mixed use building architecture case study

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AIM Architecture transforms oil silos in China into community park

Chinese studio AIM Architecture has transformed a series of former oil silos in Changzhou into Cotton Park, a mixed-use community space surrounded by a public garden and play areas. More

Robert Hutchison Architecture converts 1950s Seattle building into event space

A mezzanine and rooftop lounge are among the enhancements by Robert Hutchison Architecture to a former warehouse that has been reborn as a multipurpose venue called Stone Way Auto. More

Team of Arkansas designers creates ramped bikeable office building

Arkansas has claimed its first bikeable structure – a ramped office building in Bentonville designed by Michel Rojkind, Callaghan Horiuchi and Marlon Blackwell Architects . More

World's longest cantilever opens over six-lane highway in Dubai

The world's longest cantilever has reached completion in Dubai , projecting out from between two skyscrapers at the mixed-use One Za'abeel development by Japanese studio Nikken Sekkei . More

WärtZ district designed as "second city centre" for Zwolle

Dutch studios MVRDV , Orange Architects and LOLA Landscape Architects have designed a masterplan for a neighbourhood in Zwolle, the Netherlands , which will include a converted warehouse  topped with wooden apartments . More

TVK designs limestone buildings for "first zero-carbon district" in Paris

French architecture practice TVK has completed a neighbourhood in Paris made up of limestone buildings surrounding a garden and designed as a sustainable development that aims to increase biodiversity. More

Curved panels of green timber clad office in Norway by Oslotre

Scalloped sections of green-painted timber clad the facade of Lumber 4, a mixed-use building in Norway designed by local consulting agency Oslotre to demonstrate the capabilities of timber construction. More

RSHP unveils proposal for "post-carbon" neighbourhood in Paris

British studio RSHP has revealed its plans to introduce a mixed-use neighbourhood with a series of public spaces within La Défense business district in Paris . More

Foster + Partners references "Florida's vernacular architecture" for The Alton in Miami

British studio Foster + Partners has revealed its design for The Alton, a  mixed-use development with a  concrete structure that will draw on the surrounding architecture of Miami Beach , Florida . More

Gensler to add planted balconies to Foster+ Partners' former City Hall

London's former City Hall, which was designed by British studio Foster+ Partners , is set to be renovated and extended as part of an overhaul by architecture studio Gensler . More

Heatherwick Studio unveils undulating district designed as "one of Tokyo's greenest urban areas"

Architecture practice Heatherwick Studio has completed the Azabudai Hills development in Tokyo , which is defined by curving roofs topped with greenery. More

Sam Jacob Studio blends architectural references at The Hoxton Mule in London

Diamond-shaped windows puncture the cylindrical brick form of The Hoxton Mule, a playschool and apartment designed by London practice Sam Jacob Studio . More

Snøhetta unveils chamfered skyscraper on site of former Hong Kong airport

Norwegian studio Snøhetta drew on textiles and tailoring for its design of the Airside skyscraper, which has opened at the old Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong . More

Coffey Architects references industrial history for London housing and arts spaces

London studio Coffey Architects has completed The Tannery, a mixed-use project in Bermondsey that combines housing , artist's studios and a gallery around a central courtyard . More

Office ParkScheerbarth adds bright red-timber building to compact Berlin site

Bright red curving forms and cubic volumes form Haus 2+, a mixed-use building that architecture studio Office ParkScheerbarth has added to a compact riverside site in Berlin . More

High contrast brick by Glen-Gery helps blend Maryland high rise into skyline

Promotion: US firm Design Collective has developed a 27-storey mixed-use tower in Silver Spring, Maryland , which is clad in custom-coloured bricks by material manufacturer Glen-Gery . More

Zaha Hadid Architects references "mountainside waterfalls" for Xi'an skyscraper

British architecture studio Zaha Hadid Architects has announced its plans for Daxia Tower, a 210-metre-tall skyscraper in China 's Xi'an business district with a curved form and planted terraces . More

YN Studio wraps Dalston workspaces with translucent "X-ray" facade

A steel frame clad with aluminium and polycarbonate panels was designed to add an industrial feel to Bradbury Works, a  retail and office building in Dalston, London , by local studio YN Studio. More

Studio V clads Long Island City apartments in British racing green terracotta

Architecture practice Studio V has unveiled The Green House apartment block in Long Island City , USA, which was informed by the neighbourhood's history of terracotta production. More

Akio Isshiki Architects marries old and new with Japanese home and restaurant

Japanese studio Akio Isshiki Architects has transformed an old wooden building into a warm-toned home and public restaurant named House in Hayashisaki Matsue Beach. More

India House, Pune by Christopher Charles Benninger: Inspired by Traditions

The term ‘mixed-use’ developments in the context of a quintessential modern Indian city like Pune is a fittingly appropriate concept, as it advocates flexibility in space design and helps maximize the scope of sustainable development. 

Mixed-use properties cater to and comprise commercial, residential, cultural, and sometimes even industrial functions. These properties are often designed on compact pieces of land and deemed to be a resourceful way of utilizing and revitalizing certain underdeveloped areas. 

Set in a mixed urban fabric,  India House , one such remarkable mixed-use building designed by Christopher Charles Benninger (Principal Architect, CCBA), houses the firm’s corporate architecture studio, a guesthouse, an art gallery, public spaces, and even the architect’s residence. 

This article sheds light on the design philosophy , planning, concept, and highlights of this structure. 

Concept and Style 

Sitting on a modest urban plot of 1000 sqm, the design of India House is based on the concept of the Maharashtrian courtyard dwelling, also known as  wada . While most wadas today are being conserved or adaptively reused, Christopher Benninger has managed to keep their essence alive in India House by drawing inspiration from their design characteristics. 

The massing of this building is a well-ordered configuration of three almost equal-sized volumes, the middle volume acting as an atrium to admit sunlight and breezes. The atrium also acts as a unifying element in the anatomy of the structure, seamlessly tying together the various degrees of privacy of the spaces that surround it. 

It is especially noteworthy that, despite being a mixed-use establishment, the utmost care has been taken to ensure that none of the functions clash with the others. This means that the building can simultaneously function as a full-capacity architecture studio while entertaining an artists’ group in the art gallery equally efficiently without the functions of either being disrupted.

The planning of India House owes its flexibility to the wholesome and meticulous area program. Akin to the hierarchy of spaces followed in a  wada , the public, semi-public and private spaces in this building are organized clearly. 

Christopher Charles Benninger designed the central courtyard as the main public gathering space where many festivities, pujas, and community events are often held. It also serves as an inviting plaza for people who enter the space from the outside hustle of the city. The house also has assigned private spaces like offices that are subtly given a layer of privacy with the street area and the courtyard. 

