For the past four years, Faizan Zaidi has served as director of design technology for a team of 50 at multidisciplinary design practice Spectorgroup. In his role, Zaidi blends seamless design with building information modeling for efficient project development and delivery solutions. He has specialized in developing tailored design technology & BIM strategies for projects at various stages in their lifecycle, working with clients like Applied Underwriters, Firstmark, Fanatics, Carlyle, Varagon, and more. Zaidi provides expertise and creates workflows around the most innovative digital tools currently utilized by AEC professionals. 

Innovative Solution:

In today’s competitive landscape, clients are eager to gain visual understanding of our proposed designs earlier in the process. Historically in the industry we have taken a long time to produce and iterate these visuals, but with enhanced technological adoption we can now produce high-quality renderings on the fly to give our clients a better understanding of how their space will look and feel. We can also iterate and respond to feedback with a much quicker turnaround time, swapping out materials or finishes with ease. In the past few months, we’ve invested in cutting edge NVIDIA graphics processing unit hardware that has enhanced our graphic capabilities even further, producing hyper-realistic walkthroughs that paint a clear picture of what a space will look like before it goes into construction.

Innovative Outlook: 

Smart building technology and IoT integration in the commercial real estate sector will drive innovation in the coming years. Building owners and managers can reduce energy cost and lower carbon footprints by using smart energy management systems and IoT sensors. These sensors can also be deployed to improve tenant experience by building high-tech and user-friendly spaces. Occupancy trackers, customized lighting and predictive maintenance tracking are all tools that are gaining traction in the commercial real estate sector. Additionally, with the abundance of IoT sensors, in the coming years vast troves of data will be collected and analyzed on how buildings are being utilized and maintained. This data will in turn help building owners set up predictive machine learning models to tackle occupancy and maintenance issues. 

“Faizan has launched Spectorgroup’s technological design capabilities into a new era, spearheading the firm’s transition from computer-aided design (CAD) to Building Information Modeling (BIM). Faizan implemented a comprehensive design technology strategy, guiding project managers in adopting new digital tools, along with a tailored digital tool kit for various project development phases. Successfully transitioning into a BIM-based firm has enabled project teams to better service their commercial real estate clients by quickly and easily developing high-quality 3D models, rendering visualizations and coordination workflows.” - Marcus McDermott, UpSpring.