A look at Intel's inside: Eye-popping smart features with 9,000 sensors

The chipmaker's new design centre in Bengaluru is a study in the future of smart buildings and smart workspaces

Walking into Intel’s newest design centre in Bengaluru is literally an electrifying experience. The walkway has an eight square metre prototype floor that produces electricity, albeit a small amount, when someone walks over it. That’s just for starters. The building is packed with eye-popping smart features, including some 9,000 sensors, that give a foretaste of the future.

From the outside, the global chipmaker’s new centre seems identical to the other buildings at its sprawling 44-acre campus on Sarjapur Outer Ring Road in Bengaluru. But things are very different inside. 

The building itself has been constructed with the ‘One Storey High’ technology, in which each floor is built on the ground before being winched up to its final location. What holds up the building are six concrete tubes, akin to elevator shafts or giant chimneys, with one concrete knuckle in the middle. The nine floors are hung from these towers, or cores, creating a much more expansive interior space than a regular concrete pillar construction.

“This is the second smart and green building in India to be constructed with the innovative ‘One Storey High’ technology, with each floor built on the ground, then lifted and attached to the top of the building,” says Jitendra Chaddah, senior director for strategy & operations, Intel India.

Intel was, in fact, the first to use this building technology in India, and the first time it did so was at its previous design facility, which is located in the same campus. However, in the latest building, the company has been able to reduce the construction time by as much as six months. Given that the building spans 620,000 square feet, and that the cost of construction wasn’t any higher than traditional methods, it was quite a feat to complete it in 12 months flat. Plus, Intel has figured out a way to seat an additional 1,000 people in the same floor space as the other buildings.  

The beauty of the ‘One Storey High’ technology is that it is modular and follows lean six sigma concepts. It also uses the 3D Building Information Modelling (BIM) process to improve velocity, quality and efficiency in construction.

Apart from the innovative construction, which was led by Shapoorji Pallonji, the building is a showcase for the future of smart buildings, especially smart workplaces. The company says it is the perfect way for its employees to see and feel exactly how the technology they’re building can revolutionise the workplace, making it more efficient, personal, and more productive.

With 90 per cent of its energy consumption coming from renewable sources, the building’s  power consumption and emissions are closely monitored. Unlike more traditional renewable power installations, this building relies less on solar power, and much more on solid oxide fuel cells. 

What’s more, sensors based on Internet of Things technology reduce power consumption by adjusting every single artificial source of light according to how much natural light is entering the building at any given time. While the workspaces are generally open, employees can control their own heat and light preferences wherever they are in the building by using an app built for the purpose.  

Employees will also be able to use this app to book themselves space within the building, since a majority of them can choose whether they want to work at a traditional desk or in one of the more informal lounge areas. In that respect, Intel’s new office is somewhat akin to a co-working space — although, here, everyone works for the same organisation.

Built at a cost of Rs 11 billion, Intel’s new centre will house teams and labs that work on futuristic technologies. “The facility will house technologists working in areas such as Cloud, Client, Graphics, AI and 5G,” says Chaddah. It will also be the largest design site at Intel outside its headquarters in the US, reaffirming the chipmaker’s commitment to tapping India’s talent base for global development.

Futuristic features
 
Building technology:  Using ‘One Storey High Technology’ construction is done on the ground and then floors are lifted into place

Sensors: The building has over 9,000 sensors to manage lighting, temperature, CO2 levels and occupancy

Energy : A combination of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and solar produces 90 per cent of the building’s energy consumption needs

Smart Floor:  A proof of concept floor installed at the entrance of the building produces electricity when pedestrians walk over it. Could someday be used to produce electricity in places witnessing a lot of footfall