The street forms a breakout space and adds character to the complex. Landscaping has been used as a tool with the dual purpose of beautification and also acts as a buffer space while establishing said hierarchy. The architect has used water liberally as an element in the form of lap pools and lotus ponds, which also help optimize the microclimate of the premises.  

Within the building, jack-arches with concrete frames coupled with double-height spaces advocate a level of porosity through the building. The elevation facing the approach road is solid and makes the composition look strikingly modern. The facades are either solid or are regulated with windows in granite frames to bring sunlight and ventilation into the spaces within. 

Christopher Charles Benninger has adopted the concept of traditional screens or  jaali , lining the internal elevations of the main courtyard with operable louvres, which help to cut off unnecessary glare and regulate north light. The jaali louvres also attribute a sense of privacy to the atrium space. 

Clad in sandstone, the external façade facing the arterial road is adorned with hand-carved emblems and motifs of all beliefs and religions as an ode to secularism and also to serve as a reminder of the dwindling crafts in the country. 

Additionally, the sandstone façade facilitates the blocking out of sound, making it an internal-reflecting space. A believer in critical regionalism, the architect has used locally sourced Indian stones like kadappa and marble extensively in the building. 

Noteworthy Characteristics

Entrance portal.

Christopher Benninger highlighted the entrance by providing a contrast to the sandstone façade, in the form of an eighteenth-century wooden door, or  Mahadwara , which was salvaged from an ancient haveli in north India. 

Upon entering the  Mahadwara , following the line of sight of the user, one’s gaze automatically becomes fixed upon a large bust of Shiva which was crafted in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.    

Local Arts and Crafts

The interior and exterior spaces are interspersed with bronze statues, paintings, and crafts from all over the sub-continent. Murals that bring out Indian values and sentiments also accent the spaces. Bhutanese prayer wheels introduced near the entrance portal with lush planting, flanked by a lotus pond, transport the user to a space that is significantly different from the chaos of the urban life outside. 

Internal spaces are adorned with many traditional and contemporary artworks and folk crafts by various artisans from around India. Some artisans also live in the residences for short periods to help revive the fading craftsmanship and skills of the traditional arts and further contribute to the ambience of the building. 

A landscape architect with a great zeal for writing, Manali believes that spaces shape our behavior and our fundamental understanding of reality. She loves to travel and then paint her travels with watercolor and words. She is a hopeful realist who thinks sustainability is the answer to most issues.

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The Future of Architecture: Mixed-Use Buildings Are Reshaping Our Cities

Innovations in mixed-use design are reengineering urban lifestyles..

The jury and the public have had their say — feast your eyes on the winners of Architizer's 12th Annual A+Awards . Subscribe to our Awards Newsletter to receive future program updates.

We are living in an age where succeeding with just one interest, skill, or function is slowly becoming an obsolete way of thinking. With the rise in competition and demand for unique ideas and products, the multidisciplinary and multifunctional approach is becoming a norm.

Mixed-use architecture explores the maximum potential of what one structure can do, especially in urban areas. It builds a sense of community by serving several different requirements at one time and attracting a diverse crowd of people. It can also create an ecosystem where one function can support and funnel into the other.

In recognition of the increasing presence of mixed-use in our cities, and the diversity of approaches to mixed-use in architectural design, Architizer is proud to offer two Mixed-Use categories in the A+Awards program : Mixed-Use (S <25,000 sq ft.) and Mixed-Use (L >25,000 sq ft.) . Both celebrate architectural complexes with multiple and combined functions, including (but not limited to): commercial, residential, coworking, institutional, health and wellness, cultural, hospitality, sports and recreation, transportation and more.

Enter the 11th Annual A+Awards

The idea of cross-programming was first introduced by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas in his landmark book, Delirious New York . This urban-oriented concept for architectural design looks at the emergence of unique functional intersections in dense cities and how they can give rise to new and innovative building typologies. That is, introducing unpredictable program types into established building typologies — the famous example being a running track in an office tower — loosens the space and opens the minds of building users. Koolhaas championed a way of design that would promote unprescribed interaction, and therefore breed cultural innovation.

“Multidisciplinary” and “interdisciplinary” have become adjectives that more and more design firms are associating themselves with. It is an understanding that architecture is now more than just creating a magazine-worthy apartment complex or an award-winning office tower. The combination of architecture, landscape design and urban planning is an efficient way of designing buildings that serve not just the requirements now but can also address the needs of the future.

The Crystal by Safdie Architects , Chongqing, China  | Popular Choice, 2021 A+Awards, Commercial – Mixed-Use

Take The Crystal, by Safdie Architects, for example. This structure addresses the disconnect from the street that high towers experience in the upper levels by creating a horizontal public bridge on the top. Providing myriad activities inside, the complex includes offices, a public observatory and garden, restaurants, bar and event space, a residential clubhouse, an infinity pool, and a hotel lobby to almost create a micro-neighborhood.

These kinds of projects go beyond the traditional idea of a commercial base with a residential floor on the top, or an eatery within a gallery — such typologies are already a regular occurrence across the world. Instead, architects are now combining residential, commercial, institutional and cultural programs within a single, shared space. If implemented at a larger scale, this forward-thinking approach can almost reengineer urban lifestyles and create flourishing ecosystems.

WERK12 by MVRDV , Munich, Germany  | Popular Winner, 2020 A+Awards, Commercial – Mixed-Use

WERK12 by MVRDV does so on a smaller scale. Located in Germany, the project combines office spaces, restaurants and bars and a three-floor gym and swimming pool. Its open façade and expressive graphics inspire curiosity and invite visitors to engage. The high ceilings and external circulation in the building allow for future changes in functions and levels as well.

Crucially, the mixed-use commercial building serves as the centerpiece for a former industrial site’s urban regeneration. Open in all directions, its façade aims to connect past to present ; its expressive lettered glass seeks to create a dialogue with its site and district. This aesthetic and outward formal expression draws inspiration from an old informal and industrial heritage to create a new typology for Munich’s future.

Lindt Home of Chocolate by Christ & Gantenbein , Kilchberg, Switzerland  | Jury Winner, 2021 A+Awards, Commercial – Mixed-Use

Lindt Home of Chocolate by Christ & Gantenbein is a great instance of mixed-use design as well as a genius example of marketing and branding. More than just a production plant, the building is also home to a research facility, a museum, a shopping center and a recreational space. Centered on a large, communal atrium that unites the various programmatic dimensions, the addition of public functions to a traditionally private program allows users to interact with the company and its processes, create a larger customer base and generate sales.

