Smart Building RFI Canvas

An interactive, open-source planning tool for commercial building owners, operators, and developers to plan smart building technology adoption and generate structured Requests for Information (RFIs) for technology procurement.

Quick Start

Open index.html in any browser. No build step, no server, no dependencies.

1. Fill in your project details (building type, size, age, location)
2. Work through the 7 canvas sections — read the guidance, answer the questions, capture your notes
3. Mark each section complete as you go
4. Click "Copy AI Brief to Clipboard" to export a structured prompt
5. Paste the brief into Claude, ChatGPT, or any AI assistant to generate a professional RFI document

Your data is saved in your browser's local storage — it persists between sessions and never leaves your machine.

What's in this repo

index.html — Interactive Canvas

The main experience. A self-contained HTML page with an interactive version of the Smart Building RFI Canvas — 7 structured sections covering:

1. Key Project Goals & Value Proposition — Frame business outcomes, not technology
2. Initial Actions — Establish baselines, prioritize use cases
3. Partnerships & Resources — Vendors, MSIs, stakeholder alignment
4. Costs & Risk — Budgets, CAPEX/OPEX, cybersecurity, commissioning
5. Management & Delivery — Project governance, phased rollout
6. Future-Proofing — Open standards, lifecycle planning, upgrade paths
7. Key Performance Indicators — Quantitative and qualitative metrics

Each section includes:

• Questions from the original canvas
• Skills-informed guidance — domain-specific tips drawn from industry research
• Tips — practical insights from building industry experience
• Example outputs
• A notes area that auto-saves to local storage

skills/ — Smart Building Knowledge Base

A curated, research-backed knowledge base for AI assistants. When you paste your canvas brief into an AI, point it at this skills directory for deeper domain context:

• Technologies — BMS/BAS, HVAC optimization, access control, occupancy sensing, energy management
• Building types — Office, hospital, mixed-use
• Outcomes — Reduce energy costs, improve tenant experience, achieve LEED
• Standards — BACnet, MQTT, NIST 800-53
• Cross-cutting — MSI role, market statistics
• RFI templates — 6-section RFI structure modeled on the GSA Green Proving Ground format

Skills are structured Markdown files with YAML frontmatter. They render on GitHub, are human-editable, and serve as rich context for AI-assisted RFI generation.

canvas/ — Original Static Canvas

The original poster-format planning template. Open canvas/index.html to view or print the classic layout.

How AI-Assisted RFI Generation Works

The canvas captures your structured thinking. The AI does the drafting.

1. You work through the canvas, answering questions and capturing decisions for your specific building project
2. You export a structured AI brief (Markdown format with project details and all your notes)
3. You paste the brief into your preferred AI assistant (Claude, ChatGPT, etc.)
4. The AI generates a professional RFI document with structured vendor questions

For best results, also share the skills/ directory with your AI assistant — it provides detailed domain knowledge on building technologies, cost benchmarks, standards, and RFI best practices.

Why RFIs, not RFPs?

An RFI (Request for Information) asks vendors to describe their capabilities against your desired outcomes. An RFP prescribes specific solutions — too rigid for smart building tech where owners may not know what's available. The outcomes-based approach lets vendors innovate and compete on value, not just price.

Philosophy

Built on three principles from decades of smart building industry experience:

1. Outcomes first, not technology. Start with "What problem are you solving?" Building owners think in NOI and tenant experience, not protocol specifications.
2. Baby steps. Guide through focused use cases — "What's the ONE problem you're solving first?" — not a laundry list of technology.
3. Meet owners where they are. The gap is readiness, not algorithms. The tool should help owners establish their baseline reality before requesting vendor information.

Licensing

• Code (index.html, canvas/): BSD 3-Clause License
• Content (skills/): Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0

Credits

Designed by Memoori Research.

The Smart Building RFI Canvas was originally created to help commercial real estate developers navigate technology adoption decisions. This interactive version adds AI-assisted RFI generation capabilities while preserving the canvas as a standalone planning framework.