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Considers the nature and importance of intelligent buildings. Examines why intelligent buildings are important in terms of occupants, managers, owners, and developers, how the benefits are realized, and the components of intelligent buildings in facilities management, information management, connectivity and overall control. Concludes that the definition of an intelligent building is changing with technology and consumer understanding, with the possibility of techniques becoming outmoded within five years.

This special issue of Facilities on “Strategic Issues for Facilities Managers” is very different in style from the editor‐generated issues of this journal, but it has been designed to achieve a particular purpose. It focuses on the business issues about which facilities managers need to be aware in order to plan the most effective deployment of corporate physical assets. In order that readers can acquire a good understanding of a wide variety of topics in a short period of time, the material is presented in the form of précis and short articles.

Examines the context of design of intelligent buildings. Considers the potential to create intelligent buildings during refurbishment in the light of refurbishment limits – quality and quantity of space, appearance of building. IT and services distribution and environmental performance. Concludes that refurbishment to provide intelligent buildings is viable if IT use is not high and building limits can be overcome, since it is faster, cheaper and more environmentally friendly than redevelopment.

The purpose of this paper is the analysis of a methodology for the buildings' intelligence assessment through the development of a matrix tool. Techniques and technologies for use in designing, constructing and operating intelligent buildings are well known or available on the market and many intelligent buildings have been built. However, just how intelligent these buildings actually are in comparison to conventional buildings is often a question. Due to the lack of commonly accepted methods and pertinent supporting data, the assessment of the overall performance of intelligent buildings cannot be carried out. It remains difficult, if not impossible, to carry out a fair comparison between different buildings in term of intelligence. As a result, the construction industry proceeds without adequate knowledge about the best practice in intelligent building.

For the purpose of the present assessment, the definition of an intelligent building has been reviewed and refined. Based on the adopted definition, a matrix tool is developed. The objective of this tool is to provide facilities managers with an effective methodology for improving the energy and indoor environmental performance of their building stock. With appropriate development, the methodology could also form the basis of voluntary or regulatory methodology for building intelligence accreditation.

The paper describes the matrix tool's global performance indicators and specific performance indicators for the intelligent buildings' assessment. Moreover the application of the matrix tool in assessing two buildings is described.

The paper encourages a deeper analysis of the buildings' intelligence providing the initial framework.

The present paper proposes an innovative methodology for intelligent buildings assessment.

To date, assessment models for intelligent buildings have not been systematically investigated. Most of the existing studies have derived their findings from information technology (IT) perspectives and have not considered all factors including the architecture of the building and the necessities of IT as part of an integrated approach. This paper aims to bridge this gap.

Based on a review of recent literature, this paper identifies the principal factors of intelligent buildings, discusses various perspectives from the point of both architecture and IT, and provides a general model for assessment. This model has been applied in relation to a case study and the results have been analyzed by surveys.

The overall results from the case study were appropriate, thus reflecting the appropriateness of the proposed model. The conceptual model presents a roadmap for the assessment of intelligence in buildings. The research reported in this paper was carried out as a pilot study to determine an assessment system for intelligent buildings.

The elements of the proposed model provide a list of attributes for the intelligent buildings. This helps to ensure that the essential issues and factors are covered during the design and implementation phase in the construction industry. For academics, it provides a common language for them to discuss and study the factors crucial for the assessment of intelligence levels in buildings.

This study provides an integrated perspective of critical issues for intelligence assessment in the construction industry. It gives valuable information and guidelines that help the designers and constructors in one hand and the project managers on the other hand to construct the intelligent buildings in an effective way.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the main elements of building performance, namely, building function, building impact and building quality in order to promote strategic facilities management in healthcare organisation to improve core (health) business activities.

Based on current available toolkits, a questionnaire is issued to healthcare users (staff) in a public hospital about their level of agreement in relation to these elements. Statistical analysis is conducted to regroup the elements. These regrouped elements and their inter-relationships are used to develop a framework for measuring building performance in healthcare buildings.

The analysis helped to clarify the understanding and agreement of users in Australian healthcare organisation with regards to building performance. Based on the survey results, 11 new elements were regrouped into three groups. These new regrouped elements will be used to develop a reliable framework for measuring performance of Australian healthcare buildings.

Currently there is no building performance toolkit available for Australian healthcare organisation. The framework developed in this paper will help healthcare organisations with a reliable performance tool for their buildings and this will promote strategic facilities management

The drive for intelligent buildings continues unabated. An intelligent building (IB) is one that provides a responsive and supportive environment within which an organisation can attain a range of objectives, i.e. a building within which the building fabric, space, services and information systems can respond efficiently to the initial and changing demands of the owner, the occupier and the broader environment. This responsiveness requires the ability to collect data and initiate processes which effect changes. Application of radio frequency identification devices (RFID) to the components and processes undertaken within the building allows enhanced data management and process manipulation. The purpose of this paper is to outline how buildings and their management are being changed by the adoption of RFID.

This paper discusses the characteristics of RFIDs and their application in one specific function: the evacuation of a building during a fire. The potential for RFIDs to aid surveyors/facilities managers in many facets of their working life is also highlighted, and a number of additional application areas are discussed in general terms with their impact reviewed in terms of responsiveness and support to the occupants.

The core area of providing a responsive and supportive environment is where RFID begins to truly deliver on the drive for an IB. The range and size of the devices and their capabilities renders them suitable for inclusion within the basic building materials and components and also the processes that drive provision of the built environment.

Discusses the possible applications of this new technology.

We describe a new approach to intelligent building systems, that utilises an intelligent agent approach to autonomously governing the building environment. We discuss the role of learning in building control systems, and contrast this approach with existing IB solutions. We explain the importance of acquiring information from sensors, rather than relying on pre‐programmed models, to determine user needs. We describe how our architecture, consisting of distributed embedded agents, utilises sensory information to learn to perform tasks related to user comfort, energy conservation, safety and monitoring functions. We show how these agents, employing a behaviour‐based approach derived from robotics research, are able to continuously learn and adapt to individuals within a building, while always providing a fast, safe response to any situation. Finally, we show how such a system could be used to provide support for older people, or people with disabilities, allowing them greater independence and quality of life.

This paper seeks to uncover major differences in current opinion concerning the purpose, scope and priorities of facility management (FM), and to indicate which key areas and factors of FM practice should be considered for inclusion in any theoretical framework for positioning FM. A literature review examines the available knowledge, theories and publications concerning linking FM to organisation and its environments from a range of published literatures. The paper identifies gaps in the existing knowledge base, and clarifies the issues for consideration and development framework for positioning FM. This paper is a part of research being undertaken for PhD study at the Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, University College London. It has produced a theoretical framework for positioning FM which will be further developed in the next stage of the study. The theoretical framework for positioning FM provides useful ground for developing decision method and tools for positioning FM practice. This paper offers a starting point in aligning FM practice to the particular organisation systematically.

Presents the background to open protocols, which the IT industry sees as the solution to integrating the different control systems in buildings or campuses. Discusses various initiatives in progress, and concludes that the expenditure on overlaying standards on existing obsolete devices and systems is likely to be wasted if radical solutions are developed that separate the solution from the interests of suppliers.