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JIM LONG
JENNIFER MAGNOLFI
LOIS MAASSEN
HERMAN MILLER CREATIVE OFFICE
ALWAYS BUILDING
THE PROGRAMMABLE ENVIRONMENT
JIM LONG
JENNIFER MAGNOLFI
LOIS MAASSEN
HERMAN MILLER CREATIVE OFFICE
CONTENTS
p.9
p.20
INTRODUCTION
THE PROMISE
OF PROGRAMMABLE ENVIRONMENTS
Built environments are out of sync with the change required
in our economy and society; they dont take advantage
of technology to be responsive either to human needs or to
demands for sustainability. Five areas of change help us see
a new direction for the built environment.
p.50
OUR EXPLORATION
OF PROGRAMMABILITY
The Herman Miller Creative Office saw potential for new value
in making buildings less rigid and more sustainable. Finding
that space division and utility delivery caused rigidity, we set
about to find ways to apply modularity and programmability
as two paths to flexibility.
p.68
p.91
FURTHER READING
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
10
INTRODUCTION
11
THE PROMISE
OF PROGRAMMABLE ENVIRONMENTS
THE PROMISE
21
EVIDENCE OF POTENTIAL
DIAGNOSTIC
INFORMATION
22
PERFORMANCE
DATA
PERSONALIZED
SETTINGS
INTERCONNECTIVITY
WITH DIGITAL DEVICES
+'
CONSUMPTION OF ENERGY
AND MATERIALS
Forty percent of the worlds
raw materials are consumed
by buildings, and buildings
use 40 percent of the worlds
energy.
THE PROMISE
23
24
DEMOLITION ADDS
TO LANDFILL
The nearly 50,000 commercial
buildings demolished each year
in the U.S. produce nearly 150
million tons of construction and
demolition waste each year.
Bruce Sterling
THE PROMISE
25
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CATHEDRAL
COLLABORATIVE
Dennis Kaspori,
A Communism of Ideas:
Towards an Architectural
Open Source Practice
THE PROMISE
27
28
AN EVERYWARE WORLD
Adam Greeneld provides a
starting point for answering
the questions raised by
ubiquitous computing in his
book Everyware, his name
for a world replete with smart
and connected things. The
book is a collection of 80
theses; each is a starting
point for an important and
needed conversation about
how we are changing the
world and how it is changing
us. In the last section he asks,
How do we safeguard our
prerogatives in an everyware
world? How we answer this
question will signicantly
determine how we adapt
to the change initiated by
smart things.
FOCUS ON COMFORT
Whatever arguments are made
concerning the adequacy
of our present HVAC designs,
they lose strength very
quickly when the occupants
are consulted. For decades,
surveys of building occupants
have shown their biggest
complaint about their
workplace is the lack of a
comfortable thermal
environment. More recent
surveys of ofce building
occupants conrm that this
long-standing complaint
is unchanging. A recent BOMA
THE PROMISE
29
30
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INDIVIDUALS CREATE
MEANING
The International Data
Corporation (IDC) reports that
by 2010 the amount of
information in the digital
universe will be 988 exabytes.
This is about 18 million times
all of the information in all
of the books ever written. IDC
also predicts that 70 percent
of this information will be
posted by individuals for
personal expression and use.
This universe will continue to
expand at an accelerating
ratewith information being
created, replicated, shared,
and stored.
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THE PROMISE
31
SUSTAINABLE, CHANGEABLE
The Beijing National Aquatic
Center, begun in December 2003
for the 2008 Olympics, is both
visually compelling and energy
efcient. The steel building is
covered with a membrane of
LED-lit bubbles. The membrane
also absorbs solar radiation,
enabling a 30 percent reduction
in energy costs.
32
THE PROMISE
33
and for what expectations of use. Organizations evaluate tradeoffs theyre unaccustomed to, choosing between investing in
mobile technology or in spaces workers may or may not come to.
