“The average working life of a Boeing 747 is approximately 50 years, during which time it is refitted about six times. The necessity of making frequent upgrades to its electronic, communications and other systems requires that the design allows old technology to be rapidly removed and replaced with minimal disruption to the fabric of the plane,” explains a 2013 paper by the Royal Academy of Engineering on Smart Buildings. The report Smart Buildings: People and Performance presents such parallels in order to emphasize the new technological reality in buildings and how the industry will need to adapt to it. “Buildings could be conceived as similarly upgradeable as technology changes, with elements added in such a way that they can easily be changed as technology and the building’s use develops,” the Academy’s paper continues. The working life of modern buildings can potentially go far beyond 50 years. Buildings have a long tradition of upgrading systems throughout […]