Assessing intelligence in office buildings at early design stage

Gundogan, H., Dikmen, I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6988-7557 and Atasoy, G. (2026) Assessing intelligence in office buildings at early design stage. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment. ISSN 2046-6102 (Unpublished)

Abstract/Summary

Purpose – The conceptualization of intelligence in buildings has been evolving; however, it remains fragmented with no agreed-upon definition. Current assessment methods are typically retrospective and exhibit limitations. This study aims to address this gap by proposing a new assessment approach based on intelligent design features at early design stages and the Intelligence Assessment Tool for Office Buildings (IATOB). Design/methodology/approach – Salient intelligent design features were identified through a systematic literature review and validated by international experts via a pilot study. Sixty-three geographically distributed Built Environment professionals evaluated these features through a questionnaire survey. The data was analysed using one-sample t-test for statistical significance. Based on the empirical findings, the IATOB was developed and validated through three real-world Intelligent Office Buildings (IOBs) in different countries. Findings – The professionals’ insights align with the identified IB design features, thereby confirming the validity of an early-stage assessment approach. In practice, IATOB facilitates context-specific adaptation, allowing designers to tailor design solutions to specific regional contexts and rethink design alternatives to enhance building intelligence. Originality/value – This study advances the existing body of knowledge by providing a nuanced understanding of IOBs and introduces a novel assessment approach for IOBs by shifting the intelligence assessment from post-performance indicators to intelligent design features during early design stages. International experts validated the proposed approach through real-world IOBs. The approach serves as a foundation for future IOB practices and potential building intelligence assessment schemes.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/129847
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of the Built Environment > Construction Management and Engineering Science > School of the Built Environment > Organisation, People and Technology group
Uncontrolled Keywords	Early Design, Intelligent Buildings, Smart Buildings, Intelligent Design Features, Building Assessment, Office Buildings
Publisher	Emerald
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item