Meanwhile, the design defies the isolationist logic of many similarly formed industrial boxes. Indeed, the design is very much in-dialogue with its surroundings, paralleling the site’s logic, history, and urban structure. The red brick façade references nearby structures while a single corner is strategically cut out, complicating the otherwise simple volume. Clad with white, glazed brick, this curved corner embraces a public square at the building’s entrance, opening the space to its urban environment.

In sum, by serving multiple functions, mixed-use programming can serve a larger purpose of invigorating public space. While the unexpected programmatic mashups promoted by Koolhaas may not be a norm, even the simple combination of standard urban programs under a single roof goes a long way in creating more dynamic urban landscapes. Other benefits of this approach include: more efficient use of site footprints, the smooth integration private and public functions, generating creative living solutions within dated zoning restrictions, invigorating dead pockets of the city, and creative uses for old buildings. It’s safe to say that mixed-use is the future of urban architecture.

Do you have a mixed-use project that is pushing the envelope and redefining its urban surroundings? Consider Consider entering Architizer’s 11th Annual A+Awards in the Mixed-Use (S <25,000 sq ft.) or Mixed-Use (L >25,000 sq ft.) categories. Click here to begin your submission !  

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Pumping Up Sustainability – All-Electric Campus

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Designed in accordance with the world’s most rigorous sustainability standards, the PAE Living Building in Portland, Oregon, is the first developer-driven and largest commercial urban Living Building in the world. Constructed with mass timber and nontoxic, bio-based materials, the building sequesters carbon while delivering health and economic benefits to its occupants and owners. The five-story, […]

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As the first commercial development to use low-carbon concrete bricks in Hong Kong and mainland China, Westlake 66 is taking an important step forward for sustainability. The 2.1 million-square-foot (194,100 sq m) mixed-use development—including five office towers, a hotel, and a retail podium—is ocated in Hangzhou, China, a rapidly growing tech hub, home to online […]

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Commercial tenant selection is a critical piece of expanding access to high-performing net zero buildings, while also boosting social equity outcomes. L+M Development Partners in New York’s tristate area exemplifies this practice. Committed to “fostering economically diverse communities by developing mixed-income and mixed-use buildings,” L+M has also gone all in on sustainability. Its portfolio includes […]

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Mixed Use Development case studies

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Under One Roof: The Evolution of the Mixed-Use Building

Compounded by global issues such as resource scarcity, the migration to cities is placing great responsibility on urban buildings to do many things, and do them well. Mixed-use development, the physically integrated combination of residential, commercial, cultural, and transportation functions, consolidates activity within a structure or neighborhood. In our densifying cities, the adoption and thoughtful execution of mixed-use development is a necessity.

The mixed-use typology is not new; one of the first examples is Trajan’s Market (110 AD) of ancient Rome with both shops and apartments built in a multi-level structure. Historians believe that the building’s arcades were administrative offices of Emperor Trajan, and the remains of a library have been excavated. The rise of the automobile and telecommunication technologies in the 20th Century, meant dispersion. Sprawl prevailed. However, as the population has increasingly migrated into cities over the past thirty years, the mixed-use building has experienced a period of great experimentation and rebirth. At each period, KPF has been a major contributor to the evolution of the mixed-use building type.

The completion of KPF’s 1989 900 North Michigan Avenue was one of the first buildings on Magnificent Mile with a vertical, varied program. The building combines five major uses: a shopping mall with Bloomingdales as an anchor tenant; a Four Seasons Hotel; office space in the tower’s lower section; condominiums on the higher floors; and one of the city’s largest parking garages. With four ‘lanterns’ forming a crown at 260 meters, the tower punctuates Chicago’s skyline with a sophisticated, unified expression. 900 North Michigan was the first of its kind for KPF, and remains the 8th tallest building in the city today.

The value of each floor benefitted from the common desire among tenants and residents alike for a streetfront that invited the city in. It offered proof to the development industry that different uses, like architectural elements themselves, could be brought together to form a new kind of synergy, with a combined effect greater than the sum of its parts.

From 900 North Michigan’s success, KPF was commissioned to design the Japan Rail Central Towers and Station , completed in 2000 in Nagoya, Japan that includes 1.1 million square feet of office space, a 700 + room hotel, 10 restaurants, and a 50,000-square-foot convention center. What made the JR Central Towers extraordinary was the fact that they were built over the largest train station in the world, Nagoya station. The station comprises two national and two private railway lines, four subway lines, Japan Rail and city bus lines, as well as the bullet train Tokaido Shinkansen. This project physically connects the subterranean to sweeping views of the city of Nagoya, with places to work, eat, sleep, and meet in between. It took the commercial synergies of 900 North Michigan and merged them seamlessly with an entire nation’s transportation infrastructure. The project was not only pioneer for vertical living, with public spaces and sky streets to located 10 and 15 stories in the air, but its link to public transportation makes it one of the first and most-successful transit-oriented developments.

In the 2000s, KPF designed some of the most frequently cited mixed-use projects, including Roppongi Hills , completed 2003 in Tokyo, which remains the largest private-sector urban redevelopment in Japan’s history. Several projects in China followed, such as Plaza 66 of 2001, a premier shopping and office address in Shanghai. In Hong Kong, Landmark , also completed in 2006, included the renovation and extension of a retail development, and addition of a boutique hotel; the International Commerce Centre was completed in 2010, with offices, the world’s highest hotel, and a new transportation hub beneath; and Hysan Place followed in 2012 with 32 floors of offices and retail outlets, and a direct link to the Causeway Bay Station.

It was during this period that the Shanghai World Financial Center , the tallest tower in Shanghai and second tallest in the world upon its completion, was completed in 2008. The 380,000 gross-square-meter structure tower houses a mix of office and retail uses, and the Park Hyatt Shanghai. The form, two arcing curves that gesture to the sky with a trapezoidal aperture at the 97th floor, offers a graceful moment of serenity amidst the frenetic environment of Pudong, Shanghai’s Central Business District. At the supertall scale, the responsibility of the architect extends beyond the boundaries of building envelope and project site. Similar to 900 North Michigan, the mixed-use typology took a visual and important place in the skyline. It became an instant symbol of the culture and commerce of the city.

While the firm has continued to design high-rise buildings and supertalls, KPF’s formula for the pronounced vertical stacked tower influenced the firm’s work at the neighborhood level. How can the density of a skyscraper work within a communal town square? This answer is scale. An example is the Jing An Kerry Centre in Shanghai, the multi-use complex features two towers, podium retail, a 508-key hotel, an event center and office amenities arranged around the preserved house where Mao Zedong lived. Fusing the neighborhood’s historic character with modern Shanghai, Jing An Kerry Centre combines high density living with the city street experience. Open-air walkways lined with shops welcome pedestrian activity. Careful integration on the ground level using architectural elements in proportion to the human body – lighting, colors, and materials – connect the soaring towers to the street. Meanwhile, the tall buildings visually mend the skyline by connecting two existing office clusters in the city.

