
My refelection on AI’s seismic shock to the smart buildings market, advocating a forward-looking Sensemaking approach

My refelection on AI’s seismic shock to the smart buildings market, advocating a forward-looking Sensemaking approach

James Pellatt: AI is the game-changer, transforming smart buildings from projects to products.

Challenges traditional use case views, advocating a collaborative shift to defining clear performance indicators for true digital building value.

WELL’s adoption links to JLL’s 3-30-300 Rule, revealing a ‘Trojan horse’ strategy for digital platforms prioritising human-centric ROI

Emerging from a period of reflection, I explore key evolutions in digital buildings, redefining industry roles and pathways as I chart a new course.

An invitation to the Build in Digital Editorial Guidance Panel validates extensive engagement in the digital buildings ecosystem.

A deep dive into the Smart-to-BIM revolution, focusing on human-centred design and transforming data into living assets.

A deep dive into the Smart-to-BIM revolution, focusing on human-centred design and transforming data into living assets.

A panel exploring the persistent ‘project-operations’ gap in digital construction, identifying challenges and solutions for seamless handover.

A discussion on bridging the construction-operations gap and ensuring successful digital soft landings through knowledge transfer.
Welcome to my blog, a record of my active engagement across the smart buildings ecosystem. Here, I focus on bringing diverse stakeholder groups together for common good and share perspectives from my ongoing work and insights. This includes my facilitation of the international Start With Smart Group.
Learn more about my background below, or connect with me on LinkedIn.
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Justin Kirby is a leading industry commentator, connector, and facilitator with over two decades of experience in catalysing stakeholder engagement and business transformation. He is a passionate advocate for bridging the persistent gap between the design-and-build phase and the long-term operational life of a building. This is the central mission of Start With Smart Group, a community he recently launched to bring together a global network of forward-thinking professionals.
Justin’s work applies the same strategic and entrepreneurial drive he used as the Executive Director of the Digital Buildings Council (DBC), where he helped to establish a collaborative platform for industry leaders and facilitate key initiatives, including the crucial Review of The RIBA Smart Buildings Overlay.
A respected voice in the field, Justin has been appointed to the Editorial Guidance Panel for Build in Digital magazine, and was nominated to the prestigious Digital Construction Power Players 2025 list by Digital Construction Plus, which he contributes to and helps judge their Digital Construction Awards partnership with Digital Construction Week. He is adept at turning complex industry challenges into clear, actionable conversations and initiatives.
Connect with him on LinkedIn or get in touch there.