Assessing intelligence in office buildings at early design stage

Purpose The conceptualization of intelligence in buildings has been evolving; however, it remains fragmented with no agreed-upon definition. Current assessment methods are typically retrospective and exhibit limitations. This study aims to address this gap by proposing a new assessment approach based on intelligent design features at early design stages and the Intelligence Assessment Tool for Office Buildings (IATOB). Design/methodology/approach Salient intelligent design features were identified through a systematic literature review and validated by international experts via a pilot study. Sixty-three geographically distributed Built Environment professionals evaluated these features through a questionnaire survey. The data was analyzed using one-sample t-test for statistical significance. Based on the empirical findings, the IATOB was developed and validated through three real-world Intelligent Office Buildings (IOBs) in different countries. Findings The professionals' insights align with the identified IB design features, thereby confirming the validity of an early-stage assessment approach. In practice, IATOB facilitates context-specific adaptation, allowing designers to tailor design solutions to specific regional contexts and rethink design alternatives to enhance building intelligence. Originality/value This study advances the existing body of knowledge by providing a nuanced understanding of IOBs and introduces a novel assessment approach for IOBs by shifting the intelligence assessment from post-performance indicators to intelligent design features during early design stages. International experts validated the proposed approach through real-world IOBs. The approach serves as a foundation for future IOB practices and potential building intelligence assessment schemes.