ITU‐T's Technical Reports and Specifications 465 2 Intelligent sustainable building roadmap Cars are very heavily integrated with alarms and information messages all displayed through a single driver interface which may inform the driver of issues related to tire pressure, bulbs which have failed, engine performance issues and many other components. Current generation airplanes are all designed to operate using \"fly by wire\" meaning that communications for all of the operational aspects of the aircraft are carried over one or more communication backbones in a manner not dissimilar to that being advocated for an intelligent building. The difference between these two examples and the building industry is however the legislative requirements for reliability, safety, and accountability which do not apply in the same manner in the heavily divided building industry. Many of the concepts which have been described briefly in this document may be found in documents such as the Technology Roadmap adopted by Industry Canada and subsequently updated and reissued through Continental Automated Building Association (CABA) which has been a market driver in the development of industry discussion and cooperation related to intelligent building technologies. 2.1 Subjective versus objective evaluation The objectives of intelligent buildings have been described in general terms but nevertheless there are often strenuous professional arguments as to what should be the primary objectives of an intelligent building. For example: Is it more important that the building be more efficient, i.e., that the operating costs are reduced? Or, is it more important that the effectiveness of individual occupants in the building are put as the most important objective. Depending on the particular structure, its purpose, the technologies that are prevalent in the building, and other factors, there will often be different objectives. With ever rising energy and labour costs it is obvious that if those costs can be kept in check, or preferably reduced, opportunities for financial savings will provide an immediate return on any extra investment of building an intelligent building. A building which is operated continuously e.g., a hospital, or which is operated by individuals who pay fees such as condominiums are less likely to see immediate benefits from the functions available in intelligent buildings. By contrast when the building is one which should respond rapidly to dramatic changes, clearly the intelligent building will respond more effectively. The other significant component in deciding the evaluation and benefits of intelligence relates to whether the building is occupied by a consistent population such as in a residential building or whether the building is occupied by an itinerant population such as a sports arena, a concert hall, or even a hospital. In the latter example, the occupancy and therefore the building operating mode will change dramatically depending on whether there is an activity currently in progress or whether the activity is one which is not in progress.