SL Green Realty Corp., New York's largest office landlord, has appointed Sharry to be a technology partner for the One Vanderbilt project scheduled to be opened in August 2020 in midtown Manhattan. Sharry is a pioneer in the newly emerging market of PropTech (property & technology). The company supplies an ecosystem of smart and integrated functions for premium commercial office buildings and customers in the Americas, Africa, and Europe. Recently, the PropTech company announced a new touch-free elevator system for COVID-safe buildings.
A shining beacon on the skyline, One Vanderbilt will be the epitome of the twenty-first century workplace. Developed by SL Green Corp., the 73-story, 1,401-foot-tall (427 m) commercial office skyscraper will be the 5th tallest building in the U.S. TD Bank is signed on as the anchor tenant of the 1.75-million-square-foot property, which is due to open in August of 2020.
All users and tenants will be equipped with smart and mobile products delivered by Sharry. “Sharry was appointed by SL Green Realty to be a technology partner for One Vanderbilt in New York,” confirms Michal Cerovsky, Chief Operations Officer (COO) and a co-founder of Sharry. The company is headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, EU.
"One Vanderbilt is already an architectural icon in New York, but its completion will open a new era in which digital solutions will provide a healthier and safer work environment," adds Vladimír Mašinský, who manages Sharry's partnership with SL Green Realty.
The skyscraper will provide premium offices and seeks to raise the global standard for sustainable design and construction. The development and project team put a strong focus on green design and construction from the earliest planning stage, says Liz Majkowski, SL Green Corp.’s senior vice president of operations and director of sustainability – as quoted by ENR New York magazine (see here). “We knew from the initial design, in conversations with the architect (Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates – KPF), that we wanted this to be the highest level of LEED certification,” she says, adding that team members also are pursuing certification under the international WELL building standard that measures features impacting human health and well-being.
One Vanderbilt will be the new business heart of Manhattan, and the high-rise building will be connected to the iconic Grand Central Terminal, where films such as Armageddon, The Avengers, or Hello, Dolly! were shot. “It is probably one of greatest locations for an office building anywhere in the world,” says Carlo Scissura, president and CEO of the New York Building Congress, for ENR New York magazine.
“It's a major milestone for Sharry to be a partner of the One Vanderbilt project, a prominent part of the New York City skyline, less than four years after the company was founded. At the same time, it tells us that we were correct in taking the more demanding approach, integrating individual services and technological systems available in buildings into a single platform,” says Josef Šachta, CEO and co-founder of Sharry.
What innovations by Sharry improve the commercial office building experience?
The company brings in a new set of smart features integrated to the building; mobile access allowing workers to open doors or turnstiles just with their smartphones. If the workers drive, a smart camera link recognises their license plate and opens the gates. Parking management ensures maximal utilisation of parking spots. All users can take advantage of a tenant engagement platform for sharing important building-related news, chatting with other users, or booking shared amenities. Visitors to buildings where software from Sharry is installed can also expect the utmost in convenience. "A guest will receive a meeting invitation with a QR code. They can reserve a parking space, and the system will then automatically let in upon arrival thanks to smart cameras. The guests will then report to the reception using the QR code, just like check-in at airports. The host who invited the guest will then be notified that their visitor is already in the lobby," says product manager Ondřej Langr in describing another example of the multi-level integration that Sharry offers.
Recently, the company has announced a touch-free elevator system for COVID-safe buildings as its latest innovation. This anti-coronavirus feature enabling users to control elevators from their mobile phones or smart watches will be presented during Q3/2020 in the Sharry Workplace product line as part of a revolutionary mobile access system.
The extent of Sharry products integrated in every building varies based on the client's needs. “Unfortunately due to the trade agreement we could not specify which products will be delivered into One Vanderbilt for the opening in August 2020,” adds Michal Čeřovský, the COO of Sharry.
Along with One Vanderbilt, Sharry is completing the implementation of its smart tools ecosystem in several other office buildings on the East coast of the USA. Thanks to these projects, it is firmly sconced among the top players in the PropTech segment and especially in NYC, which last year ranked first on the Tech Cities index, which is compiled by the Savills consulting company.
“We always wanted our software to be in the best buildings in every city to which we expanded. And New York was our dream destination. I am very proud of our entire team that we can work together here on the iconic building One Vanderbilt will soon be,” adds Josef Šachta, CEO and co-founder of Sharry.