Damien is the Technical Director, Digital Buildings in NDY’s London office and works with his team to support clients in designing best-in-class BMS and smart buildings solutions.
Damien has over 14 years’ experience in the smart buildings field and thrives on designing digital solutions for his clients, ranging from BMS to smart buildings and cloud analytics, with a focus on improving sustainability, operational effectiveness, occupier wellbeing and user experience.
Here, Damien reflects on his passion for technology and innovation and where he sees the future of digital engineering heading. He’s currently working on a smart buildings programme for a global tech client and gives us an insight into the work he’s doing.
What inspired you to become an engineer?
I was always fascinated by technology and problem solving from a very young age. I would spend a lot of time growing up repairing home appliances and learning how they work. I think my passion for technology and interest in construction lead me to become an engineer.
Why digital?
I have always been interested in digital and innovation. The idea of using technology to improve people’s life has always fulfilled my curiosity. It also brings me great satisfaction when I have helped a client overcoming their challenges by innovating.
What’s your career highlight project?
Being part of the team delivering a global tech client’s European smart buildings programme. Our London and Dublin digital buildings teams have been in charge of delivering our confidential client’s smart buildings strategy across Europe and beyond to Zurich, Malaga and Tel Aviv. They are a very ambitious client, and push the boundaries of my knowledge and help me grow my technical capability.
Tell us about the digital engineering on this project.
The projects consist of installing a large number of smart sensors and connecting the buildings to a corporate platform where the data can be analysed and transformed into actionable insights that result in optimising buildings and improving user experience.
What innovative new approaches are you seeing when it comes to digital engineering?
One of the current trends we are seeing is the use of mobile phone apps for people to interact with the smart buildings they occupy and access services from the property management team such as tenant support, events, amenity booking, building access or food and beverage ordering.
Where do you see the future of digital engineering heading?
I see the future of digital buildings going towards buildings self-optimising to achieve optimum energy savings and use artificial intelligence to anticipate people’s needs and deliver them a personalised experience.
What tech are you playing with at the moment?
The two technologies we are exploring at the moment are location services and indoor air quality. Location services is being used to understand where people are in a building to deliver a personalised user experience. Indoor air quality sensors are being used to check that an environment is safe and delivering working conditions that provide optimum productivity.
What legacy do you want to leave, when it comes to your career?
I want to have meaningfully contributed to helping our clients meet their sustainability goals and improve their workplace environment.
If you feel comfortable to do so, tell us a bit about your background (culturally).
I am French but I have lived in London for 15 years. My dad is from the Champagne region and my mum is from a French island in the Indian Ocean called Reunion.
How does diversity of background and thought influence how you deliver your projects?
I would say I don’t see a difference, maybe because we are used to working with people from different backgrounds in London and Europe.
Tell us a bit about good digital design. What are the key considerations?
The secret is to look at the outcomes, meaning what do building occupiers expect from a smart building? Then our team take those requirements and transform them into a technical solution. We always first understand our clients’ needs and then come back with the technical solution. It is never just about the technology but more about what our clients need from the smart building for their business to be successful.
