Culture change: the missing piece in the smart building puzzle

We live in an age where everyday objects are becoming smarter: smartphones can track our habits, cars can drive themselves and we’ve even invented fridges that order milk when we’re running low. Yet step inside many of our buildings, and the contrast is stark. Systems are outdated with data still coming from manual meter readings, operations remain siloed and opportunities to improve energy efficiency or occupant wellbeing are often left untapped.

The truth is, we already have the technology to make buildings intelligent, efficient and sustainable. The challenge isn’t the hardware or software – it’s the culture.

A changing landscape

Over the past decade, the built environment has been undergoing a quiet revolution with tangible benefits for both occupants and operators. Today, buildings have the potential to think for themselves. We’ve seen the development of sensors that can monitor air quality and occupancy in every room, artificial intelligence being used to fine-tune lighting and heating in real time and digital twins enabling us to model entire buildings before the first brick is laid, optimising everything from space utilisation to embodied carbon. These advancements are more than just possibilities – if implemented they can deliver measurable improvements in sustainability, efficiency and wellbeing. Despite this progress, adoption has been uneven.

Why are buildings slow to move?

There are three key barriers holding back smart building adoption. The first of these is people. The property sector is built on experience, and rightly so. Many professionals have spent their careers honing reliable methods, building trust with clients and ensuring projects are delivered on time and within budget. But that deep expertise can also foster a mindset of “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it”. In a world where digital systems evolve faster than construction cycles, that caution can limit innovation. To accelerate progress, we need to foster confidence in adopting new methods that are supported by training, collaboration and a willingness to learn from other sectors that have already embraced digital transformation.

Next, we have policy. Regulation often lags behind technological innovation. Governments are working to decarbonise the built environment, yet incentives and compliance frameworks have not always caught up with the capabilities of modern building technologies. As a result, developers can find themselves trapped between ambitious sustainability targets and outdated standards. Aligning policy with innovation – for example, through digital-ready building codes, smart grid integration, and performance-based regulation – will be essential to unlock full market adoption.

And finally profit, the commercial equation. For developers and owners, upfront investment in new systems can appear daunting, particularly after years of economic uncertainty. The rapid proliferation of digital tools has also created a new challenge: “tech sprawl”. Multiple unconnected platforms, each designed to solve one problem, can create complexity rather than clarity. The result is often disappointment in the return on investment – not because the technology fails, but because it isn’t integrated into a unified ecosystem.

A path forward: technology and culture together

Despite the challenges, the direction of travel is clear: Europe is accelerating its digitalisation efforts, not just in flagship new builds but across existing estates. The real shift is that organisations are beginning to treat buildings as adaptable, data-driven systems rather than static assets.

A good example of this in practice is the recent transformation of 150 Holborn in London. Its success shows what’s possible when digital tools and operational culture move together. Here, Sidara partnered with Schneider Electric to create a system of thousands of connected devices which now provide a unified view of performance – allowing teams to optimise energy use, improve comfort and dramatically cut energy consumption by 50%.

But the technology that makes 150 Holborn exceptional only works because of the shared mindset from everyone involved. Every stakeholder, from design engineers to facilities managers, embraced a shared vision: that smart buildings are not gadgets, but living ecosystems that enhance comfort, productivity and sustainability. This cultural alignment allowed the technology to deliver its full potential and this mindset can be embodied across both retrofits and new builds alike.

Building a smarter mindset

To accelerate smart building adoption, digital thinking must become part of the built environment’s DNA. That starts with people and giving teams the confidence and skills to try new methods, collaborate and take shared responsibility for performance. Breaking down silos between construction, IT and operations is essential to ensure that technology delivers lasting results.

Embracing data as a common language is equally critical. When architects, engineers and asset managers work from the same digital insights, decisions become faster and more sustainable. Real-time visibility turns facilities management from reactive maintenance into proactive optimisation, enhancing both energy efficiency and occupant experience.

This transformation isn’t about new inventions: it’s about mindset. The technology already exists, as 150 Holborn demonstrates: when innovation meets intent, the results are smarter, more resilient, and more human buildings. By aligning people, policy and profit around a shared digital vision, we can make the future of buildings, smart, sustainable and within reach, a reality today.