The Circle: Microsoft

The vision behind Zurich Airport’s headquarters and innovation centre, The Circle, was one of an interconnected ‘city’ that would provide a frictionless digital experience across the offices, hotels, shops, and restaurants. It would connect people to each other and to the different services offered within The Circle. Beyond the end-user experience, Zurich Airport’s ambition was also to save costs on energy and facility management. Realizing this connected experience required a smart building platform within the building, that would connect to the different sensors, beacons, and building assets.

bGrid had created similar smart building infrastructure before, so Zurich Airport chose us to create the smart core of The Circle’s H12 building. Integrated into the architectural design, our bGrid sensors were subtly incorporated into the open plan ceilings of The Circle, where they would continuously collect a variety of data about the status and goings-on of the building. This data can then be translated into actionable insights for the owners and managers of The Circle. We can provide them with insight into the usage of the various rooms and workplaces, the air quality, temperature, light, occupancy, and more.

The platform also makes life easier for those visiting or working in The Circle. Our open API and collaboration with third-party apps can allow users a large amount of freedom. Using an app connected to our network, they can easily use our data to find locations and free workplaces or find a space with their desired temperature or lighting level, for example. Facility managers can also connect apps that will allow them to use our network to control lighting, temperature, or air quality. This has a number of benefits, not least of which is that this control, along with the data bGrid collects about energy usage, could help Zurich Airport save both energy and money by becoming more efficient.