Smart design and affordability — can they go hand-in-hand?

PETALING JAYA (Aug 29): Our lives are becoming increasingly “smarter” as we move into the future. However, for the ordinary man on the street, can they afford to be smart?

Hong Kong-based Ho & Partners Architects Engineers & Development Consultants Ltd deputy managing director Nicholas Ho felt affordability and smart design cannot exist without the other, otherwise it would be too utopian or the other extreme.

“Smart design can exist anywhere, from building a smart digital infrastructure to smart appliances and control systems to smart building user interfaces. These do not entail huge sums, and one can always find the right vendor to partner with to offset short-term costs,” he told TheEdgeProperty.com.

“In the long run, it proves to save more,” he adds. Ho will be sharing more on the topic “How SMART can you AFFORD to be?” at the upcoming Future Forward Forum 2017 — Trends: Insite on Sept 7.

Organised by Rehda Youth, the youth division of the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia, and in partnership with Nippon Paint Malaysia, the forum will feature various speakers of distinct specialisations in the property industry to discuss the future trends for property development.

Ho also said the root of both digital transformation and its hindrance is the people. “On one hand, technology and talents are maturing to a point where we can practically implement ground-breaking and disruptive technologies, but on the other hand, such changes can impact the livelihood and vested interest of stakeholders within the ecosystem,” he said.

Ho’s talk will be in the forum’s first session “Future-Planning: Emerging Trends in Sustainable Projects”, which will also feature Ikea Southeast Asia (Singapore) head of sustainability Lee Hui Mien and SPARK Architects (Singapore) director Stephen Pimbley.

The second session titled “Digital Disruption: Programming the Property Industry” will feature Builk Asia Co Ltd (Thailand) principal and CEO Patai Padungtin; Shanghai Distrii Technology Development Co Ltd (China) founder and CEO Dr Hu Jing; and Panasonic Malaysia strategic B2B development general manager Tan Chee Hon.

Tan, who will talking about the Internet of Things (IoT) at the forum, said IoT is so vast and broad that a short answer would not be able to specifically spell out the entirety of it.

“During my session, I would try to stimulate the audience’s minds with some fresh conceptual ideas, to widen their perspectives, to [have them] feel inspired or be more motivated — rather than intimidated — towards embracing IoT,” he said.

Tan assured that embracing IoT does not mean one must invest in costly devices, systems or infrastructure.

“In order to improve the aspect of efficiency, convenience, experience, security, comfort, reach or information — what are the latest IoT system or devices deemed suitable for me or my company?

“It can be as simple as investing in a simple device, subscribing to a specific digital service or as sophisticated as deploying a customised ICT infrastructure. Many commercial entities are trying to extend their services via IoT nowadays, rather than requiring us to embrace IoT proactively. IoT is in fact coming to our doorstep,” he said.

According to him, IoT can flourish in Malaysia as we have high penetration of smart devices, large number of internet users and deep engagement in the social media realm.

This story first appeared in TheEdgeProperty.com pullout on Aug 25, 2017. Download TheEdgeProperty.com pullout here for free.