Our pilot with GEAR, Kajima's smart building and innovation space in Singapore, is now live. We're deploying Wattif's demand flexibility platform to map, monitor, and orchestrate the building's loads, turning it into a showcase for energy intelligence in commercial real estate.
About GEAR
GEAR (Global Engineering and Architecture) is Kajima Corporation's innovation hub, designed to test and demonstrate next-generation building technologies. It's not just an office. It's a living laboratory for smart building systems, sustainability innovations, and the future of commercial real estate.
For us, GEAR represents the ideal pilot environment: a modern building with sophisticated HVAC and lighting systems, an owner committed to innovation, and visibility in Singapore's built environment ecosystem.
What We're Deploying
The pilot covers three phases:
Phase 1: Flexibility mapping. We've connected to GEAR's building management system to monitor HVAC, lighting, and other loads in real-time. The platform is learning the building's patterns: when loads peak, how much thermal mass exists, and where flexibility hides.
Phase 2: Orchestration. Once we've mapped the flexibility envelope, we'll begin active orchestration (pre-cooling, load shifting, and demand response) while maintaining occupant comfort and operational requirements.
Phase 3: Grid services. The end goal is demonstrating that a commercial building can respond to external signals like price, carbon intensity, or grid dispatch as a flexible, controllable asset.
StartUp CoLab and Recognition
This pilot emerged from Kajima's StartUp CoLab programme, which connects innovative startups with Kajima's development and construction expertise. The programme identified demand flexibility as a strategic capability for future buildings, and Wattif as a partner to develop it.
Our work with GEAR has been featured in:
- The Straits Times — Coverage of Kajima's innovation initiatives and startup partnerships in Singapore. Read more →
- GEAR Magazine — Feature on energy intelligence and the future of smart buildings. Read more →
Why This Pilot Matters
GEAR is a single building. But Kajima manages millions of square feet globally. The approach we're developing here (integration, orchestration logic, operational protocols) can scale across their entire portfolio.
For real estate developers and building owners, the pilot demonstrates something important: demand flexibility isn't just for industrial facilities or data centres. It works in commercial office buildings, retail properties, and mixed-use developments. The flexibility is already there. It just needs to be unlocked.
What's Next
Over the coming months, we'll be publishing data from the pilot: flexibility mapped, demand shifted, and grid services enabled. Our goal is to build the evidence base that makes demand flexibility a standard capability in commercial buildings, not an experimental add-on.
To the Kajima team: thank you for the partnership and the platform to prove what's possible. This is just the beginning.
For Real Estate and Building Owners
Interested in exploring demand flexibility for your properties? We're looking for pilot partners across commercial office, retail, and hospitality. Contact us at hello@wattif.io