Blending Technology Into Physical Spaces: A Proptech Camp Retrospective

Our team recently put together something incredible. And we’d love to tell you all about it.

From the 3rd-4th April 2024, Nexudus hosted over 65 professionals from various sectors of the Proptech industry—including coworking and flex spaces, architecture, ESG, and property management at The Pabellón de la Navegación in Seville. This forum of Proptech talent, the first of its kind, was a resounding success. Here are some highlights.

A setting that exemplified Proptech.

Designed to accentuate Seville’s rich maritime history, The Pabellón de la Navegación (Navigation Pavilion) greeted our guests with the soul of a technological sea, as an array of over 14,000 LEDs formed a rippling wave that ushered in our first keynotes.

Distinguished speaker Alfredo Diaz-Araque, a Proptech pioneer and Advisor to the Cabinet Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda of Spain provided a deep dive into the evolution of Spain’s Proptech community. This was followed by Pablo Cereijo, founder of the Spanish Proptech Association, who discussed both the upcoming initiatives and the overall future direction of his association.

Just as the Pabellón de la Navegación is a repository of science and technology, from advanced navigation systems to novel propulsion systems, our participants created their own technological footprint within the space by discussing breakthroughs in real estate innovation.

Participants spread out into panels that unpacked the role of emerging technologies and how they can be interlaced into operational management, ESG goals, Building Information Modelling (BIM) and more. Discussions delved further into granular space management tools that more efficiently harness data and better facilitate transactions via technologies like blockchain.

A commitment to the future.

There was one interesting prerequisite to the event - participants had to commit to the full programme, on both days, instead of just focusing on their contributions. This set an excellent precedent for the two days they spent together. The early commitment brought down many barriers to collaboration and encouraged problem-solving as a community, instead of in silos.

Brainstorming sessions were charged with energy and enthusiasm, charting the best course for integrating technology into physical spaces, with an emphasis on championing the human connection that helps cultivate spaces where we live, work and play.

Some of the big takeaways focused on how to better diagnose the status of real estate using Proptech. We discussed current challenges to implementing and integrating advanced technology into a traditional asset class, and how this would result in a sort of ‘natural selection’ for real estate - the survival of those that adapt to rapid digital transformation. One unanimous takeaway was around measuring the impact of incorporating new technologies. Our contributors agreed that ‘what you cannot measure, you cannot improve’.

An extension of our brand.

The majority of Proptech events we’ve attended in the last 12 years have had a commercial lean to them. While this is important to building stronger business networks, we wanted to try something radically different.

Nexudus has always been on the frontlines of digitally transforming spaces, and we wanted this event to extend our company’s vision. By bringing great minds together from various industries, not just technology, we wanted to create opportunities for complementary problem-solving. It was our attempt at identifying synergies between various disciplines that could collectively create disruptive solutions. And it far exceeded our expectations.

“Outside of the sunshine - which was much appreciated - we had the chance to leave our bubbles and identify similar challenges across many sectors, which are all moving towards the same goals - to improve buildings and tenants’ lives. Very soon, technology will play a huge role in how we engage with every physical asset. Proptech Camp was a chance for us to represent and amplify the voices that are ushering in this future” - Carlos Almansa, CEO, Nexudus.

A brighter horizon.

We concluded Proptech Camp with two significant keynotes. Victor Martinez, CTO at Kampaoh, a leading glamping platform, shared insights on how the company utilises technology to achieve exponential growth, culminating in €25 million in sales in 2023. Following this, Joaquin Peña, a thought leader in artificial intelligence, discussed the transformative impact of AI on Proptech.

Participants were fascinated to learn how AI can offer 1000 design iterations (in under 10 seconds) for any piece of land - no matter how unique its shape. AI advancements can now help developers get bespoke designs to suit unconventional spaces and even automatically cross-check these against local building laws to instantly determine a project’s feasibility.

We can’t help but be optimistic about a similar future for workspaces that are designed in collaboration with sophisticated AI to be smarter, more efficient and truly transform how we live and work.

On this uplifting note, we want to extend a special thank you to Jaime Aranda Serralbo, who was the perfect collaborator for this visionary gathering. The nearly 100% positive feedback score in our post-event comms is a testament to Jaime’s knowledge and dedication. We’re eager to continue building momentum through similar events for our community and look forward to welcoming you to the next Proptech Camp. Watch this space for more details.

At Nexudus, we’re passionately building technology that provides space owners and operators with fully customisable, easy-to-integrate digital solutions for their spaces, across coworking, commercial real estate, hospitality and beyond. Since 2012, our award-winning technology has helped workspace owners and operators in over 90 countries digitally transform their spaces, manage them more efficiently, provide exceptional customer experiences and gather advanced analytics for better decision-making.