Pantheon of Wonder

Essay

Abstraction of Colorful Light

The Role of Prediction in Smart Environments

by Maria Lorena Lehman

Smart Environment

Architecture Drawing

As an architect, you often have to predict occupant needs — to design built space that meets those needs with sophisticated and seamless solutions. But, what happens when an architecture is more interactive, and a need arises during an interaction sequence? Can architecture respond to a change in occupant need that happens in real-time?

In essence, there are two types of core reactions — those that stem from predicted events and those that were not predicted at all, but instead occur after a need arises. Thus, the first is a preventative measure, while the second is a reactive measure.

Really, the need for both predictive and reactive behaviors is important within the design of smart environments because not everything happens according to plan. Hence, the design of your building should contain both predictive and reactive behaviors — to help occupants reach their milestones and goals.

What Can Be Done With Patterns?

A smart environment can begin to pick up on cues in occupant behavior to detect patterns that may lead toward a prediction (like what goal an occupant wants to achieve or how they will need help to achieve it). Patterns of occupant activity can be very revealing — shedding light on what the architecture will need to do, and when it will need to do it. Thus, smart environments can not only help to “fix” needs that arise, but they can also help to prevent needs from ever arising in the first place.

So, the role of prediction in the design of smart of environments is to empower occupants. It isn’t about taking control or privacy from them. Instead, it’s all about helping occupants to achieve what they want, whether it is health, happiness, safety, productivity, or some other goal.

While not everything can be predicted in real-time (there are always margins of error), it does help to know that the future of smart environments may very well help to make life healthier, happier, and safer. Smart architecture can teach, warn, and react to occupant events and behaviors — let’s make sure we use such capabilities for the good of the occupant, to empower them.

Image Credit: © Dreamstime

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Dear reader,


I believe life is a continual process of awakening. As the journey of my own life continues, I always find myself connecting my experiences, studies, and ideas to new creative projects that bring beauty, inspiration, and hope for our world. For over 30 years, since starting at age 17, I have immersed myself in architectural design; and early on, I earned a Master of Design with Distinction from Harvard University, setting the foundation for decades of deep immersion in the field. Yet even before this, I held music close to my heart. At the age of 5, I began my first piano lessons; and since then, I began to see the world through a musical lens — even while designing architecture.


Over the decades, I grew closer and closer to music with a deep love for the design of instruments, their unique timbres, and for all the immersive ways their sounds could be interwoven into beautiful orchestrated compositions. I even began to develop a musical composition methodology, Spatial Symphonics, as I found my architectural design work becoming more and more emotive, soul-stirring, and yes: musical.


In recent years, I finally turned my focus to music composition. I hold a Graduate Diploma from the Film Scoring Academy of Europe where my works have been recorded by the acclaimed European Recording Orchestra (ERO), and I am founder of MLL ATELIER® — an award-winning studio now dedicated to my work as an orchestral composer, recording artist, and spatial symphonist — where I advance architectural design through music, and innovate music through an architectural design lens.


It is my hope that I can share my ongoing musical-design journey with you, directly from my studio through my video-newsletter entitled 'Orchestral Notes'. Expect video updates filled with first-access studio news announcing: album/book releases, concert premiers, sheet music publications, creative process sneak-peeks, and my own compositional philosophies as they develop to fuel my ongoing body of musical and architectural authorial works.


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Let’s enjoy the beauty, inspiration, and hope that music brings.


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Warmly,

Maria Lorena Lehman


Founder of MLL ATELIER® | Orchestral Notes

Your invitation:


Dear reader,


I believe life is a continual process of awakening. As the journey of my own life continues, I always find myself connecting my experiences, studies, and ideas to new creative projects that bring beauty, inspiration, and hope for our world. For over 30 years, since starting at age 17, I have immersed myself in architectural design; and early on, I earned a Master of Design with Distinction from Harvard University, setting the foundation for decades of deep immersion in the field. Yet even before this, I held music close to my heart. At the age of 5, I began my first piano lessons; and since then, I began to see the world through a musical lens — even while designing architecture.


Over the decades, I grew closer and closer to music with a deep love for the design of instruments, their unique timbres, and for all the immersive ways their sounds could be interwoven into beautiful orchestrated compositions. I even began to develop a musical composition methodology, Spatial Symphonics, as I found my architectural design work becoming more and more emotive, soul-stirring, and yes: musical.


In recent years, I finally turned my focus to music composition. I hold a Graduate Diploma from the Film Scoring Academy of Europe where my works have been recorded by the acclaimed European Recording Orchestra (ERO), and I am founder of MLL ATELIER® — an award-winning studio now dedicated to my work as an orchestral composer, recording artist, and spatial symphonist — where I advance architectural design through music, and innovate music through an architectural design lens.


It is my hope that I can share my ongoing musical-design journey with you, directly from my studio through my video-newsletter entitled 'Orchestral Notes'. Expect video updates filled with first-access studio news announcing: album/book releases, concert premiers, sheet music publications, creative process sneak-peeks, and my own compositional philosophies as they develop to fuel my ongoing body of musical and architectural authorial works.


I would love for you to join me for this exciting adventure.


Simply click the button below to join my Orchestral Notes video-newsletter delivered every two weeks directly to your email inbox. Plus, get access to the full publication archives.

JOIN ORCHESTRAL NOTES

Limited availability each month.


Warmly,

Maria Lorena Lehman


Founder of MLL ATELIER

Author of PANTHEON OF WONDER

Maria Lorena Lehman has received the following awards and has been seen in the following publications: