Busch-Jaeger puls 01-18 EN

MOVEMENTS IN ARCHITECTURE 01 | 2018 URBAN OFFICE BY MEYERSCHMITZMORKRAMER VISITING UNSTUDIO IN AMSTERDAM DIGITIZING BUILT ENVIRONMENTS – PROJECTS BY WERNER SOBEK TIMMERHUIS – MAGIC CUBE BY OMA EDITORIAL Frank Völkel is co-founder of the platform “Smartest Home” LET’S TALK ABOUT: SMART, SMARTER... pulse interviews Dipl.-Ing. Frank Völkel Smart home (private) or smart building (office) – where is there bigger growth? Quite clearly in the private domain, as things are (still) looking good when it comes to building a home: low interest rates and the opinion that one’s own four walls are a good investment. In my opinion this is still just the beginning, after all, the share of smart buildings being built in the private domain is around four percent. On top of which you have the large market for existing residential buildings, which can be retrofitted in a meaningful, future-oriented way to turn them into smart homes. Are convenience, energy saving, and security still the most important arguments in favour of building automation technology? Primarily, yes. What we now also have is the issue of the possibility of extensions, and upgrades in the future. We’re talking here about spaces being used in a flexible way thanks to a networked infrastructure, for example turning a study into two children’s rooms without 2 making any technical changes. It is also about aging flats and houses. The standards we expect of accommodation are changing. Building services need to be prepared. What are things looking like in terms of the acceptance of voice-control technology and its prospects? Some people use it and are totally fascinated; others reject it. It basically has to do with the voice recognition data that end up on a service provider’s server and are permanently stored there. But that’s how voice recognition works. If you don’t link your smart home up to the Internet, you have to do without voice control. Though actually, smart homes also work very well without voice control. How do you view the German market with regard to building automation? What role do concerns about security play? There is unfortunately too much talk in German media about the risks involved with smart homes, without any mention at all of the possibilities and opportunities they offer. On the one hand Germany has worldwide leaders in building automation manufacturing great products, and on the other developers who in some cases are unsettled by reports in the press that are hostile to technology. Nonetheless, more and more developers and property owners are deciding in favour of a smart home, be it a new build or retrofitting. Building automation can be made perfectly secure, whether it is connected up to the Internet or not. Which innovations can we expect in the future? In the not too distant future there are going to be houses that recognize the behaviour patterns of their occupants. Smart homes will provide support with a healthy lifestyle and in case of illness. E-mobility wi...