For our last panel we reflect upon where the digital twin strategy will take us based upon promising R&D and stronger ESG regulations. We also consider the evolving needs of asset managers in twinning and automating complex business and social systems within buildings, cities and civil infrastructure.  

As the concept of a digital twin becomes clearer, the focus is shifting from exploring the technology to focusing on how to capture value from it across the asset lifecycle.  

The use of digital twins to inform decision making and reporting is a key competitive advantage. How do you advise partners, clients or colleagues to adopt this strategy to improve their management of asset information and their digital transformation requirements? What are their key objections towards the adoption of the strategy?  

Digital twins require a greater focus on data quality between project partners. The end vision is that improved data quality for a digital twin creates more certainty for the recommendations or changes it provides to improve the construction or operation of a built asset. In this session, we discuss how partners should manage the data. 

Behind the hype, and the data management challenges, digital twins offer real value to AECs and asset owners. In this panel, we explore what it means to use digital twins as a digital and business transformation strategy and what this new framework means for BIM practitioners. 

Digital transformation for the built asset world has been slow to develop. Hesitation in investing large amounts of funds is a valid and understandable concern.  The panel shares what they see as the future of built asset transformation and what role the digital twin framework has in built world construction and asset management.  

Spatial digital twin proof-of-concepts are being rolled out in APAC cities. The developers imagine a series of connected urban digital twins sharing data to boost infrastructure performance on issues including climate change. Our panel gives us an insight on how the system will work and will speculate on the impact of 5G.

Before Covid changed the landscape, ESG and the need for greater sustainability was coming of age. Today, tenants have taken up the baton, making it even more important for developers and landlords to design, build and operate with ESG at the forefront as the push towards Net-Zero gathers pace.  

• Assessing the impact of ESG on Commercial Real Estate and how it has evolved over the last 24 months? 
• How is technology playing a key role in addressing sustainability issues and enabling commercial buildings to tread more lightly on the planet?
• Examining the ethical application of technology and what this means in terms of office space. 
• From construction to facilities management – what can each player in the CRE ecosystem do better to drive sustainable outcomes? 
• How much of a factor is ESG when tenants are selecting office space? 

One way to attract or to keep wavering tenants secure is by investment into the buildings themselves. Tenants want greater amenities and end of trip facilities, as well as building connectivity that increases organisational culture, productivity as well as promoting staff well-be
ing and environmental sustainability and overall air quality. These areas and more will be discussed in this intimate panel discussion led by one of the region’s leading experts in Occupier Services and his tenants.

• What are the views of tenants across APAC and what lessons can be applied for tenants in Australia?
• Examining what trends and themes are driving Best Practice from an APAC perspective?
• Looking at how occupiers are becoming more vocal in what they want from landlords and how agencies are working to bring them together
• Understanding what the future may look like and how it is being shaped to meet evolving demands for spaces that provide wellbeing, functionality, safety and in a more sustainable way

In this rapid fire session, we hear from 4 forward thinking PropTech companies and how they are creating technologies for the lasting shift toward remote and hybrid work within the physical workplace. The session is being facilitated by REACH Australia who accelerate the top growth companies into the global real estate industry.

The future for office commercial space looks increasingly uncertain, as more and more people work from home and some employers consider making it a permanent arrangement. This could significantly affect office real estate investment trusts, or REITs, at least in the short to medium term, according to analysts. However, some are still somewhat positive on the longer-term outlook. 

Back by popular demand, we invite some of Australia’s leading commercial fund managers to lift the bonnet and crystal ball gaze into the trends of commercial real estate from the viewpoint of investors and the capital markets.  

• Examining the short, medium and long term prospects for office space. What are the current occupancy rates, impacts on leases, price per sqm and yields etc? 
• What are the view of REITS and fund managers regarding office investment returns? Is there evidence of a flight to quality in the office market and a longer term structural shift to certain types of office assets, and what sort of assets are in demand? 
• Assessing if the ‘risk adverse’ money is moving away from office and into other sectors such as industrial & logistics as investors seek safer, more ‘risk adjusted’ returns? 
• Reviewing what lenders are doing and thinking in the face of the WFH-driven uncertainty? Also, what can landlords do to influence the outcome of the WFH versus in-office contest? Lastly, what has happened to LVRs and underwriting? 
• Examining how are office landlords are adjusting to climate change pressures? Building operations are a major source of emissions and as capital allocators look for sustainable investments, does the property industry have any choice but to de-carbonize? 

Covid has caused massive disruption to CBDs and Commercial Real Estate. Once thriving cities, full of office buildings housing employees have been forced into lockdown with significant economic impact. What is not known is how permanent this impact will be with many companies advocating for a push back to pre-covid workplace arrangements, and others adopting hybrid working policies. In this session we gather leading industry professionals to talk about the past, present and the future of office space such as: 

• Has the role of the office changed forever and what are the implications of hybrid work on city CBDs and the national economy?  

• What role are tenants playing in defining the new office landscape? 
• What can landlords do to enhance their design, safety, air quality, wellbeing and more to attract and retain tenants? 
• Examining the role technology plays in making office spaces clean, healthy, attractive and more sustainable. 
• Looking at retail from a commercial building perspective; how can we support retailers in order for them to support the tenants of the buildings they occupy? 
• What does all of this mean for office landlords, investors and agencies and how can they work together to enhance and revitalise the CBD?