Today, there is probably more technology in your pocket than in the entire building you work in. “A few years ago, we learned that an iPhone was much smarter than a building,” says Boudewijn Ruitenburg, chief operating officer of Amsterdam-based office developer EDGE Technologies, which uses technology to manage and operate buildings efficiently. “There was more technology in a phone than in a big, complete office building. Once we realised that, we started to make buildings smarter.”

“Buildings need to get smarter and Kora property is one of the companies making that happen.”

Over recent years the team at Kora Property has helped create the ‘smart office’ category by transforming the way technology is used in office building design, construction and operation. Instead of adding digital controls to existing systems, or grafting operational technologies onto traditional structures, Kora integrates four pillars – wellbeing, sustainability, design and technology – to create workplaces that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and material waste, while providing space that enhances employee health and engagement.

What makes Kora properties smart is a state-of-the-art technology platform that connects everything and everyone in the building. Thousands of sensors embedded in digital ceilings act as the eyes and the ears of the building, making sure lighting, air quality, noise and temperature are constantly optimised. Using state of the art sustainability technology, Kora properties keeps buildings energy neutral, and continual upgrades of the technology lengthen the building’s lifespan.

The smart buildings provide a new frame of reference. “Investors have now had opportunities to see what a smart, sustainable building is and what it looks like,” Kora properties says. “They realise it’s no longer bricks and mortar – it’s actually a computer with a roof. That is a big change because investors look for investments in property as a stable, safe asset category, but if you start investing, even in a rock-solid location, in a smart building, you also have to think of how to maintain and how to take care of that computer with a roof.”