The future is ambiguousfor the metrics of a knowledge
economy and the implications for real estate to support that
economy. Designing for change is the best approach for protecting
investments as work strategies evolve. This is the era of pliancy:
emergent structures, fluid and permeable boundaries, intangible
assets, rapid evolution, and a new kind of economics.
Toward a balance of transparency and security
Security, in both political and civic terms, has become a highprofile concern in recent years. We live in a time of increased
awareness and expectations for our nation, cities, schools,
and neighborhoods to be safe. Parents check on their kids
or petsin daycare via webcams. They provide teenagers cell
phones with GPS so they can check on their whereabouts on
the Web. Emergency responders use the same tools to determine
the closest vehicle to the accident theyve pinpointed and then
determine the quickest route to the location.
The industry supporting the culture of security, as well as
the technology developments feeding the industry itself, have
compounded at an accelerated rate. Wall Street investors have
focused their attention on international security companies.
Technology advances in this field span sophisticated camera
systems, artificial intelligence systems for mining data, face and
behavior recognition software, all working to detect patterns
in a crowd or in an urban space. According to the Chinese
government trade association for surveillance companies, the
Chinese surveillance market will expand to $43.1 billion by 2010,
compared with less than $500 million in 2003. It is reported
that under the Safe Cities program adopted by the government
last year, 660 cities will be adopting high-tech surveillance
systems. In North America, police agencies, jails, fire stations,
34
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HEAVY INVESTMENT IN
SECURITY TECHNOLOGY
According to an IDC
(International Data Corporation)
white paper sponsored by
EMC Corp, spending on
security-specic software is
already nearly $40 billion
a year; by 2010 it will be
$65 billion, or close to 5 percent
of total IT spending. Add the
software, hardware, and
networks needed to support
those security products
and you are up over 10 percent
of IT spending.
THE PROMISE
35
EVERYONE EVERYWHERE
The Eyes of New York
campaign from the
Metropolitan Transportation
Authority, launched in
2003, engaged the public in
security on subways, buses,
and commuter rail lines.
William A. Morange, head of
security for the organization,
explained, It is impossible
for the police departments
to be everywhere and see
everything. Our passengers
extend our reach andby
sharing their information
make the system safer.
36
WHAT IF OUR
ENVIRONMENTS WERE
PROGRAMMABLE?
THE PROMISE
37
INFORMATION?
Information like
sound,
scent,
color,
dimension,
line,
pattern,
light,
mass?
38
movement,
energy use,
occupancy,
temperature,
humidity,
light,
air quality,
voice volume?
Information like
THE PROMISE
39
MATERIAL?
Can the next tenant
choose the color of the room,
by remote control?
40
THE PROMISE
41
NEIGHBORHOODS
knew us as well as our digital ones do?
What if our
buildings let us
stay connected?
42
Would we know
when an unknown
person has entered
the building,
the campus, the
neighborhood?
Would buildings
tell us whos there,
and where?
Would we
collaborate more
easily as we
become more
familiar to
one another?
THE PROMISE
43
EXPERIENCES?
reprogram
Could Clarice
the light
fixtures in her shop by herself?
choose
lower light
Could Jared
in the morning, brighter light in the afternoon?
cool off
his cubicle
Could Ahmed
while Cynthia warms hers?
44
Could
the marketing team
understand
their energy use
and
work together
to reduce it?
THE PROMISE
45
OBSOLETE?
Could buildings
be reprogrammed,
rather than
renovated? devalued? demolished?
46
THE PROMISE
47
SMARTER
the more we used them?
Could buildings
gather historical data to help us understand our environments better?
help us understand what they need to remain healthy and secure?
talk to the system, and the system to the parts, even as they are being constructed?
48
IF OUR HABITATS
WERE PROGRAMMABLE,
WHAT WOULD
WE ASK OF THEM?
THE PROMISE
49
OUR EXPLORATION
OF PROGRAMMABILITY
EXPERIMENTS IN FORM
The photos on the following
six pages document
our experimentation in
adaptable forms
incorporating technology.
