Buildings 2.0
In this episode of Buildings 2.0, Jose speaks with Charlie Miller, Principal at M5 Advisors, about the transformative role of digital technology in commercial real estate. Charlie shares his journey from graphic design to leading digital strategy, emphasizing the importance of early integration of tech solutions in the design process to enhance user experience and investment outcomes.
He discusses how tenant apps are revolutionizing communication between building operators and users, making buildings more connected and efficient. Additionally, Charlie delves into the potential of AI tools for generating innovative design ideas, optimizing feasibility studies, and improving overall operational efficiency.
Topics discussed:
- The importance of incorporating digital solutions early in the real estate design process for optimal outcomes.
- How the rise of tenant apps is revolutionizing communication and relationships between building operators and users, enhancing overall building management.
- Exploration of AI tools to generate innovative design ideas and improve feasibility studies, streamlining the development process.
- Charlie's journey from a graphic designer to a principal at M5 Advisors, highlighting the transferable skills and insights.
- Insights into navigating the complex vendor landscape and evaluating ROI for technology solutions in real estate projects.
- The need for fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing within the real estate industry to overcome technology integration challenges.
- How digital tools and AI can assist in innovative design methods and improving overall building functionality.
Guest Quotes:
#1.)
“And it's about establishing a big picture vision of what you're trying to accomplish in graphic design. You're trying to solve communication problems with words and pictures and color. And in real estate, we're building these massive buildings or neighborhoods or districts, and there's that element of scale, right? It's like, there's the big picture. How do you take it all in?” (3:31-3:57)
#2.)
“We take a very sort of design-centered, user-centered approach to technology planning, really thinking about, 'How do we deliver great experiences? How do we achieve the investor or developer’s desired investment outcomes? And where's the opportunity for those things to overlap, to realize great experiences, great technology-powered experiences in these buildings?'” 8:29-8:59
#3.)
“So in this case, technology is like an accelerator and allows those engineers to do more with less and ultimately means that they have this incredible historical record of the building, so that we can avoid mistakes and guesswork in the future.” 26:64-27:11
#4.)
“It's that landlords and developers are needing to think more like digitally-native companies rather than like traditional real estate landlords and developers who tend to think in terms of concrete and construction materials, et cetera.” 32:04-32:20
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