means building for flexibility to expand the building systems to meet future growth and to incorporate new technologies as the user's needs change over time.
Designs based upon industry standards maximize the integration of building systems.
The normal interface for integration of HVAC control, fire alarm, information technology, security, multimedia and lighting control systems has been the RS232 protocol. Compatibility of future systems with today's designs is the biggest challenge facing engineers in designing smart buildings. Future flexibility relies very heavily on designs that focus on compliance with industry standards. However, as standards are refined and improved upon, backward compatibility cannot be completely abandoned. Optimal design fully implements existing investments, maximizes the performance of new systems and allows for future growth without significant technical sacrifice.