How WiredScore Helps Occupiers Identify Technologically-Optimized Office Buildings

If there is anything the social upheaval of the last two years has brought to light, it has to be how our relationship with real estate has changed beyond recognition. Commercial office space has gone from housing the patter of daily work to becoming a space frequented, at most, three times a week. How the space is used often comes down to the landlord’s desires, but we’re now seeing that occupiers also have a fundamental role to play. With hybrid occupancy dictating our current working patterns, work-from-home has often triumphed over the office.

Due to this, there has never been a more important time for office landlords to work hand in hand with their occupiers to entice workers back to reinvigorated workspaces. To surmount this trend, landlords must create spaces that focus on the myriad needs a worker has in any given day. Collaboration, conversation and work need to be housed under one roof, and allowing the optimization of real estate via smart technology and best-in-class digital connectivity is crucial.

The difficulties in providing and marketing those, however, are numerous. For one, most landlords have little experience in designing best-in-class digital technology infrastructure. Then, even if they can put that in place, how do they indicate the exact nature and level of the technology to prospective tenants?

WiredScore, a company that assesses, certifies and improves digital connectivity and smart technology, provides the answer to both puzzles.

The company has developed two global certifications: WiredScore sets a global standard for in-building connectivity, and SmartScore identifies and certifies best-in-class smart buildings that deliver exceptional user experience. At present, over 8 million people live or work in buildings with either the WiredScore or SmartScore certification.

Companies including SL Green (SLG), Nuveen, Tishman Speyer, Brookfield (BN) and Empire State Realty Trust, to name just a few, have benefited from communicating their commitment to outstanding connectivity and smart technology, and use their WiredScore or SmartScore ratings to promote their offerings across their portfolios.

But before officially recognizing a building’s technological capabilities, WiredScore helps companies develop, design and achieve the highest standards for connectivity and other smart building technologies. WiredScore certification has four levels: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Many WiredScore clients are able to raise their scores from Certified to Gold or Platinum after working with the company.

WiredScore has conducted extensive research to determine what tenant companies desire most in their office buildings. Based on this, one of the most important things building owners can provide their office tenants is extensive data on operations. Specifically, 87% of respondents indicated that accessible energy and sustainability data is important.

“From occupancy detection and cleaning statistics to the heating ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) controls, tenants want to be in the know when it comes to their indoor environments,” the company recently wrote on its website. “That means utilizing data from the building management system (BMS) to create the best in-building conditions.”

With COVID-19 having changed our conception of personal space, occupancy detection data plays a large part in ensuring that occupiers have a healthy amount of space while they work while minimizing the spread of illness.

The right data, including building congestion information and booking data for office conference rooms and amenities, equips companies to design optimal settings in their offices that feel protected and familiar for employees. And with technology such as touchless entry and desk booking apps, employees can create an optimal in-building experience that makes them feel right at home from the moment they walk in the door.

Of course, the most essential, rock-bottom requirement for office buildings is effortless, seamless and lightning-fast Wi-Fi that is accessible throughout the building, devoid of blind spots, and ready to use at a second’s notice.

Another office issue essential to occupiers is adherence to the latest ESG standards. Polls show that almost two-thirds of office workers consider working in an environmentally sustainable office very important, making it imperative for companies seeking to hire the best talent in today’s strained employment market.

Optimizing operations in a smart building context ensures that commercial real estate massively reduces its impact on the environment, especially since the built environment causes nearly 40 percent of all global emissions.

In helping building owners optimize their operations, WiredScore is guiding them toward a more sustainable future. In addition to basic steps like a switch to low-energy lightbulbs or a proper recycling system, WiredScore helps building owners analyze data from HVAC, smart heating, lighting systems and more to optimize performance, vastly improving a building’s sustainability.

Evidence of the desirability of WiredScore’s ratings is growing.

WiredScore worked with The John Buck Company to achieve a SmartScore Platinum rating for 151 North Franklin in Chicago, a 35-story, 809,500-square-foot office building that also holds LEED and WELL Core & Shell Gold certifications.

“When we build a high-rise office or residential building, we don’t think short term in how that building will best serve its occupants,” said Charles W. Wagener, principal, The John Buck Company. “Our SmartScore Platinum rating provides us with independent proof that we have created one of the very best or most future-proof buildings in the world. We will always be offering our building users an experience that exceeds their expectations, with a commitment to carry on inspiring them for years to come.”

In another example, WiredScore worked with the developer Hines to achieve a WiredScore Platinum rating for Chicago’s Salesforce Tower, analyzing and optimizing the digital infrastructure to ensure that Salesforce Tower delivered exceptional levels of internet connectivity, and is best placed to serve the digital demands of the tech leaders of today.

Salesforce Tower, Chicago, sets a great example for buildings worldwide, as it is fully connected and optimized for mass productivity and performance in all its technological systems.

“Salesforce Tower is a beacon of hope in regards to the digital future of the commercial landscape,” said Arie Barendrecht, founder and CEO of WiredScore. “Landmark buildings shape the ways businesses, cities and the world connect — better-connected buildings build better-connected cities, creating an ever-expanding connected global community.”

“Together, Hines and WiredScore embody WiredScore’s global mission: to make the world’s buildings smarter and better connected, and to enable a more collaborative, innovative and dynamic future.”