It is impossible to imagine real estate without technology, be it office buildings or homes. Studies show that we spend around 80% of our time in buildings, so it is in our best interest that those buildings are tailored to our contemporary needs. And in the latter, innovation is a key factor. Did you know that as many as 10,000 startups are currently reinventing technology?
In recent years, we’ve often talked about “proptech” in the real estate world. But according to expert Idriss Goossens – founder of Proptech Lab, European PropTech Association, RELEVATION & RecAp ESG Accelerator – this word has been somewhat debased. He says it is better to talk about “retrofit tech” on the one hand, where existing buildings are adapted and modernised to meet contemporary standards, and “urban tech” on the other, where companies are doing everything they can to optimise urban life.
We have therefore reached a turning point in the real estate world where, more than ever, technology and (re)building go hand in hand. After all, it’s more than designing buildings, but rather designing a way of life that makes tomorrow’s city pleasant to live in while also paying due attention to our climate?
During this edition of Realty, Idriss Goossens will lead a debate with leading international experts Okalo Ikhena (Director of Product, Head of Delve, Google), Kevin Cardona (Chief Innovation Officer BNP Paribas Real Estate), Gregory Pitl (Innovation Director Patrizia) and Benjamin Melcher (Head of Development Siemens Stadt).
As more technology companies such as Google and Amazon try to integrate parts of the construction and Real Estate value-chain, and as developers are increasingly integrate technology in their buildings (buildings become like smartphones: hardware, an operating system and software), a fundamental question arises: what will be the relation between the Real Estate developers and the Technology Compagnies? Will their skill sets overlap, will they become direct competitors in developing and operating the cities of tomorrow? Or can they partner up?
“The panel we have put together for the ‘Technology Companies and Real Estate: Collaboration or Competition?’ conference is world class and never seen before in our country. I myself have been in the industry for eight years with ProptechLab and I must say I am immensely looking forward to approaching the digital transformation of real estate in our country as well as abroad with them.” Idriss Goossens, Founder ProptechLab