This fabric-tube landmark
(above) could be easily
changed or moved by
people nearby. A digital
light, also relocated easily,
shines directly into the
tube from its top.
OUR EXPLORATION
51
52
CEILINGS
We experimented with
articulating ceilings that
enclosed a space from
the top and included video
display screens. In another
approach, bafes diffused
light and shaped the space.
OUR EXPLORATION
53
54
ROOMS
We looked for ways to
create temporary rooms with
lightweight materials that could
be moved easily into place by
people who need a place to
meet. Light and pattern gave the
walls more visual substance.
OUR EXPLORATION
55
56
WALLS
Walls made of textiles and
other lightweight materials
were movable and able to be
re-skinned for display in, for
example, a retail environment.
OUR EXPLORATION
57
ADAPTABLE
CONFERENCE ROOM
One large room can be
changed in minutes into two,
each with its own scene
settings for multiple uses.
DIGITAL CONTROLS
When theyre digital, controls
can be easily associated
or reassociated with specic
xtures, without rewiring.
OCCUPANT COMFORT
Underoor air handling
and diffuser controls
facilitate ne-tuning
by users of air ow and
temperature.
58
A PLATFORM TO BUILD ON
The infrastructure developed with the future vision of a programmable environment in mind became Convia, first available from
Herman Miller in 2007. Convia is designed for inclusiveness and
integration: Its platform supports multiple widely used protocols
to enable evolution to keep pace with our learning. All of the
components and capabilities for the programmable environment
must evolve in the same way that environments will adapt
with use, with change, in community with the people who build,
manage, and inhabit buildings.
TRADITIONAL
INCREMENTAL/DISPARATE SYSTEMS
CONVIA
INTEGRATED SYSTEMS
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AN INTEGRATED APPROACH
As a platform for the
programmable environment,
the Convia system enables
a exible and integrated
approach to both utility
delivery and control.
OUR EXPLORATION
59
An intelligent power delivery platform, integrating a communication network with a modular electrical system, provides
the foundation to build upon. Microcontrollers distribute
intelligence throughout the electrical infrastructure, creating a
network of power nodes and zones that can be programmed to
respond to changing needs in the environment. Lighting controls,
instead of being embedded in the existing electrical infrastructure,
are separate from the power delivery system and thus able to be easily
changed. Components connected to the Convia system are able to
communicate with any other component connected to the system.
The power delivery platform has cost-reduction and environmental benefits. As a modular system, it can be installed in less
time than conventional utility wiring, with better coordination
among construction trades and fewer change orders during
the project. When installed, it sets the stage for effective energy
managementand adapting as energy requirements change.
When a larger-scale change is needed, the electrical infrastructure
can be reconfigured quickly and easily; all components can be
reused. This not only reduces the cost of change, it eliminates
dumpsters filled with conventional but no longer appropriate
wires and cables.
People can control objects in a Convia environment through
two interfaces. The first is the simplest: a handheld, wireless,
two-button wand. You can use it to link any light or receptacle or
a series of them, with any sensor or switch. Aim the wand at a
light, and then at a switch, and the association is made instantly.
Aim the wand at a second light, and that switch will also operate
that light. This level of simplicity enables people to participate in
changing their environments.
60
INDIVIDUAL COMFORT
Art, a creative director for
a global news magazine, works
long days and nights. He
doesnt want to waste his time
ddling for comfort and has
programmed his ofce to shift
from day to night by setting
scenes. (1) By day he hosts a
constant stream of intense,
stand-up meetings with
editors, photographers, and
designers, poring over work
and proofs. By night, he works
at his desk, catching up on
correspondence and preparing
for the next days meetings.
(2) Blinds are drawn by day to
control light color and intensity,
but open at night for the view.
(3) His glass wall is opaque
by day for privacy and
transparent at night. (4) He
keeps the ofce cool when
people will share his space and
warmer when hes alone.
