Connecting with the future of office design

At The Edge, a state-of-the-art Philips connected lighting system helps create a more comfortable, productive, and sustainable environment that serves as inspiration for sustainable building designs around the world.

This innovative landmark building in the Zuidas business district of Amsterdam was developed by OVG Real Estate. It’s a 40,000 m2, multi-tenant office building, opened in 2015 which embraces leading edge technology to support flexible, activity based working, the very highest standards of sustainability and innovative data driven insights to enable the most efficient facilities management.

Sustainable, responsive design
practices to enhance the workspace

In collaboration with principal tenants Deloitte and AKD, Babette Bouman led the interior design effort at The Edge. With Deloitte’s commitment to innovation and to using advanced data analytics to create responsive and sustainable environments, Bouman was given free rein to design the total office environment. Her concept included intelligent floorplans to enhance employee comfort and efficiency, flex workspaces, and the use of environmentally-friendly materials.

A key aspect of the office’s total sustainable design is a

state-of-the-art connected lighting system from Philips Lighting. The system integrates several cutting-edge technologies to enhance the flexibility of the open-plan office concept by allowing employees to personalize the lighting and temperature at their workspaces using a specially designed smartphone app.

Innovation is our highest priority at Deloitte and we want our employees to create a more intuitive, comfortable and productive environment."

- Erik Ubels, CIO Deloitte, the Netherlands

Control and efficiency

The system also offers building managers rich real-time and historical data on system operations and activities in the illuminated environment. This data gives them the insights they need to create a premier experience for employees, maximize operational efficiency, and reduce the building’s CO2 footprint.

Designers kept three key objectives in mind while defining the connected lighting system. It had to seamlessly integrate with the building as a whole, enable customized solutions purpose-built for the unique environment of The Edge, and offer smart interfaces that allow individual users of the building to control the environment effortlessly.

Connected lighting at The Edge
by the numbers

6,500

luminaires over 15 floors

3,000

luminaires with integrated sensors

750

PoE switches to provide connectivity and power

infographic expected energy savings at The Edge

€100,000

Expected savings in energy costs and €1.5m in space utilization costs

Living with connected lighting

The Philips connected lighting system at The Edge uses nearly 6,500 connected LED luminaires distributed throughout the building’s 15 floors. With integrated sensors, lighting management software, and other technologies, the system acts as an information pathway, capturing, storing, and distributing information throughout the illuminated space.

The system uses Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) technology to connect Philips office lighting fixtures to the building’s IT network. With PoE, Ethernet cables are used to send both power and data to the luminaires, eliminating the need for separate power cabling and resulting in impressive savings in installation and construction costs. Of course, LED lighting is known for its low power consumption, so energy savings were built in from day one.

We see our office as raising the bar in terms of data analysis, by delivering completely new insights into the use of the office space. It shows how we can reduce CO2 emissions from buildings and create a more sustainable world."

- Erik Ubels, CIO Deloitte, the Netherlands

The system’s connected luminaires share data about their status and operations with Philips Envision lighting management software, running in the IT environment. Facility managers can use the software to capture, visualize, and analyze this data, allowing them to track energy consumption and streamline maintenance operations.

Integrated sensors capture anonymous data on room occupancy, temperature, and humidity, which the building owners can use to precisely target the delivery of lighting and other resources, such as heating/cooling and cleaning, to maximize energy efficiency. Light levels, HVAC, and cleaning can be reduced in low-occupancy areas, for example, saving time, costs, and energy.

Personal preferences
for workspace comfort

Individual employees, meanwhile, can use the system’s connected features to create a truly personal space for themselves. The system’s connected luminaires use visible light communications (VLC) to offer personalization and other services to employees in the illuminated space. VLC sends a special code via the LED light beam itself. An employee’s smartphone camera can receive the code, registering her exact location within the building.

With an iPhone app specially designed for The Edge, the employee then has the ability to control the lighting above her desk, even in an open-plan office space. Employees can also use the app to adjust the lighting and temperature in meeting rooms to suit their individual preferences.

"The agile work place concept is about flexibility, and this lighting system is also about flexibility. The connected lighting system and custom iPhone app allow you to adjust your climate and your light according to your liking that day."

- Babette Bouman, Architect, Fokkema & Partners

Leading the way
with connected lighting

The Philips connected lighting system at the Edge is quite simply the first fully-realized system of its kind, anywhere in the world. It illuminates the building, but it also communicates and interacts with its environment. Office life becomes an immersive experience, with employees becoming active participants in personalizing their surroundings and making the building a more inviting place to work.

The system supports the goal of demonstrating worldwide leadership in sustainable practices and responsive, human-centric working environments, which is shared by OVG, Deloitte, and Philips. Annemarie van Doorn, director of the Dutch Green Building Council, wholeheartedly endorses this effort. “OVG has created an exemplary office building that has exceeded any other that we have rated worldwide to date,” van Doorn says.

Our hope is that other developers will follow this lead and endeavour to create innovative buildings that are in a league with The Edge."

- Annemarie van Doorn, Dutch Green Building Council

Find out more about how the Philips connected lighting system at The Edge has revolutionized flexible working, as architect Babette Bouman gives FutureOffice a guided tour in this short video.

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Connecting

with the future

of office design