At Little, our Smart Buildings Studio has spent years researching and discovering the best ways to make buildings intuitive, more connected, and future-ready. Despite thousands of technologies available and numerous benefits touted, we’ve surprisingly found little consensus on what precisely defines a “smart building.” That is, until recently.
WiredScore—a company founded in 2013 and now leading the way in building technology—provides a structured framework for evaluating and certifying the intelligence of buildings. Its development of the WiredScore and SmartScore certifications has helped define the concept of a “smart building” while also establishing a benchmark for excellence in the smart building technologies industry. Let’s delve into the intricacies of these certifications, unraveling their significance and impact.
WHAT ARE WIREDSCORE AND SMARTSCORE CERTIFICATIONS?
The distinction between WiredScore and SmartScore certifications lies in their primary focus areas. WiredScore certification is all about establishing the global benchmark for cutting-edge in-building technology. It ensures that a building’s technological infrastructure is up-to-date and capable of providing a resilient and relevant environment for modern workplaces.
On the other hand, SmartScore certification is more concerned with the holistic smart building experience. It empowers landlords and developers to build cutting-edge smart buildings that deliver exceptional user experiences while promoting cost efficiency, sustainability, and future-ready capabilities.
Simply put, WiredScore zeroes in on the building’s technology infrastructure for connectivity and resilience, while SmartScore is about seamlessly integrating building data and systems to enhance the overall occupier experience.
WHY ARE THESE CERTIFICATIONS IMPORTANT?
The commercial real estate market has always been competitive, and today, it’s even more challenging with low employee occupancy, high tenant vacancies, and a strong push for quality. More than ever, buildings must support the outcomes that tenants demand. What’s more, WiredScore and SmartScore certifications have well-established financial advantages.
These certifications aren’t just advantageous for building owners and developers. They also bring benefits to investors, tenants, and operations teams.
What does this look like in real life? When Little designed Ally Charlotte Center—a 26-story mixed-use office tower located in Charlotte, North Carolina’s center city—our design and engineering teams provided documentation for the building to achieve WiredScore Platinum, the highest rating possible awarded by WiredScore to buildings that exhibit best-in-class technology. The entire building was 80% pre-leased and sold within four months of completion. Even more impressive, the developer relocated their headquarters to the building!
SCORING CRITERIA
Like LEED and WELL, WiredScore and SmartScore provide Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum certification levels. These levels are based on points within two focus areas: User Functionality (UF) and Technological Foundations (TF).
User Functionality
Assessing to what extent the building delivers outstanding outcomes for its users.
Technological Foundations
Assessing to what extent the technology, processes, and procedures are robust and resilient.
To ensure these criteria deliver the highest value and best outcomes, WiredScore vetted them across 1,000+ landlords and developers, 4,000+ buildings, 800M+ square feet, and 8M+ WiredScore / SmartScore building tenants.
NEXT STEPS
Partnering with WiredScore and SmartScore accredited professionals—like the ones we have here at Little—clients gain access to valuable tools and methodologies designed to help assess their buildings against these criteria.
By performing a preliminary evaluation, we can estimate where a building should land on the certification scale and pinpoint the necessary steps to increase its score. We also assist owners or operators by gathering essential documentation required for the certification process. Upon successful completion, clients receive a plaque akin to LEED and WELL certifications, a fact sheet for marketing purposes, and a comprehensive building report outlining the next steps for expanding on additional smart building outcomes.
Utilizing the WiredScore and SmartScore frameworks, we can help clients extend these benefits across their entire property portfolio. If you’re a landlord, owner, investor, tenant, or operator looking to maximize the value of Smart Building opportunities, don’t hesitate to contact our Smart Buildings Studio for expert guidance.
