At McKinstry, we think about smart buildings all the time.

Whether we’re working in factories, offices, or schools, our core goal is always the same: making the built environment more efficient and less siloed.

A building or space can be “smart” in many different ways, but the smartest buildings are usually extremely efficient. How, then, should building owners and operators strive to make their buildings smarter and attain that efficiency?

Recently, we produced a video that answers that very question:

Featured in the video are McKinstry’s deeply-held principles that underpin our specific, technical strategies. Fundamentally, we believe that technology is just the beginning when it comes to constructing a smart building.

It’s not just about the latest craze or the next app—buildings will always be human-centric and dependent on human inputs. Accordingly, the genuine smart buildings of the future will be those that successfully integrate people and technology.

There’s a dizzying array of “smart” technology populating the built environment these days—from smart meters, to smart grids, to analytic software, to transactive control—but the best of these technologies are the ones that simplify and enhance a fundamentally human decision-making process.

When technology can provide the right information to the right people at the right time, it’s possible to achieve truly remarkable levels of efficiency.

At Seattle’s Stone34—one of the McKinstry projects featured in the video—building occupants and facility managers (as well as McKinstry energy analysts) receive dynamic, real-time energy data tailored to their unique roles—thanks to the building’s high-tech infrastructure.

With the data in hand, Stone34 occupants can alter their electricity or water use, Stone34 facility managers can adjust the building’s internal workings, and McKinstry energy analysts can spot trends and make suggestions for peak efficiency. Everyone has a stake in this smart building, and that’s essential for obtaining optimal results.

McKinstry believes that even the best, most vital smart building technology needs to work in concert with intelligent, informed people in order to add up to the smartest ultimate outcome.