Institutional Real Estate, Inc.

NAREIM Dialogues Spring 2018

The Institutional Real Estate Inc Sponsorship brochure, Connected-Investor Focused, We connect people, data and insights, sponsorship, events, IREI Products

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NAREIM DIALOGUES SPRING 2018 7 CRYSTAL BALL, ANYONE? Looking back over the last 20-30 years seems like a view into a whole new era when it comes to technology and the pace of change. The buildings designed in the 1940s or 1950s were, for the most part, considered acceptable to users in the 1990s. The styles may have evolved, but the technology driving buildings had largely been intact for decades. And no one then could anticipate the impending rapid aging of investments that was just around the corner. The internet and its widespread access to a range of technology platforms has truly changed everything. It is obviously easier for a building to change interior paint colors and finishes as they become aesthetically dated than it is for a building to change core technology. But predicting what that new technology will be is not as easy as it was in the past. Think about space dedicated in buildings of the past to telephone booths or drinking fountains, both of which are disappearing from modern designs—not to mention the very-specific built-ins for TVs and audio systems that quickly become irrelevant. What elements of today's designs will be unnecessary or sabotage the future use of a structure? We don't know what the technologies of the future will bring to us. Will senior housing change as we are better able to monitor and assist our aging family members through cameras and sensors that alert us to changes in vital signs? Site planning on all kinds of projects will be changed by technology. How will we move around our cities? Will we use autonomous vehicles? Will those vehicles be electric powered? How will the ever- increasing list of devices we all carry change the plug loads and associated electrical systems in our buildings? Conversely, will there maybe even be a backlash from technology overload and the focus becomes all about spaces where people connect—to other people? BUILDING COMMUNITY LEGACIES Recently, here at Marx|Okubo, we encountered a project experience that highlights the importance of thinking ahead in a way that really stretches the imagination. A client that is a religious organization (which many might consider as low-tech in nature) challenged us to help them build a structure which would not only be standing—but viable and sustainable—when it is 300 years old. Quickly the discussion moved from the things that won't be different in 2318, such as the orientation of the sun and awareness of expected seismic activity to the things that were almost imponderable, like what technologies will be available to monitor and manage the structure's day- to-day operations and what will energy cost. In the end, the most incontrovertible fact is that adaptability and the ease of integration for new systems was key to any model of success. Our advice has been to consider the long term with respect to the durability of material selections, open system architecture and flexibility of energy delivery methods. ©iStock.com/GlobalP

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