Data reveals important details about the area’s background and therefore it is a great first step during a design project. To ease this phase, design agency Amerikka uses CHAOS’ location intelligence solution. The solution allows the team to start projects with a comprehensive overview of what is happening in the area and, above all, why.
Digitalisation and the development of technology have opened up new opportunities in almost all industries. Urban design and property development is no exception. According to Teemu Nojonen, Creative Director of Amerikka, the change in the industry emphasizes the importance of utilising data, networks and collaboration. It is even more important to ensure that the background information, goals and metrics are in shape before the design part itself begins. And above all, consider what kind of reality the design is for.
Amerikka’s core competencies are the development and conceptualisation of commercial real estate, architectural design and expert services. Important parts of the agency’s design process are participatory models and the utilisation of data, which are used to map the starting points of the projects.
The industry has come a long way from the times of pen and paralex ruler. “More tools are coming up all the time. It’s no longer about many tools to use, but how to use them effectively,” reminds Tuuli Korjus, Amerikka’s Development Director. This requires employees to learn new things and develop themselves constantly. That is why the tools in use provide information in an easy and user-friendly format.
"The most essential thing is not to find out what is happening, but why."
Amerikka’s team has recognised the importance of networks and partners, and therefore close cooperation has also been carried out with CHAOS for a few years already. Since CHAOS’ data platform development has focused on usability, it has been easy to incorporate into the agency’s everyday life. After the product was developed into its current form, Amerikka has been able to expand its use for new purposes.
“In a world fragmented into many different platforms, the advantage of CHAOS is location research and easy access to information from one place,” says Nojonen. “Ease of use is absolutely important. CHAOS is fast and practical, and that’s a big advantage in our world,” adds Korjus.
With CHAOS, Amerikka’s team can start their projects by studying the target area and its special characteristics. This way, data-driven design is made easy and as natural as possible in the process. When the area’s phenomena and trends are understood, the design work can be taken to an even more detailed level.
“The importance of CHAOS to us stands out, especially at the beginning of the design process. It is easy to make a broad overview of the area and form an overview of which things in the project might be relevant and what needs to be studied in more detail,” tells Nojonen.
"There is so much data out there that you have to be able to narrow down where to start and what is relevant to the project."
It depends on the project on what data is most important. Sometimes it is important to see the population structure around the location, and sometimes understanding the commercial service structure of the area is emphasized. What is essential, however, is that these things and their impact can be compared with each other. Comparing different years to each other also helps to understand what the trends and development in the area look like.
“We are usually interested in the development and trends of the area because we don’t look at things just in their silos. And the most essential thing is not to find out what is happening, but why. This is well illustrated by CHAOS because data is available from different perspectives and many different years. You cannot explain any phenomenon by looking at one specific change. Different sources must be studied side by side,” says Korjus.
For a long time, the challenge has not been the sufficient amount of available data, but rather how to utilise it.
“There are new data sources and user interfaces created all the time, and understanding and utilizing them only becomes more important. Certainly, in the early stages of designing, background information has always been dug up from somewhere, but now the number and palette of sources is only increasing,” Korjus says.
It is important to know how to ask the right questions before starting to look for answers. “There is so much data out there that you have to be able to narrow down where to start and what is relevant to the project. And this is where CHAOS helps us”, Nojonen sums up.
Both Nojonen and Korjus see that in the future human-centeredness, community and responsibility will be emphasized even more in urban and real estate development. As technology develops, the importance of the human aspect grows. Areas will be designed to better meet the needs of people when data is used in the background.
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