Smart building innovation takes center stage at Fenway Park

At Boston’s iconic Fenway Park, Johnson Controls welcomed building owners, engineers and facility leaders for the 2025 Smart Building Symposium: Technology for Tomorrow’s Buildings. With sweeping views of the park and a jam-packed agenda, the event gave attendees a deep dive into how innovation in building automation is reshaping how we operate, maintain and modernize the built environment.

Hosted on May 14, 2025, the symposium focused on emerging trends and real-world strategies for future-proofing facilities. Sessions led by experts from Johnson Controls emphasize a clear message: the future of smart buildings is here—and it’s actionable. From energy efficiency and digital transformation to system modernization and lifecycle management, connected solutions can transform how buildings operate.

Sessions Highlights

Modern Trends for Owners in BAS
This session explored how building owners and operators can modernize without the disruption and expense of complete system overhauls. Instead of rip-and-replace strategies, the focus was on retrofit upgrades to support long-term performance, compliance and usability goals. Attendees saw how intuitive, mobile-first interfaces reduce training time, improve accessibility and help teams work more efficiently.

Advanced tools such as fault detection, energy dashboards and Connected Controls Services provide increased insight and control, helping owners stay ahead of maintenance issues. The session also highlighted the importance of cybersecurity in modern building automation systems (BAS), emphasizing zero-trust models, data privacy and simplifying compliance for IT teams. Security isn’t just a feature, it’s foundational to future-ready building automation.

Turning Bleeding Edge into Leading Edge
In a deep dive into Johnson Controls’ OpenBlue platform, this session showcased the cloud-based system integrated with AI, analytics and real-time visibility to optimize building performance at scale. OpenBlue is a unified platform connecting people, systems and assets through modular SaaS offerings designed for energy, space and asset optimization. Attendees learned about documented benefits, including up to 30% energy savings and a 40% increase in operator productivity. The platform’s ability to anticipate challenges and provide actionable insights demonstrated how digital transformation can turn emerging technology into leading edge solutions for facility management.

Modernizing BAS Specifications with Metasys
Focused on the evolution of building automation systems, this session highlighted how BACnet IP architecture and embedded cybersecurity are designed to meet today’s rigorous building and IT standards. Fully specifiable security features such as TLS 1.2, BACnet Secure Connect, 802.1x and FIPS 140-2 compliance ensure robust protection for modern facilities. Attendees learned how a mobile-friendly user interface with space-based navigation allows operators to quickly diagnose issues based on specific locations within a building. The presentation also covered key operational outcomes, including faster fault detection and triage workflows, cloud-enabled commissioning for simplified deployment and enhanced efficiency for contractors while providing greater oversight for building owners.

The collaborative conversations at this event made one thing clear: innovation in building systems isn’t just about technology; it’s about solving the real challenges owners and operators face daily, from improving occupant comfort to reducing energy use and streamlining maintenance workflows.

Explore how Johnson Controls is helping shape the future of smart, sustainable buildings: https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/smart-buildings