Please note: This letter has been superseded by

An Open Invitation to Participate in a
CABA - Intelligent Buildings Industry Development Workshop
May 25, 2007 in Chicago

Please click here for the update.

In Dallas this January 30, as an extension to the CABA IIBC meeting, Tom Lohner convened a meeting to discuss a proposal to drive an initiative for the buildings industry to formally organize a conference to focus on the need to evolve the future of buildings.

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As part of that meeting I took an action to organize the follow-up meeting during ConnectivityWeek in Chicago in May, this document outlines what I felt were conclusions from the Dallas meeting, and a structure by which a May meeting in Chicago can be held.

Status of this initiative

During the Dallas meeting, numerous perspectives were outlined driving a need for all of the stakeholders involved with buildings to get together, to hold a “Pow Wow” and move the industry forward. This discussion continued after the meeting in numerous Emails threads between the participants as well as others.

The highlights that I took from the meeting and subsequent Emails were as follows:

• There is a consensus that tremendous changes are occurring with and surrounding buildings.

• There is a growing group of stakeholders that are affecting and being affected by this disruption. This includes HVAC, Security, IT, FM, Energy, Owners, Operators, REITs, Architects, Consultants, etc.

• The perspectives from the different stakeholders are [understandably] very different, since they are based on different economic motives and historical approaches of their roles with buildings.

• There is a realization that a common set of understanding would be helpful for the different stakeholders to navigate what will likely be a difficult road ahead for many.

• None of the existing trade organizations have a broad enough perspective to move this subject forward; in fact most of the organizations have a [relatively] narrow perspective based on technology or discipline.

• There did not seem to be an appetite to create yet another trade organization.

• There are too many conferences that are starting to dilute people’s time and resources.

• There is a need to organize the industry and drive this forward, via events, conferences, education, etc.

• There is specifically, a desire to convene the industry on an annual basis.

While it may be simple for the group (and industry) to start to forthwith and organize some form of gathering to solve this problem, it was pointed out that it is necessary first to scope out the potential landscape a little better in order to understand the ultimate vision of buildings.

It is in this light that the following proposal is made for a meeting in Chicago this May 25, 2007.

Objective of the meeting at ConnectivityWeek

The fundamental objective of the May meeting is to define the scope of the buildings industry in the 10-15 year time frame (I propose we refer to this as the “2020 Vision”).

The specific questions that should be posed and discussed include:

• What are the fundamental societal drivers for buildings in 2020?

• Who are the stakeholders of the buildings industry in 2020?

• What is the procurement process for buildings and systems in 2020?

• How will buildings in 2020 be operated and managed?

• How will the energy and global warming affect the buildings industry?

• How should the buildings industry organize itself to address the 2020 Vision?

In order for this meeting to achieve its objectives, it is desirable to have a broad and comprehensive range of perspectives in Chicago this coming May 25, specifically:

• Building owners & operators

• Architects & consultants

• Building systems integrators

• Range of industry disciplines; HVAC, Security, IT, energy, Life-safety, FM, etc.

• Traditional building system vendors

• IT & technology vendors

• Communication service providers

• Existing trade associations involved with buildings

• Electrical industry; manufacturers and installers

Invitation & Logistics

An invitation is thus communicated to all of the above stakeholders interested in furthering the 2020 Vision to attend the meeting.

Look forward to seeing you in Chicago.

For more information on BuilConn and ConnectivityWeek, visit www.builconn.com

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