Employees of businesses with offices in the Skyliner building in the Polish capital of Warsaw can now get “touchless entry” to their workplace and shared amenities with a digital credential stored in an app on their Apple or Android smartphone. Warsaw Skyliner smart building

Office and business park developer Karimpol Group has implemented the mobile access control system on some 300 Bluetooth-enabled door readers across the 42-storey skyscraper and integrated it into the building’s dedicated Skyliner app.

Located in the Wola business district, Skyliner is one of the tallest buildings in the capital at 195 metres high.

It is the first skyscraper commissioned by the developer, Karimpol Group, a developer of office and business parks in Europe. With 42 stories, it offers 49,000m² of leasable space with the lower levels dedicated to retail.

In terms of physical access control, the strategy has been to segment the building and create various zones based on usage: Office space for tenants, free access areas for the public, along underground parking.

SkylinerAPP

To meet security protocols, people are prevented from going directly from the garage to the office floors and are routed to the lobby area first.

Szymon Zduńczyk, Karimpol Group’s Technical Department Head, explained: “Another key goal was to introduce touchless entry as people pass the turnstiles in reception, with a lift automatically called to take them to the correct level. We wanted to keep everything as simple as possible for people who work and visit the building.” Warsaw Skyliner smart building

To achieve this and add value to tenants, Karimpol Group installed a workplace platform developed by Hellopark – the SkylinerAPP.

The SkylinerAPP provides functionality for tenants and staff; the ability to reserve car parking places, book desks and conference rooms as well as receive information and news about the building or events going on within it.

It is also a tool to log any maintenance requirements: the building’s facility managers are informed about them via the system so they can be dealt with promptly.

A HID Mobile Access solution has been integrated with the SkylinerAPP to allow physical access to the building, with both Apple iOS and Android-based smartphones supported. Leveraging Seos® as its underlying credential technology, the HID solution was sourced and installed by GMP Power, who also managed the programming of 300 door readers so they integrate with the mobile access solution.

Simplified setup and integration Warsaw Skyliner smart building

To date, 1,600 users are registered in the SkylinerAPP. The process of adding and authorising staff to use it is straightforward. On the backend, an office administrator first registers them in the building’s security management system.

Each employee then downloads the SkylinerAPP by visiting Google Play or the Apple App Store. The system has been designed so that tenants can manage the virtual credentials themselves from within the SkylinerAPP.

At the outset of the project, Karimpol Group specified an access control solution that offered the option to use physical cards as well as an app-based mobile approach.

Integrated mobile access control drives workplace app usage

Having mobile-based access control tightly integrated with the SkylinerAPP has added considerable value and driven its usage. Traffic is high and tens of thousands of requests are made within the app.

Tenants in the building are very positive about it, too. Bolt – the European mobility super app offering ride hailing, shared cars, e-bikes and scooters along with food and grocery delivery – is one such organisation.

Looking to the future, Karimpol Group is preparing to start work on the second phase of the Skyliner master plan.