Introduction and Intelligent Building Definition- Jenny Fretta

My name is Jenny Fretta and I'm a fifth year senior in the Civil and Architectural Engineering Program at Drexel. My concentration is in Digital Building, in which I hope to learn more about integrated building systems and the uses of different materials for sustainability. I'm originally from the Jersey shore and then I moved to Long Island, so this is the farthest I've ever lived from the ocean.

My first co-op was with Sunoco, where I was a retail engineer and mostly created markups for interior and exterior finishes on the convenience stores. My second co-op was with Mainstay Engineering, where I performed structural analysis on existing structures using Revit and RAM. My last co-op was with StructureTone, where I worked as a rotating Project Manager and Estimator for the Five Below Headquarters on 8th and Market St.

To me intelligent building means using new technologies to help reduce waste in buildings and enhance the function of the building for the users. This definition can vary from technologies linked to a users phone to help them control the settings of building use (such as temperature and lighting), to sensors that monitor CO2 levels. Another idea linked to intelligent building is AI, which can adapt based on the behavior of the users inside the building.