by Brianna Crandall — March 22, 2017 — WiredScore, the company behind the international standard for rating Internet connectivity in commercial buildings, has officially released the Wired Certification Guidelines for Commercial Developments and Redevelopments. The comprehensive set of guidelines for designing buildings to meet the best-in-class standards for connectivity and telecommunications infrastructure, is said to be the first and only manual of its kind. The 42-page document is designed to be utilized by architects, engineers and developers during the design and construction phases of any commercial development or redevelopment.
The Guidelines outline the Wired Certification criteria and best practices that should be incorporated into building design to meet the technology needs and expectations of future tenants, says the company. WiredScore developed the criteria based on evaluation of over 900 commercial office buildings across the United States and United Kingdom, while also referencing best practices developed by industry experts.
The Wired Certified Guidelines for Commercial Developments and Redevelopments were developed with input from the WiredScore Connectivity Advisory Committee, a diverse group of thought leaders in commercial real estate (CRE), technology, and telecommunications industries. The WiredScore Advisory Committee, an advisory body to WiredScore that provides ongoing expertise, also contributed to the development of the Guidelines. Thought partners that contributed include the following organizations:
- AKF Group
- Charter Communications
- The Clarient Group
- Cosentini Associates
- ExteNet Systems
- Google Fiber
- HPH Partners
- MGE Engineering
- Rudin Management
- WSP/ Parsons Brickerhoff
- Zayo Group
For building professionals in the planning phases of a development, the Guidelines will simplify and bring technology to the forefront of the design process by providing invaluable insights into how to optimally design for mobile capacity planning, conduit points of entry, electrical resiliency, and flexibility to adopt new building technologies.
Arie Barendrecht, founder and CEO of WiredScore, stated:
Working day in and day out with development professionals to optimize their buildings’ technological infrastructure, we quickly recognized that no technical standards existed that truly addressed the needs of commercial real estate tenants. These standards can significantly simplify this design process, while potentially eliminating the need to retrofit buildings down the road to meet new technological demands such as smart building technology.
The Wired Certification standard is trusted by tenants internationally to verify that buildings have been independently evaluated and certified to provide the internet infrastructure businesses require to thrive. Wired Certification signifies ownership has invested in technology and differentiates the property being tech forward. The Guidelines align with the criteria to achieve Wired Certification in the United States.
Added Barendrecht:
Top-notch connectivity has become a prominent factor in tenant location decisions, and developers would be remiss not to aggressively pursue this infrastructure during the design process. These guidelines provide a clear roadmap to do just that.
Suppporters of the document noted that the Guidelines will pave the way for the future of smart building technology, and will enable developers and landlords to easily and effectively articulate their properties’ information technology readiness to potential tenants who are tech savvy. They said the standard will also allow them to support their designs with solid guidelines and requirements that ensure all information technology (IT), audiovisual (AV), and security systems are resilient and reliable from day one.
The Guidelines are made up of six sections that provide Wired Certification criteria and their importance to the connectivity of the building. The Guideline sections include: outside plant and point of entry planning, telecommunications room planning and design, riser planning, electrical resiliency, mobile planning, and readiness and access. WiredScore also provides additional information about specific aspects of a building’s telecom infrastructure and other best practices not related to the certification criteria.
In addition to providing this free set of standards for developing with connectivity in mind, WiredScore also offers individual assessments and Wired Certification for developments and redevelopments. To date, the company has issued 59 Wired Certifications for developments and redevelopments across the USA, including 7 Bryant Park, NYC; Dock 72 in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, NYC; 155 North Riverside in Chicago; T3 in Minneapolis; and several buildings at the Alexandria Center at Kendall Square in Cambridge, MA.
The Wired Certification Guidelines for Commercial Developments and Redevelopments are available for free download from the WiredScore Web site.