OUR EXPLORATION
61
62
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INFORMATION FEEDS
ADAPTABILITY
Feedback to occupants and
building managers enables
adaptation to happen more
quickly and more effectively.
INTUITIVE INTERFACE
The Convia wand was designed
to be simple and intuitive
and to give the user the most
direct possible control over the
environment.
FIRST FINDINGS ON
ENERGY SAVINGS
A study conducted by The
Weidt Group, an independent
engineering consultant for
high performance buildings,
found that ofces using the
Convia system can gain up
to 30 percent in annual energy
savings as compared to the
ASHRAE standard 90.1-2004,
the current energy benchmark
for buildings.
Communities throughout
the state of California have
implemented stringent
building codes to meet
energy guidelines issued by
the California Energy
Commission. Southern California
Edison is one of the largest
electric utilities in the United
States and an early adopter
of the Convia infrastructure,
a technology they are installing
in an existing ofce building,
testing an ofce of the future
concept.
MORE ABOUT
THE CONVIA PLATFORM
For more information about
the Convia infrastructure and
how it can contribute
to LEED certication, go to
www.HMConvia.com.
OUR EXPLORATION
63
A platform in use
As a foundation, Convia demonstrates the potential of programmability and enables us to learn what living consciously with
digital and physical aspects of environments offers that we
havent yet considered. Convia is in use at the groups headquarters,
outside Chicago, where the inhabitants are full participants.
This is how, given development to date, the capabilities play out
throughout the day:
When the first employee arrives at the office the alarm system
recognizes her and deactivates. Each employee arrives and is
welcomed according to preferences:
Jackies monitor comes on, and lights overhead come on
half-way. The lights will come to full power later in the day,
when Jackie needs help to stay alert.
Matt heads into the break room; the lights come on in response
to a sensor. (The sensor has been moved a few times, because
at first it triggered when people went by but not into the
room.) He grabs a cup of coffee, which is already brewed, and
heads to his workstation. Matt is sensitive to computer-screen
glare: As he sits down, the adjacent shades lower and the
overhead lights stay off.
Randys office lights turn on full, his digital frame displays
pictures from his European vacation, and the Rolling Stones
kick in on the sound system. Because the sunrise is especially
bright, the shades lower; usually, Randy enjoys the sun.
The first thing on Janes agenda is conducting a webinar. In
the conference room, she pushes the button for the webinar
sceneone of a number of preset combinations of room features.
The technology powers up, the shades lower, and the digital LCD
screen displays the presentation. John rushes in, claiming he
needs the conference room. Short on time before the webinar, Jane
chooses not to argue, but to push the button for the room to
64
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INDIVIDUALS IN CONTROL
The programmable environment
enables individuals to control
their environments rather than
being controlled by them.
OUR EXPLORATION
65
66
VARIETY OF USE
For Angie, a real estate
developer, time is money.
For every minute a space
in one of her buildings sits
unoccupied, revenue drops.
Programmability has helped
her boost prots by letting
her change in a day what
used to take weeks of
planning and construction,
even in some of the older
buildings she owns downtown.
Here Angie works with her
tenants to prepare the same
space for two very different
uses rst a city community
college, then a health clinic.
Using a stepladder and
simple hand tools, she can
(1) change out the lights
and program special display
equipment, (2) reposition
occupancy sensors to
help tenants understand
their use of space, and
(3) establish user-dened
rules for securing the space.
OUR EXPLORATION
67
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SHARING CONTROL
SPEEDS ADAPTATION
Widely distributed control
enhances the degree and
speed of adaptability, one
of the benets of engaging
occupants in interacting
with the environment.
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CONTROL AT
DIFFERENT LEVELS
A hierarchy of access and
control allows the building
manager to operate at the
building-wide scale, while
groups and individuals
affect the areas they use.
