Last year, Google launched its Digital Buildings Project with the goal of bringing its global real estate portfolio into the virtual space and transparently unifying the knowledge base of smart technologies, applications, and digital programs. The company began by organizing data for 130 buildings located in the California Bay Area.
Google Digital Buildings Project: the beginning of a new era
Google is not only one of the world’s most influential tech companies—shaping all of our lives—but also owns a significant real estate portfolio, where employees work across numerous countries. Since these properties operate with complex technological infrastructures and smart solutions, the company launched the Digital Buildings Project last summer.
The program primarily aims to digitally systematize and standardize Google’s own building stock, but it will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the world beyond Google as well.
Why is a unified building ontology needed?
Google recognized that while the internet’s essence is limitless freedom, in terms of real estate digitalization it has created a chaotic state. In the endless cycle of apps, systems, smart solutions, and the Internet of Things, it is hard to find a clear path. Even definitions are debated—what exactly qualifies as a digital or smart building? Without a unified vocabulary, how can we interpret a digital world or city? Meanwhile, construction lags behind other industries in digitalization, despite accounting for 13% of global GDP.
Google found that even its own portfolio was fragmented, using different smart building systems. With the new project, the company aims to create an open-source unified schema and toolkit for displaying information about its buildings and installed equipment. Combining abstract modeling, a user-friendly configuration language, and validation tools, Google is building a system that could launch a new era in smart buildings.
Haystack, Brick, RealEstateCore, and Google’s connections
Google’s program is not the first attempt at creating an open-source knowledge base for smart buildings. Other significant initiatives include Haystack, Brick, and RealEstateCore. For this reason, cross-compatibility and convergence with other programs are crucial for Google’s project. Each of these ontologies has its advantages, some of which Google has already adopted.
For digitalization to advance, data must be modeled in a way that makes it portable and consistent across as many buildings as possible, regardless of the engineers, system providers, or installers involved. Achieving this would allow manufacturers and service providers to develop products usable across a wide range of buildings. However, none of the mentioned knowledge bases currently promise integration with the diverse legacy and proprietary systems prevalent in the construction industry.
A milestone in global real estate digitalization
Google’s project is an important step for smart buildings, especially in managing building systems efficiently within large real estate portfolios. For now, however, Google is developing the system for its own properties, not the broader market.
The tech giant promises that its ontology will be compatible with Haystack and Brick systems, which, if achieved, could be a milestone in digitalization. As a first step, Google began collecting data on 130 buildings in the California Bay Area last year and creating a unified digital vocabulary.
