The Intelligent Building
One of the benefits of the rapid evolution of information technology has been the development of systems that can measure, evaluate, and respond to change。An enhanced ability to control change has sparked developments in the way we design our physical environment, in particular, the buildings in which we work。As a result, we are witnessing significant growth in the area of "Intelligent Buildings"--buildings that incorporate information technology and communication systems, making them more comfortable, secure, productive, and cost-effective
What is an Intelligent Building?
王凯
There have been a myriad of academic and technical literature discussing the definition of intelligent buildings. According to the research conducted by Wigginton and Harris , there exist over 30 separate definitions of intelligence in relation to building. Early definitions of intelligent building focused almost entirely centered on technology aspect and did not suggest user interaction at all. Cardin (1983, cited in Ref. ) defined intelligent building as ‘on
e which has fully automated building service control systems’. The Intelligent Building Institution in Washington (1988, cited in Refs. ) defined intelligent building as ‘one which integrates various systems to effectively manage resources in a coordinated mode to maximize: technical performance, investment and operating cost savings, flexibility’.
The purely technological definition of intelligent building has been criticized by many researchers. For example, DEGW in mid-1980s found that buildings which were unable to cope with changes in the organizations that occupy them, or in the information technology that they use, would become prematurely obsolete or require substantial refurbishment or demolition. Authors such as Robathan  Loveday etal. Preiser and Schramm  and Wigginton and Harris  suggested that intelligent buildings must respond to user requirements. According to Clements-Croome , there has been growing awareness that the services systems and work process management of a building have close relationships with the well-being of human. The building environment affects the wellbeing and comfort of human in the workplace, and in turn it influences human’s productivity, morale and satisfaction. Some authors suggested the intelligent building accentuates a ‘m
ultidisciplinary effort to integrate and optimize the building structures, systems, services and management in order to create a productive, cost effective and environmentally approved environment for the building occupants’.
Most recently, a number of authors have extended the definition of intelligent building and have added‘ learning ability’ and ‘performance adjustment from its occupancy and the environment’ in the definition. They proposed intelligent building is not only able to react and change accordingly to individual, organizational and environmental requirement, but is also capable of learning and adjusting performance from its occupancy and the environment.
On the other hand, it appears that different intelligent building professional bodies also have different understanding of intelligent building. So et al. pointed out both the intelligent building institutes in the United States and the United Kingdom have inconsistent interpretation of building intelligence. The Intelligent Building Institute of the United States defines an intelligent building as ‘one which provides a productive and cost-
effective environment through optimization of its four basic elements including structures, systems, services and management and the interrelationships between them’ . In contrast, the UK-based European Intelligent Building Group defines an intelligent building as ‘one that creates an environment which maximizes the effectiveness of the building’s occupants, while at the same time enabling efficient management of resources with minimum life-time costs of hardware and facilities’ . The difference indicates the UK definition is more focused on users’ requirements, while the US definition is more concentrated on technologies.
In addition so et al.  argued that ‘intelligent buildings are not intelligent by themselves, but they can furnish the occupants with more intelligence and enable them to work more efficiently’. Moreover, most existing definitions of intelligent buildings are ‘either too vague to be useful guidance for detailed design which either places an unbalanced focus on technologies only or do not fit that culture of Asia’.The need of a precise intelligent building definition is critical as ‘without a correct definition, new building will not be optimally designed to meet the next century’ . In response to this, So et al. suggested a tw
o-level strategy to formulate an appropriate intelligent building definition. The first level comprises nine ‘Quality Environment Modules (QEM)’ (M1–M9) and the second level includes three areas of key elements which are functional requirements, functional spaces and technologies. Chow proposed the inclusion of additional modules (M10) as supplement to the existing nine modules in order to deal with the health issues for buildings.
An Intelligent Building is one equipped with the telecommunications infrastructure that enables it to continuously respond and adapt to changing conditions, allowing for a more efficient use of resources and increasing the comfort and security of its occupants。 An Intelligent Building provides these benefits through automated control systems such as: heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC)； fire safety； security； and energy/lighting management。For example, in the case of a fire, the fire alarm communicates with the security system to unlock the doors。 The security system communicates with the HVAC system to regulate the flow of air to prevent the fire from spreading。
What benefits do Intelligent Buildings offer their owners and occupants?