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STATIC ENVIRONMENT
DISCONNECT BETWEEN ENVIRONMENT AND USER NEEDS
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SWARMING BUILDING
ELEMENTS
In the Digital Revolution
architecture becomes a game
played by its users. And not
only architecture will be subject
to the forces of real-time
calculation. Planning,
construction, interior design,
and landscape design are
also ready to be developed as
real-time games. During the
design process the game is
designed by the architect
and played by all parties
involved. During the life cycle
of the building and the built
environment, the game is played
by their users, by the visitors,
and by the built environment
itself. By playing the game the
participants set the parameters.
Each actor triggers an array of
sensors writing the new data
into a database, from where the
building picks up the new data
and starts reconguring itself,
in shape, in content, or in both
shape and content.The building
elements consist of numerous
cooperating programmable
elements, behaving like a swarm.
The building elements will
show ocking behavior, always
keeping an eye on the
neighboring actor and always
ready to act and react.
87
STATIC ENVIRONMENT
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DESIGN BECOMES
CONTINUOUS
In the programmable
environment, design is
an ongoing operation.
89
90
FURTHER READING
On Innovation
These readings were important to the genesis of our
work. They provided insight into new ways of thinking
about innovation in the built environment.
Axelrod, Robert, and Michael D. Cohen. Harnessing Complexity:
Organizational Implications of a Scientific Frontier. New York:
Free Press, 1999.
On Sustainability
All of the readings in some way connect to ideas about
sustainability, but a few address the point directly.
Addington, Michelle. No Building Is an Island: A Look at
the Different Scales of Energy. Harvard Design Magazine 26
(spring/summer 2007): 38-45.
Steffen, Alex, ed. World Changing: A Users Guide for the 21st
Century. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2006.
Termite-inspired Air Conditioning. Biomimicry Institute,
Missoula, MT. Case Study. http://www.biomimicryinstitute.
org/case-studies/case-studies/termite-inspired-airconditioning.html
Worldchanging. Alex Steffen and Jamais Cascio, founders.
Global nonprofit media collaborative dedicated to exploring
tools, models, and ideas for building a better future. http://
www.worldchanging.com.
FURTHER READING
91
92
On Technology in Buildings
These readings explore some of the key issues in the
implementation of technology in buildings. They are generally
from the perspective of energy savings, which is the predominant
reason for introducing digital technology and automated
systems. There is a clear but indirect connection to the green
build movement.
Bowen, Ted Smalley. Overly Smart Buildings. Technology
Research News (April 20/27, 2005). http://trnmag.com/
Stories/2005/042005/Impact_Assessment_--_Overly_
smart_buildings_042005.html.
Brambley, M.R., P. Haves, S.C. McDonald, P. Torcellini, D. Hansen,
D.R. Holmberg, and K.W. Roth. Advanced Sensors and
Controls for Building Applications: Market Assessment and
Potential R&D Pathways. Battelle Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory for U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Building
Technology, 2005. Report. http://www.eere.energy.gov/
buildings/highperformance/commercial_analysis.html
Direct Digital Controls. Iowa Energy Center, Iowa State University.
http://www.ddc-online.org/. Provides unbiased information
on DDC and searchable guide to DDC manufacturers.
Energy Information Administration. U.S. Department of
Energy. http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cbecs. Provides
policy-neutral data, forecasts, and analyses to promote
sound policy making, efficient markets, and public
understanding regarding energy and its interaction with
the economy and the environment.
Green Building SmartMarket Report: 2006. New York:
McGraw-Hill Construction, 2005. http://construction.
ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0249-87264_ITM_analytics
High-Performance Commercial Buildings: A Technology
Roadmap. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Building
Technology, 2000. Publication. http://www.eere.energy.gov/
buildings/info/documents/pdfs/roadmap_lowres.pdf.
Institute for the Future. Technology Horizons Program
SR1042. Palo Alto: 2007. http://www.iftf.org/research/
technology.html. Independent nonprofit research group
that helps companies look beyond technical feasibility
to identify the value in new technologies, forecast
adoption and diffusion patterns, and discover new market
opportunities and threats.
FURTHER READING
93
94
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ISBN: 978-0-9816934-0-8
HermanMiller.com