The expertise gained in the creation of one mixed-use neighborhood led to the improvement of another. Covent Garden , with its first existing master plan dating back to 1609, is a renowned district with a culturally and architecturally rich history. In Covent Garden in London, this kind of mixed-use thinking was extended to fine-tune elements for the overall improvement of the neighborhood. Plagued by congestion, run-down facilities, and intensive tourism, Covent Garden had become an avoidable destination for Londoners. KPF’s expertise in mixed-use environments allowed the firm to believe in this historic section of London as a single functioning entity that could sponsor a great diversity of experience. Three major actions are proposed in the master plan: public realm improvements, conservation and re-positioning of the heritage assets, and the replacement of non-contributing outdated buildings with new architecture.

The projects of the early 2000s represented a new approach to mixed-use design that coalesced at the scale of a building, but also at the scale of entire districts. The integration of cultural spaces, public parks, walkable shopping and entertainment areas, and seamless transit connections enriched the urban fabric in their cities. These districts attracted many visitors and lured blue-chip tenants to lease tower floors in order to secure a place at the most vibrant addresses in their cities. The cultural and financial success of the golden age of mixed-use development in Asia attracted the attention of ambitious developers in Europe and in the United States. KPF and many of our peers have since been commissioned for projects in these regions.

The largest private real estate development in the history of the United States, the first phase of Hudson Yards covered 11,340,000 square feet of construction. Drawing on the experience gained over 20 years in complex, mixed-use construction, KPF led the design of the development. Hudson Yards’ defining characteristic is the humanistic design approach to seamlessly blending infrastructure with architectural designs. To complete Related’s ambitious master plan, two platforms bridge 30 active Long Island Rail Road train tracks. Two towers , at 52 stories and 90 stories respectively, completed construction atop the rail yards. The buildings extend through the platform and rise above, with caissons drilled deep into the bedrock between rail lines to support the structures. The combination of the public and private interests, transportation, retail, commerce, residences, and education makes Hudson Yards the most complex mixed-use project in New York since Rockefeller Center.

The popularity of the mixed-use typology has traveled where it is needed. In Chicago, 900 North Michigan set a precedent from which Magnificent Mile grew. In Japan, Roppongi Hills and JR Central towers provided transportation infrastructure and tight-knit urban communities in the country’s most populous cities. Spreading to China, projects like the Shanghai World Financial Center and International Commerce Centre, implemented much-needed vertical density and cultural symbolism in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Now, in New York and throughout the USA, development is benefitting from KPF’s global experience in mixed-use architecture. As cities continue to grow, the mixed-use building will serve as an important tool to densify in a humanizing manner and will be critical to the success of the city in the future.

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An interdisciplinary debate on project perspectives

• Research article
• Open access
• Published: 14 October 2022

Extremes of mixed-use architecture: a spatial analysis of vertical functional mix in Dhaka

• Fatema Meher Khan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4761-7836 1 ,
• Elek Pafka 2 &
• Kim Dovey 2  

City, Territory and Architecture volume  9 , Article number:  31 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

9874 Accesses

Metrics details

The concept of mixed-use is now well-established as an urban design and planning principle that adds to the vitality, walkability and productivity of the city at neighbourhood scale. There is much less research on the dense and complex vertical mix of functions within buildings. This paper investigates the extremes of informal vertical mixing of functions within buildings in Dhaka, where commercial and retail functions often penetrate to upper floors and where access routes are often mixed with residential functions. A modified form of space syntax analysis is used to analyse and critique the mix of circulation patterns and functions in 15 complex mixed-use buildings. The plans and relational diagrams reveal how different functions are mixed or separated, and the relative spatial depth they penetrate from the street. Five primary circulation diagrams emerge with different degrees of informality in different districts of the city. Under conditions of informal adaptation, vertical functional mix produces benefits in the form of synergies but also problems of privacy and security. To engage effectively planners need a complex understanding of the interrelated spatial, social and economic logics involved.

Introduction

It is now sixty years since Jacobs ( 1961 ) transformed our conceptions of functional mix, suggesting that an understanding of co-functioning was a key to understanding how cities work. She railed against the modernist segregation of the city into mono-functional zones that prevented close connections of home to work, school, shopping and recreation. Functional mix was the antithesis of modernist development that stressed the spatial segregation of urban functions to avoid an undesirable juxtaposition of uses. For Jacobs mixed-use was necessary to the social and economic vitality and intensity of the city; this work has been increasingly embraced in urban planning and functional mix has become a key ingredient of walkability (Grant 2002 ; Hoppenbrouwer and Louw 2005 ; Rabianski et al. 2009 ; Frank et al. 2006 ; Dovey and Pafka 2020 ). While most of this research has focused on the neighbourhood scale, it has been understood that functional mix also operates at the building scale. Most notable here is the widespread historic type of shop-house with residential located above retail functions; this building type has long been a staple in South and Southeast Asian cities (Davis 2012 ; Han and Beisi 2016 ).

Modernist zoning was invented to solve real problems that can emerge from an unregulated mix of uses. In 2010 and again in 2019 fires have broken out in mixed-use buildings in Old Dhaka, killing a total of 205 people (Imam 2010 ; Molla 2019 ). Both fires involved flammable industrial materials stored on lower floors with housing and production work above. These fires were variously blamed on electrical transformers, gas cylinders, chemical storage, building regulators and owners, but also on a more general lack of urban planning controls (Tishi and Islam 2019 ). In Dhaka, functional mix is widely considered problematic; beyond issues of fire safety, there are perceived problems of visual disorder, privacy and social insecurity (Tishi and Islam 2019 ; Nahrin 2008 ). This paper analyses a range of mixed-use buildings in Dhaka to better understand the morphologies of informal mix.

While there is considerable scholarly work on the shop-houses of South and Southeast Asia (Imamuddin et al. 1989 ; Chun et al. 2005 ; Phuong and Groves 2010 ; Su-Jan et al. 2012 ; Davis 2012 ) the buildings under discussion here encompass a much denser range of building types. No survey or analysis has been conducted to understand the operation of dense informally mixed buildings such as these. This study explores four principal questions: How are different functions mixed and/or separated within circulation systems of mixed-use buildings? To what relative spatial depth do different functions penetrate from public space and to what height above street level? How are buildings adapted informally to multiple uses and what are the synergies and challenges of such mixing? This paper analyses the functional mix of some of the most extreme of vertically mixed buildings in Dhaka—those that test the limits of functional mixing. These analyses reveal typical circulation patterns and the spatial logic of interrelations between functions, based in the economic and social logic of the city. The paper concludes with a critique of the benefits and challenges of vertical functional mix.

