The main mission of the association is to interconnect real estate professionals focusing on new technologies with partner projects of the new segment PropTech. This platform was founded by Locco, RentRocket and Sharry Europe.

One conference - four topics

At the beginning of the conference, architect Vladimír Mašinský presented his perspective on current development changes, including bold visions such as co-living, i.e. living in shared apartments. Filip Muška from CBRE also outlined his vision of the near future. New offices should be designed based on people’s needs and wishes in particular, Ivo Hrdina from JuiceUp pointed out.

The second thematic bloc brought several perspectives on technological solutions for how employees, visitors and cars could enter buildings. Will we continue to open offices with a plastic card or smartphone or will our employer scan the blood stream in our palm? The answer to this question was provided by Kamil Targalski from HID Global, Martin Maxa and Tomáš Vejr from ČSOB and Lukáš Hefka, a Smartiple representative.

We have resolved the building entry. Once we are inside, how and with what can we interact in the room? Šimon Opekar from Techo described the current evolution of the work environment and outlined the future direction that – it seems – will be dominated by flexibility. Will we be greeted by robotic receptionists, as Gorjan Lazarov presented on the example of the interactive robot Pepper? A smart office also means smart lighting. Its benefits were pointed out by Boris Zupančič from Philips Lighting.

A shared economy is currently one of the major topics around the world. However, you do not have to share only a place in a car (see Uber) or an available room (see Airbnb); office buildings can also share e.g. the “magic” Laundrybox where you put your dirty laundry and pick it up clean later on. Shared offices, which were presented at the conference by Karel Pelán from IWG, represent a separate topic. He also announced the arrival of the coworking chain Spaces at Prague.

The conference ended with a final panel discussion (its live broadcasting is available on Facebook). The developers’ arguments and opinions during the discussion were represented by Alexandra Tomášková (CEO of Skanska Property) and Pavel Streblov (Commercial Business Director, Penta Real Estate). Jana Straková, office manager of EYELEVEL, provided her idea of what ideal offices should look like. The perspective of real estate investors was provided by Tomáš Fiala from the Invesco Real Estate Fund.

First-hand innovation experience

The Friendly Buildings conference, held under the auspices of the Czech Green Building Council, also included a small fair of innovative solutions for the work environment. Visitors could try smart office furniture, a smart coffeemaker controlled by a mobile application or virtual reality.

"I think a lot of ideas and start-ups or perhaps companies we cannot treat as start-ups anymore have their brains here in Prague and they are expanding not just into Western Europe but also in the US so I am proud to say we are among the top level in this area,“ Tomáš Fiala assessed the current situation.

Sharry Europe, the general partner of the conference whose products are used by people in five European countries, serves as a good example. “We meet many people and firms whose technology we integrate into our platform. The Friendly Buildings conference should play the same role – it should interconnect people and offer a space for sharing opinions and practical examples of how to create the best possible buildings and work environment. People actually spend 80-90% of their time inside a building,” adds Josef Šachta from Sharry.

New inspiration

The conference outlined several visions of where PropTech should go at least in Central Europe.

“I look forward to reviewing these plans at the next conference in 2019. I look forward to a new dose of inspiration. And I look forward to seeing all PropTech friends,” concluded Josef Šachta.

See you in 2019!