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After 9/11, lobbies in many US office buildings were permanently changed as homeowners increased security and added cameras, turnstiles, programmable elevators, and other technology. Anyone who walked in had to show ID, and the guards recorded who came and went.

Now, as pandemic restrictions ease and workers begin to return to the office, the lobby is changing again, this time with an emphasis on health and safety. However, the changes are subtle and are mainly to ease the flow at the turnstile.

Most importantly, mobile applications linked to building security or operating systems are replacing plastic ID cards for employees and the check-in process for visitors. The goal is to digitally connect everyone entering the building while minimizing direct contact. Body scanners and weather sensors are expected to become more prominent in the future.

Jurgen Timperman, head of fire and safety at Palm-based provider of building operating systems, Carrier Global, said the latest changes will go largely unnoticed, unlike the extra security measures that are evident in the post-9/11 world. Beach Gardens, Florida.

“With these apps, we have all the information we need about someone before they enter the building,” he said. “So the days of someone sitting behind a desk with a big book and pen in hand are almost over.”

Creating an application it allows users to upload credentials and other credentials such as their vaccination status, and offers the flexibility to add functionality such as health surveys that pre-screen employees or visitors before they arrive. Apps can also track users throughout a building, which can help companies use space more efficiently or close spaces to reduce occupancy.

Sellers and homeowners who install them are also tight-lipped about the cost of construction systems. One of the problems is that the price varies with the size and layout of a building and the number of people, sensors and functions in the system.

Behind-the-scenes overhaul of security systems continues in office buildings and even universities. For example, students and faculty at the Rochester Institute of Technology in northern New York state use a system from Carrier for mobile access to buildings on campus.

New York developer Silverstein Properties has a contactless entry system For tenants at 7 World Trade Center in Manhattan, it allows employees to use badges stored in Apple Wallet to access office and comfort areas. A spokesperson said that at Deutsche Bank’s new offices in the former Time Warner Center, employee badges for entry from turnstiles have been granted vaccination status.

In August, Rubenstein Partners released a platform and app from building operating systems provider HqO in a 500,000-square-foot office building in Brooklyn, nearly 16 months after opening. Rubenstein had decided before the pandemic to use the technology in new development, but the desire to create a contactless login hastened the timing.

“In the past, when someone visited the office, you would give your ID to a security guard. But with Covid, distance has become a concern,” said Salvatore Dragone, director of property management at Philadelphia-based Rubenstein. “You can now pre-register and your phone will open a turnstile or elevator door. It gives us a lot more control over who enters the building.”

In addition to applications, persistent but hidden temperature and body scanners and weather sensors in lobbies and elsewhere could become more common, especially if other airborne viruses or more coronavirus variants emerge.

As property managers continue to redesign the office lobby, tenants and visitors can also expect a “concierge feel” in addition to basic security, said Mr. Dragone, as music, HVAC scent diffusers, art and other experimental elements become more commonplace.

And those plexiglass dividers? “I don’t think they’re there for good,” he added, “nor do we want them to stay longer than necessary.”

Technology continues the movement to automate manual processes across industries. But it’s also part of the trend in commercial real estate to create a more welcoming and inviting atmosphere by borrowing ideas from hotel lobbies, such as lounges and meeting spaces, he said. commercial real estate brokerage firm. CBRE also created Host, an app for tenants and landlords, and other digital building operating solutions.

“What landlords provide in the lobbies is largely a response to tenant requests, and ultimately it’s a more connected experience,” said Sandeep Davé, CBRE’s chief digital and technology chief. “The focus now is on consolidating functions in a smartphone that will provide a contactless experience and encourage people to get back to work and safely.”

James Scott, principal investigator of the Real Estate Innovation Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said the pandemic has fueled interest in contactless solutions.

“In light of Covid, the adoption and implementation of new technology has become extremely important,” he said. “The adoption rate accelerated in anywhere from three to five years.”

In 2021 global surveyAccording to IFSEC Global, an international safety and fire safety news and conference organization in London, nearly two-thirds of 250 attendees said they are adopting mobile authentication to control building access, or plan in the next two years.

Despite the urgency of the pandemic, some homeowners and property managers are still considering how and how best to strengthen lobby safety and security.

Complicating matters is the absence of a unified system. The software solutions creation industry is fragmented, with many real estate technology companies competing. And talents are still being discovered. For example, apps have been developed to automatically summon the elevator when a person enters a building, but technology providers have yet to roll out the feature in any significant way, said Mr Scott.

The same applies to the deployment of automatic temperature scanners, he added. In most cases, temporary temperature measuring stations disappeared in 2021 before the Omicron variant of the coronavirus spread.

“When a pandemic loses its force, such temporary measures tend to collect dust in a warehouse unless integrated into the framework of the building management system,” Scott said.

Expenses also need to be considered, especially in older buildings without a solid technology foundation, said W. A. ​​Watts IV, president of the Institute for Property Management, an international organization for property and asset managers.

For example, a project to retrofit an 18-year-old, 25,000-square-foot building in Birmingham, Ala., costs about $5 per square foot just to install basic infrastructure, says Mr. Watts of Chip. He and other industry watchers question whether low-density commuter offices in smaller markets should have such intense safety and security measures.

Tech innovation is on the way, said Dawn M. Carpenter, founder of Dawning Real Estate and a broker who manages nearly five million square feet of commercial real estate in New York City.

Ms. Carpenter said that at her 200,000-square-foot office building on Staten Island, the security guards at the lobby desk were still searching for tenants when visitors arrived. Guests then wait until someone takes the elevator down to pick them up. But no visitors have been allowed since the Omicron hit.

“Adding a building operating system is a huge capital expenditure and owners have to get involved in it,” he said. “It’s not in this building yet, but it will come.”