Mixed-use buildings are common in cities of the global South, particularly South and Southeast Asia. The prevalence of functional mix has been noted in Indonesia (Susantono 1998 ), India (Verma 1993 ), Vietnam (Phuong and Groves 2010 ) and Pakistan (Haque 2015 , p. 7) where they generally feature high-levels of informal or unregulated mix. More contemporary mixed-use buildings demonstrate new forms of mix, spatial organisation and building morphology in high-density buildings with vertical stacking of wholesale, retail, restaurants, offices, storage, micro-industries and housing (Ujang and Shamsuddin 2008 ; Tipple et al. 1996 ).

While Dhaka was always mixed, as the urban density has intensified the mixed-use buildings have grown informally in both extent and functional complexity to meet local demand. Incremental conversion of residential buildings to accommodate workshops, storage, commercial and retail functions are common (Khan 2020 , 2021 ). Access routes into and through mixed-use buildings are adapted where it is possible to separate entrance and circulation for separate uses. However, a singular entrance for residential and non-residential functions is common and can result in privacy, security and safety issues.

Study area and methodology

Dhaka is dominated by informal economic activities and the current land-use of most districts is shown in planning documents as mixed-use (Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha [RAJUK] 2015 :38). However, there are also marked differences between the old city, those districts that have developed with a mix of formal and informal planning, and the modernist planned city. These three settlement patterns—historic core, semi-planned and planned—represent key historical phases of urban growth in Dhaka (Fig.  1 ) and are the most evident morphological patterns in contemporary Dhaka (Nilufar 2011 ). Figure  2 shows typical streetscapes from mainstreets of each of these three areas. While each is informalised they also represent increasing levels of formalisation. For this study, five mixed-use buildings have been chosen from each of these districts in order to show the range across the city, but also to better understand the extremes of mix within each district.

Dhaka and the three sample districts (Map based on Nilufar 2011 ; Google Earth)

Typical streetscapes from each district (Photos: Fatema Meher Khan & Kim Dovey)

Islampur in the Historic Core is located at the southern edge of Dhaka. This area has long been the centre for a wide range of wholesale and retail markets with different professional groups who used to live in the shop-houses (Mohsin 1991 ). A rich mix of uses has been embedded within the fabric of this area since its inception in 1600 and has increased and intensified over time informally into a mix of housing, retail, wholesale, offices, workshops, go-downs (warehouse/shop) and light industries. There were attempts to impose formal land-use planning codes in this district but the state lacked the power to enforce them (Jahan 2011 ). This zone is seen as most problematic and is the scene of the fires mentioned earlier. The second area, known as Green Road, is a semi-planned neighbourhood near the spatial centre of Dhaka that has developed since the 1960s with a combination of formal and informal street networks. While initially, it was a middle-income residential area, other uses such as shops, workshops and offices have spontaneously developed over time. After 2000, a part of this area was declared commercial, this effectively formalised the mix of functions in those areas, however, non-residential functions in residential areas remain informal. The third area, Uttara, is a planned neighbourhood located on the northern periphery of Dhaka, developed since the 1980s with a regular grid and plot size. Although initially planned as a residential neighbourhood, it has informally developed other functions including shops, cafes, restaurants, and offices over time. Again, mixed functions on the main roads have become authorised over time, while non-residential functions on other streets remain unauthorised. The 5 buildings selected from each of these sites represent a range of mixed-use buildings in each case, but with a focus on denser buildings which test the extremes of mixed-use, avoiding simple low-rise shop-houses.

The method of categorizing building functions deployed here has been adapted from the work of van Hoek ( 2008 ) who suggests that urban functions be divided into three primary categories that we call ‘live’, ‘work’, and ‘visit’, plus the various forms of mix that emerge between them (Fig.  3 ). This live/work/visit model (Dovey and Pafka 2017 ) is based primarily on the argument that the population in a building, street, or neighbourhood at any particular time can be understood as a mix of those who live there, work there, or visit the place. Most previous studies have considered urban functions in categories such as residential, industrial, commercial, retail, education, entertainment, recreation, health, transport, government, community, parking, vacant, hospitality, etc., which is a modernist way to segregate the city into different categories. Such categorisations are problematic for two major reasons. Firstly, with so many categories/sub-categories, it is difficult to measure and map complex cities with any coherence. Secondly, there is a problem of consistency since the boundaries of any of these categories overlap and can become subsets of another.

The live/work/visit triangle (based on Dovey and Pafka 2017 )

This approach is based on a live/work/visit triangle utilizing the points of the triangle for living (red), working (blue) and visiting (green) with the interstitial colours to indicate the different forms of mix between them (Fig.  3 ). ‘Live’ incorporates places people sleep overnight. ‘Work’ denotes offices, factories and educational spaces. ‘Visit’ is an umbrella concept for places that are primarily used by visitors such as shops, restaurants, libraries, theatres, museums, parks and recreation (Dovey and Pafka 2017 ). A live/visit mix is represented as yellow; a live/work mix as magenta and a work/visit mix as cyan; a mix of all three will be white. Figure  3 also shows how this method of analysis can be used to show the vertical layering of primary functions of buildings in section and the ways this produces mixed colours when viewed in the plan.

In order to conduct a comparative analysis of the interrelations between functions within each building, we have conducted an adaptation of gamma analysis derived from space syntax analysis. A ‘justified gamma diagram’ is one of the analytical methods developed by Hillier and Hanson ( 1984 ) to study the ‘social logic’ of the relationships between spaces within buildings and the depth of those spaces from the street. In this process, architectural plans are translated into diagrams of topological segments (Ostwald 2011 : 445; Dovey 2008 ). Thus the circulation pattern of the building can be identified along with the ways in which the building plan produces separations and intersections between access routes. In the process of the structuring of gamma diagrams, every space in a building is allocated a depth value, according to the minimum number of spatial segments that one must pass through to arrive in that space from the street. These diagrams reduce the plan to a set of spatial segments represented by circles with permeable connections represented by lines. This method produces diagrams of spatial permeability with all spaces of the same depth lined up horizontally at each level away from the street (Hillier and Hanson 1984 : 147–149). Because they rely on passing trade, shops are typically one level deep from the street. A stairway between floors is diagrammed as one segment.

Syntactic analysis

This section presents the syntactic analyses of selected buildings from each from the Planned (PL), Semi-Planned (SP) and Historic Core (HC) districts - a sequence of increasing informality and complexity of functional mix. In each case, we show both gamma diagrams and floor plans, colour coded according to the live/work/visit triangle described above. The circles outlined with thick lines represent the main circulation routes of each building; these are also colour coded by the functions to which they give access. In order to make these diagrams readable, clusters of segments with similar functions are represented with elongated boxes to indicate a number of segments in a cluster. The circulation lines are also colour coded by the various uses to which they provide access. A comparative analysis of these gamma diagrams will follow.

We first consider examples from the more recently Planned areas on the urban periphery (Fig.  4 ) where all buildings were initially designed as mono-functional residential buildings. All 5 examples are 6 storeys high on similar plots; all except the final example have substantial parking at ground level and elevator access to upper floors. The key interest here is in the ways functions have been transformed. PL1 has a central circulation spine that begins with a triple mix (white) of live/work/visit, which gradually becomes live/work (magenta) and then residential (red), as it penetrates deeper into the building. PL2 mixes living, working and visiting on the 4 lower floors; separate shops have emerged on the street frontage of the ground floor which is otherwise devoted to parking. PL3 largely remains mono-functional with just a few shops with separate access at street level. In PL4 and PL5 large portions of ground floor parking have been converted to retail with housing above, but without mixing of entries. This part of Dhaka was planned as mono-functional residential but clearly needs retail to function effectively. Additional visit and work functions that have emerged on upper levels include a dental clinic, school and beauty parlour.

Syntactic analysis of buildings from Planned Areas (PL)

Syntactic analysis of buildings from Semi-Planned Areas (SP)

Considering examples from the Semi-Planned area (Fig.  5 ), SP1 is a 10 storey building that contains two quite separate circulation systems with a complex retail network on the ground floor and housing (with elevator) above. The functional mix is thus confined to the ground floor and basement. SP2 is a 6 storey residential building where office functions have replaced apartments on the 1st and 2nd floors, while retail has separate entries on the street. SP3 is a 4 storey building that is primarily occupied by offices, but mixed with residential on the two middle floors; the main access spine is mostly a live/work mix (magenta). SP4 is a 6 storey building on a street corner with 10 street entries for shops and offices plus a separate entry to the residential floors above. These floors have become mixed with offices up to the 2nd floor. SP5 is a 4 storey building with a mono-functional residential tree-like structure and separate entries for the ground floor shops.

Finally, we consider the more extreme examples from the Historic Core (Fig.  6 ). HC1 is a 5 storey building entered through a shopping arcade with warehouse/shops (go-downs) on the 1st and second floors and residential above. The circulation has a tree-like structure comprising visit, work, and living at progressive depths. The go-downs extend 5 segments deep while residences extend 7 segments deep. Shops are accessed both from the street and arcade. Mixed circulation is confined to the first three floors and becomes progressively less mixed as it penetrates deeper. HC2 is a 6 storey building with a network of shops on the ground floor, multiple street entries and interconnecting corridors that penetrate up to 6 segments deep. Residential apartments on the 3rd to 5th floors are accessed through a separate stair from the street and have an elevator from the 3rd floor. Here there is a notable contrast between the networked access structure for the shops (with 10 street entries) and a tree-like structure for the housing. HC3 is a 5 storey building with primarily work-related functions (printing) on the ground and first floors with residential above. HC4 is a 6 storey building that combines visit, work and living at progressive levels. It has shops and offices on the ground and first floors with residences above. The mixed circulation penetrates 2 segments deep, moving from a triple mix to live/work and then residential. HC5 is a 5 storey building that mixes retail with work on the first two floors and then work with residential on the three floors above. The single white and magenta access spine indicates that shoppers, workers and residents all use the same access route. Some of the shops (book-binding) are located up to 4 segments deep from the street. The work functions on the upper floors (go-downs) share a kitchen with residential functions. Hence, the combination of working (blue) and living (red) on the upper floors is represented by the mix of live/work access (magenta) on the diagram.

Syntactic analysis of buildings from the Historic Core (HC)

Patterns of Mix

We can see in these examples what may seem a bewildering range of ways in which these buildings mix functions in different ways and to different degrees. While it is not our goal to reduce this field of differences to any kind of essential types, we want to find a way to understand spatial patterns that are evident in this production of vertical mixed-use in buildings. We now take one further step beyond the gamma diagrams to suggest that these mixed-use buildings can be broadly categorised into 5 diagrammatic types with different circulation systems. While the floor areas devoted to different functions are evident on the plans, our primary concern here is to understand the ways mixed-use buildings mix or separate access routes in everyday life. Figure  7 presents a typology of mixed-use buildings representing the typical patterns of vertical mix circulations that are identifiable within the 15 cases. Each of these types is identified first as a relational diagram, followed by a brief description and the examples listed in the final column. In the generic diagrams, the complexities of individual spaces are collapsed in order to reveal spatial clustering by function and connectivity, while also revealing the overall depth or shallowness from the street. In these diagrams, the representation of different functions and their mixes follows the live/work/visit triangular model used earlier in this study. The main circulation spines are represented by thick lines; those with mixed colours (magenta, cyan, white) indicate mixed access spaces.

Figure  7 shows that some types are more common than others, however, this is not a random sample and we are more interested in the range of types. Type A is the vertical mix of live and visit functions often known as ‘shop-top housing’; it is the only type where functions and entries are fully segregated. This is typical in more formal cities and it is not surprising to find it mostly in the Planned Areas. Type B incorporates a complex access network with multiple street entries and arcades giving access to both work and visit functions with separate access to a residential tower above. The mixing of access routes is confined to work/visit which again is typical in more formal cities. Type C is a stack of visiting, working and living functions in a vertical sequence with a single spine of mixed access. Thus all three functions are mixed at street level, but this mix is reduced to live/work and then to residential for the upper floors, as the circulation spine progresses deeper into the building. This type is mostly produced by the informal adaptation of residential buildings. Type D is similar but with retail and some work functions separated at street level - thus there is no mixing of retail and residential access. While there is only one example of type E in our study, this is the most mixed example and the only one without any mono-functional access—mixed access extends throughout the depth of the 5 storey building.

 A typology of mixed-use buildings

These generic syntactic diagrams demonstrate that visiting, working and living functions generally remain in a consistent sequence of progressive depth in buildings. Shops typically remain at the shallowest position, as they depend on accessibility for their business. They often extend deep into ground floor plans and sometimes to the 1st and 2nd floors. Work functions are often mixed with shops on the ground floor but more commonly extend to intermediate floors as in types C and D. Residential functions always occupy the deepest and most private sector of the building. Figure  7 also shows the ways the different types are distributed across the three areas of the city from which examples were chosen. In general terms, the Historic Core has more complex and mixed examples while the Planned areas have more segregated functions. This reflects the fact that the Historic Core has always been mixed while buildings in the Planned and Semi-Planned areas were initially designed as mono-functional and have become informally mixed over time.

