How to Design the Internet of Buildings? An Agile Design Process for Making the Good City

Abstract

In the context of data driven cities, this paper introduces the notion of an “Internet of Buildings” (IoB), and discusses the potential of connected devices, sensor networks and data analysis to support the purposeful design and development of a livable, well-designed urban environment. The key argument of this paper is that today's Internet of Buildings (IoB) permits the collection and analysis of rich data sets on users and usage, on building and city performance, thereby providing a reliable basis for design decisions and strategies that not only improve design processes, but also enable a more user-oriented, participative and human-centric approach. In addition, this article argues for a responsible and reflexive usage of data generated in living environments and for data literacy in the context of urban design and development. The key challenge addressed in this paper is how to translate urban data into design knowledge. To provide an answer to this important question, this article introduces a new methodology that links urban design, urban data, and the operational modelling of cities to an evidence-based, agile urban development process. On that basis, the article introduces the two tools of “BuildingID” and “UrbanOperationsModel” (UOM) – key instruments for data-based development and oriented towards the “good city” of the future.