Smart Building Automation — UrbanAxis Developers
Floorplan heatmap, energy curves and tenant app .Client overview
UrbanAxis Developers is a commercial real-estate developer focusing on Grade-A office campuses in tier-1 & tier-2 Indian cities. Facing rising operating costs and tenant demand for smarter workplaces, they contracted Medro Hi Tech Symbol to implement a holistic smart building solution across a 200k sq ft campus (two towers with shared services).
Challenge
UrbanAxis had siloed building systems (HVAC, lighting, access control, metering) with limited cross-system orchestration. Energy bills were increasing, occupant complaints about comfort peaks were common, and maintenance was reactive rather than predictive. They needed a platform that unified systems, reduced energy consumption without harming comfort, and improved service SLAs for tenants.
Solution — Unified Smart Building Platform
We designed and implemented a Building Automation Platform that combined an open BMS layer, edge gateways for constrained controllers, a central orchestration engine for schedule & demand response, occupant-centric comfort services via a tenant app, and predictive maintenance for MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) assets.
Core modules
Approach
- Discovery & asset survey to map protocols, control points and telemetry gaps.
- Pilot on a single tower: install edge gateways, tenant app pilot, and baseline energy models.
- Train occupancy and comfort models; implement schedule-based orchestration with manual overrides.
- Roll out predictive maintenance alarms, staff workflows, and tenant onboarding.
Technology stack
Implementation — Phased Rollout
Phase 1 — Asset Survey & Pilot (Weeks 1–8)
Comprehensive systems inventory, edge gateway installs for legacy controllers, and pilot tenant app for 30 offices.
Phase 2 — Orchestration & Comfort Models (Weeks 9–20)
Develop occupancy models using Wi-Fi & badge-proxy signals, create HVAC schedule optimization and adaptive setpoint logic tied to occupancy.
Phase 3 — Predictive MEP & Workflows (Weeks 21–32)
Deploy vibration/current analytics for AHUs and pumps, integrate maintenance ticketing and spare-part forecasts.
Phase 4 — Campus Rollout & Continuous Optimization (Weeks 33–40)
Roll out across second tower and shared podium, tune energy models seasonally and implement demand-response pilot with local utility.
Impact & Results
20%
Reduction in campus energy consumption (kWh)
38%
Fewer occupant comfort complaints (measured tickets)
45%
Reduction in emergency HVAC interventions
9 months
Typical time to ROI for the campus
Qualitative outcomes
- Tenants valued room booking + temperature preference features; occupant satisfaction scores rose.
- Operations moved to scheduled and predictive maintenance, reducing overtime and rush repairs.
- Demand-response participation provided additional revenue in peak months without affecting comfort.
Client Testimonial
Key Highlights & Learnings
- Start with an asset-level survey — canonical control points avoid integration delays later.
- Occupancy-aware scheduling captures most easy wins for HVAC energy savings without sacrificing comfort.
- Combining simple physics-based heuristics with ML reduces false alarms and builds operator trust.