In this study, we have mapped and analysed functional mix within selected buildings of an extremely mixed informal city. These examples are not random nor typical, they have been chosen as the most mixed cases in each study area because they embody this extreme and test the limits of functional mixing within buildings. These buildings have been analysed through methods that reveal typical circulation patterns and the mixing of different functions within them. While the building plans and syntactic diagrams are empirically interesting (Figs.  4 , 5 and 6 ), the key findings of the paper lie in the generic diagrams that reveal broader patterns of vertical mix and circulation systems (Fig.  7 ). This work also enables further critique on the benefits and challenges of different forms of vertical functional mix. It is not our purpose here to make judgements about the effectiveness or otherwise of different kinds of functional mix based on this data, however, it is possible to discern a certain spatial logic, linked to the economic and social logic of the city.

While these mixed-use buildings involve challenges at the micro-scale of storage of noxious materials and social encounters, it also has significant benefits at the broader scale. Informal adaptation to a greater mix serves city dwellers by filling the gaps between demand and available services; in this way, the mix contributes to the local economy. The informal conversions are generating a more walkable and lively urban environment by integrating diverse functions, activities and people—a quality that is often missing in the modernist planned areas. While this city clearly needs greater regulation, these neighbourhoods are more walkable and efficient because of the mix and would be quite dysfunctional without it.

When we look at the circulation spaces of the syntactic diagrams we note a considerable amount of mixing of work/visit (cyan) and work/live (magenta), a few spaces that mix all three functions (white), but never live/visit (yellow). In other words, whenever residential access becomes mixed it is always mixed with production functions first and only occasionally with shopping as well. There are clear synergies in the mixing of work and visit functions that are not present when either of these functions is mixed with residential. These are not the kinds of synergy that originally drove the proliferation of the shophouse where one lived over the store and often entered the home through it (Davis 2012 ). Thus the synergy between residential and retail that produces shop-top housing—the form of functional mix that works so well in almost any highly urbanized city—depends on a separation of these functions within each building.

The issues of functional mix cannot be considered separately from the range of morphological factors that frame the ways it emerges; particularly in relation to street interface conditions and density. The capacity to design separate access routes into each building depends to a significant degree on the capacity for multiple street entries—the cases in our sample range from 3 to 11 street entries each with an average of 4–6. This capacity will depend in turn on plot size and block location—a larger plot size and corner location produce more capacity for multiple street entries. Figures  4 , 5 and 6 show that the more informal districts have a much less regular plot size and shape, with a greater average and range of street entries. By contrast, significant parts of the street frontage in the planned area are consumed by carpark entries. In general, the unplanned areas have a greater capacity to produce separated entries.

The issues and challenges that emerge in relation to an extreme functional mix cannot be extricated from questions of density. The buildings we have considered range from 4 to 10 storeys; plot coverage in most cases is close to 100% and net floor area ratios range from 2.8 to 6.0. While these building densities are not uncommon in Dhaka, they are very high by global standards (Dovey and Pafka 2014 ). Population densities are also extremely high, whether in terms of residential populations, jobs or streetlife—the same live/work/visit categories used for the functional analysis. Many of these internal spaces have very high population densities in terms of overcrowded housing, offices, workshops and shops. It is important to understand that a problem that may appear to be caused by the mix, may not be a problem at a lower density; it is not just the fact of mixing different populations within circulation spaces but the intensity of this mix.

Many of these buildings, especially in the Planned district, were originally designed as mono-functional but have been informally adapted to various forms of mixed-use. The key dynamic here has been one of residential space converted to workshops, offices, shops, schools and so on. While shops and offices may be interconvertible, there are no examples of them being converted into apartments. It is clear that economic forces are the key drivers—work and visit functions bring higher rents in those spaces closer to the street. Depending on the ways in which the building was initially designed, it will have varying levels of capacity to adapt. If there is a single circulation spine and no space for additional entries then such entry spaces will be mixed. This will reduce the amenity and security of all remaining residential apartments, also reducing the rental value and increasing affordability. Thus the functional mix within buildings is linked to the socio-economic profile of residents.

The two greatest challenges embodied in the extreme forms of vertical mix we have documented here are the risk of fire and the social difficulties of shared access. The deadly fires that have occurred in Dhaka are often seen as due to an incompatible mix of functions, where noxious or dangerous materials are stored in spaces where any resulting fire is difficult to control or escape from. However, this problem could be addressed through stricter control of storage, workplace safety and fire egress without changing the functional mix. The challenge here is partly local because there is such a strong tradition of the go-down—the small shop that is also a warehouse.

The social issues that mixed-use functions usually cause are privacy and security. The informal transformation of residential buildings from mono-functional to mixed-use often generates shared circulation spaces where public access penetrates deeply into the upper floors, compromising the privacy and security of residences. It is imperative that work and visit functions achieve this public access for their business. The gamma diagrams in Figs.  4 , 5 and 6 show these levels of penetration graphically; they also show that even the most dense and complex buildings can be designed with segregated access.

In as much as mono-functional planning has been damaging to the city, the adaptation of residential buildings to mixed-use functions is a benefit. The planning challenge lies not in micro-managing what the mix should be but in protecting citizens from negative outcomes. The formal controls of the state should focus on proscribing certain outcomes rather than prescribing particular functions. It is important to acknowledge the benefits of informal adaptation within a formal planning framework. It is also necessary to identify and address the key problems related to informal mix in buildings. The control of mixed entries is a complex issue that requires a better understanding of the relations between formal and informal processes in any city. While the separation of residential entries is generally preferable, there may be advantages in blurring the boundaries between home and work - as is happening in more formal cities. Housing that is entered through mixed entry spaces may have difficulties in terms of privacy and security that other housing does not, however, it will also be more affordable and adaptable. It is not the role of the state to enforce the segregation of entries. The broad challenge, both in Dhaka and other highly informalised cities of the global South, is to develop forms of urban planning that can address the challenges of a dysfunctional mix without destroying the vitality and productivity of the mixed-use district.

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Fatema Meher Khan is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Her research interest lies in urban design and planning, morphological aspects, and informal urbanism. Some of her research papers are on mixed-use function, urban morphological transformation, and social equity. Elek Pafka is Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning and Urban Design at the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne. His research focuses on the relationship between material density, urban form and the intensity of urban life, as well as methods of mapping the ‘pulse’ of the city. He has participated in research on transit oriented development, functional mix and walkability. He has co-edited the book Mapping Urbanities: Morphologies, Flows, Possibilities . Kim Dovey is Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Melbourne, where he is also Director of InfUr- the Informal Urbanism Research Hub. He has published and broadcast widely on social issues in architecture, urban design and planning. Books include 'Framing Places', 'Fluid City', ‘Becoming Places’, ‘Urban Design Thinking’ and ‘Mapping Urbanities'.

