Transforming campus spaces and saving money and carbon at Cardiff Met

An innovative collaboration with a technology start-up has transformed how Cardiff Met manages its campus spaces by harnessing the power of data-driven decision-making to shape sustainable, efficient, and student-focused environments.

AI-powered building analytics software company, SmartViz’s innovative solutions is changing how Cardiff Met manages its campus spaces using cutting-edge technologies, including IoT sensors, occupancy analytics, air quality monitoring, and digital twins.

The approach reveals opportunities within existing buildings at Cardiff Met and enables a data-informed approach to prioritising improvements in the internal environment of the University’s buildings.

Sustainability and student wellbeing at the core

Mapping planning data for actual space needs against a perceived shortage of space, the project’s environmental and occupancy data is informing the development of a strategy that is improving the quality and usage of existing buildings by students and staff in favour of building additional space, putting the quality of space for study at the heart of campus planning.

So far, SmartViz’s solutions have delivered:

• Savings of £5.1m and 483 tonnes of embodied CO2 emissions by highlighting underutilised space, avoiding the need to build more space to meet immediate need, and improving learning environments, making them healthier and promoting wellbeing.
• Avoidance of an annual operational cost increase of £102,000 including £40,000 in energy.
• Improved space efficiency through real-time usage insights.
• Opportunities for reconfiguration of spaces to better meet the needs of students and staff.

Beyond environmental and financial impacts, the project is enhancing student and staff wellbeing through its continued efforts to improve air quality and temperature regulation across campus.

The digital solution gained industry recognition after winning a TechFest Award at the recent Festival of Innovation and Technology. These awards celebrate projects, teams, and companies that leverage technology to advance construction and civil engineering, attracting entries from some of the UK's largest businesses. The collaboration was honoured in the ‘Best Use of Technology: Smart Data Collection for Asset Management’ category following SmartViz’s submission of their case study demonstrating how it delivered a sustainable solution that met the needs of the University.

Speaking about the project, President and Vice-Chancellor of Cardiff Metropolitan University, Professor Rachael Langford, said: “SmartViz’s approach was not just about providing rich insights but engaging us in interpreting that data to make well-informed decisions about our campus development.

“The use of their technology has been transformative in challenging our preconceptions about space needs. The rich data obtained has not only informed our decisions but has also facilitated meaningful discussions across the University community.”

Reflecting on winning the award, founder and CEO of SmartViz, Dr. Shrikant B. Sharma said: “Winning this award alongside Cardiff Metropolitan University is a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation. Together, we’ve demonstrated how data-driven and people-centred decision-making can drive financial and environmental sustainability while creating better environments for students and staff.

“Cardiff Met's forward-thinking leadership has been instrumental to this success, and I’m deeply grateful for their trust. Winning against industry giants validates our ability to revolutionise how spaces are managed and inspires us to continue empowering organisations with actionable insights to build sustainable, efficient, and people-centred spaces.”

Learn more about SmartViz and our award-winning collaboration here: https://www.smart-viz.com/cardiff-metropolitan-university