IoT Meets PoE: Powering a Modern Workforce

CompuCom

The new Compucom Digital Campus and Global Headquarters in Fort Mill, SC, embodies a forward-looking workspace with fully integrated technology. The client, a company specializing in providing businesses of all sizes with digital tools to foster collaboration and productivity, has pushed the envelope with technology for over 30 years. Its new 151,000 SF headquarters needed not only to showcase what technology can do for a company, but also to create a people-centered workplace where employees would thrive. The architects worked closely with the client at every stage of the design, which included both core and shell and interiors, to create a blend of the high-tech and the human.

Bright, bold furnishings and warm wood accents complement industrial elements such as polished concrete and exposed systems. “Floating” elements such as a monumental stair and a red cube conference room create a sense of transparency and interconnectedness. A grand reception area with a double-height media wall connects to a multi-use café with a variety of seating and touchdown spaces. In this generous atrium, an accent wall of geometric plywood and a massive digital wall draw the eye upwards and visually connect the upper and lower floors.

The new space maximizes the capabilities of the Internet of Things (IoT) to automate and control all systems. The fully integrated building management system incorporates lighting, HVAC, power systems, security access, occupancy tracking, and scheduling applications. The facility is the first full Power over Ethernet (PoE) lighting building in the world; every light fixture in the building is both an LED and P0E fixture, which saves energy and allows greater operator control.