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Khan, F.M., Pafka, E. & Dovey, K. Extremes of mixed-use architecture: a spatial analysis of vertical functional mix in Dhaka. City Territ Archit 9 , 31 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40410-022-00177-y

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How the Wright Museum’s Digital Transformation is Leading the Way for Sustainability in Museums

The buildings industry is in a watershed moment. As smart building technologies continue to flood the market, owners and facilities directors who embrace this sea change are positioning their assets to realize greater efficiencies and savings than ever before, all while making significant strides in achieving their environmental goals.

Cultural institutions like museums have a unique opportunity to not only embrace digital transformation, but also to educate the public at large and to serve as models for sustainability to other institutes around the country.

That was certainly the case with the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, which has undertaken a groundbreaking digital transformation to emerge as a “smart museum” with a goal of cultural preservation and community impact. Celebrating its 60 th year in 2025, the Wright Museum is one of the first and oldest African American museums in the U.S. and has been instrumental in founding nearly 300 similar cultural institutions across the country.

“This is a very prominent space with a lot of history in Detroit,” said Leslie Tom, chief sustainability officer for the Wright Museum. Founded in 1965 by Detroit obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Charles H. Wright, the museum has as its mission to create a space for “celebration and remembrance.” Its foundation is directly tied to the local community, with Dr. Wright having delivered more than 7,000 babies whose lives along with their mothers are part of the fabric of the museum and why it was founded, Tom noted.

Built in 1997, the 125,000-square-foot space includes a permanent exhibit that brings visitors on an immersive journey through various art galleries and rotating exhibits that showcase historical periods, enriching experiences, and sustainability projects to foster learning and engagement.

Rooted in Sustainability and Education

It’s widely known that buildings account for nearly 40% of all global greenhouse gas emissions annually, but a lesser-known fact is that climate changes linked to global warming have a disparate impact on the health of people of color, including children, according to the National Institutes of Health . In light of this, the Wright Museum has made it its mission to educate the public on these disparities and to lead by example in becoming a truly smart and sustainable museum.

“There’s definitely a green museum movement happening,” Tom said, noting that there are more than 35,000 museums in the U.S.—greater than the number of Starbucks and McDonald’s restaurants combined. She said museums are asking themselves how they can begin to better align their missions and to ask what role museums can play in the climate crisis.

“I think some of the work we’re doing here at the Wright Museum is to answer some of those questions and to give examples of what’s possible,” she said. “It’s really pushing that edge of, what can we do? And how can we also take a museum and start teaching other museums, other spaces, other building owners how to be a player in climate crisis?”

Given that heating and cooling make up such a significant portion of a building’s energy use and carbon emissions, the Wright Museum has taken a comprehensive approach to its sustainability targets to address maintenance, operations, and renovations while leveraging smart technology to meet its targets.

The Digital Transformation: From Reactive to Proactive

“Charles Wright had a vision for what they wanted to achieve around being more sustainable, moving from a very reactive maintenance to proactive maintenance [approach], but also, really how they could set an example of being a much more sustainable museum of the future,” said Robert Bray, vice president and general manager for Autodesk Tandem .

To get there, however, required the ability to access, collect, and analyze operational data by leveraging digital twin technology. Given that digital twin technology is still an emerging field, Bray said the Autodesk Tandem team acted as “a trusted advisor” while it undertook its digital transformation journey. But creating a digital twin of the building proved to be no simple task.

“One of the challenges Charles Wright had was the fact that the architecture firm that designed the building many years ago burned down, and they lost all of their architectural plans,” Bray recalled. A contractor was brought in to laser scan the entire building and convert it into a detailed 3D model, which would serve as the foundation of the digital twin.

The project team was able to identify various sensors the museum could install within the building to track the facility’s occupancy and environmental conditions “to help them solve and identify some use cases around tracking visitor engagement in the galleries, for example—super important to a museum to understand—and work towards understanding their current journey towards sustainability, energy, consumption, carbon emissions, things like that. That’s still kind of a work in progress,” Bray explained.

After creating the digital twin, the Wright Museum integrated IoT sensors and began to collect and analyze data to optimize their operations. Autodesk’s Tandem software then took the data from these sensors and allowed the museum to measure, track, and document a wide range of inputs. In their initial pilot, the Wright Museum is using sensors to monitor CO 2 levels, humidity, temperature, and proximity, for example.

Bray added that Autodesk also helped the museum move away from a reactive, paper-based maintenance program to a more proactive methodology that would help it better understand its maintenance schedules and get out in front of potential component failures and begin to predict them in the future.

A Better Experience for Facilities Staff and Visitors

The transformation of the Wright Museum into a smart facility has proved beneficial for both the facilities staff and visitors alike.

On the operations side, every facilities manager is painfully aware of the phenomenon known as “alarm fatigue,” which happens when a person is overwhelmed by experiencing a large number of alerts that can lead to desensitization and delayed or missed responses. Fortunately for the Wright Museum staff, Autodesk’s software integrates with their operational technology to reduce these instances.

Bray offers the example of a faulty piece of equipment that’s having a reading that’s out of tolerance or a server room that’s suddenly above its normal operating temperature and continues exceeding the threshold. “What we are enabling is the ability to basically automate the creation of a work order in whatever their system of record is so that a technician gets assigned to go inspect that so there’s no user intervention required,” he explained.

For these known anomalies, a technician can view the historical maintenance data in Tandem to determine if it’s a new anomaly or a recurring issue, and then decide what the right course of action might be, Bray said.

Visitors may not be aware of the fact that they are contributing to the museum’s improvements, but simply by exhaling, they are providing staff with valuable information. Utilizing carbon dioxide sensors in the building, the Wright Museum can measure patron engagement by how long they are lingering in a particular exhibit without any privacy concerns. The data can also help the museum protect its valuable artifacts and better understand how visitors move through a gallery for future installations.

More importantly, the Wright Museum is educating the public about its mission as a smart museum that inspires visitors and other institutions to take meaningful actions to be more sustainable.

“I often say that for the museum, we’re expanding the triple bottom line to be ‘people, planet, prosperity, and programs,’” Tom said. “How the museum can help to shape all of those different things from policies to technology to processes, and then eventually, that will lead to people’s experiences.”

By embarking on this digital transformation journey, the Wright Museum now serves as a beacon to the industry and its community of what meaningful change can look like.

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