Future stakeholders’ experience stories in Smart Buildings

Future Flows for Smart Buildings

Aalto University IDBM & KONE
IDBM Industry Project
Helsinki, Finland | 2018–2019

Objective: to identify the future roles required within Smart Buildings to enhance the experiences of all stakeholders

Contribution: UX research & evaluation, project plan, interviews protocols, co-design workshops, and 'smart building experience manager' concept.

Smart Buildings harness IoT technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) and digital twins to integrate data-driven services that optimise resource efficiency and building maintenance. While recent developments have focused primarily on sustainability and energy performance, the next evolution shifts towards human wellbeing, designing buildings that actively support users’ daily activities, services, and experiences.

KONE is a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry. As Smart Building case studies continue to grow, the company aims to identify new roles and opportunities within this evolving ecosystem, aligned with its People Flow experience solutions.

Research methods

This project explored who the future stakeholders of Smart Buildings will be and how their experiences can be meaningfully improved. Using design thinking and a user experience–driven approach, we gathered insights and envisioned future scenarios for smart environments. Leveraging KONE’s global network, we conducted in-depth interviews and co-design workshops with building managers and users across Smart Buildings in the Netherlands, Shanghai, and the United Arab Emirates, grounding our foresight in real-world perspectives.

What did we find?

The research culminated in three experience goals and three stakeholder narratives set in 2030, each shaping the future of Smart Buildings. These roles play a pivotal part in how buildings are planned, managed, and experienced on a daily basis, bridging technology, operations, and human needs.

The key stakeholders identified are:

Smart Building Experience Manager, orchestrating seamless and human-centred building experiences.
Digital Twin Manager, translating real-time data into actionable insights through virtual building models.
End users (building residents), whose daily interactions ultimately define the success of the smart environment.

Together, these perspectives frame a future in which Smart Buildings are not only efficient systems, but thoughtfully designed experiences.