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Blog 30 September 2026 · 3 min read

Refurbishing your office? Include the IT infrastructure

A refurbishment is the moment to get the digital infrastructure in order too. That way you avoid opening up ceilings again later.

A refurbishment or sustainability upgrade usually revolves around insulation, installations and finishing. The digital infrastructure often only comes up at the end. Or not at all. That is a shame, because there will be no better moment to get it right.

Why now

During a refurbishment the ceilings are open, the shafts are accessible and the tradespeople are already in the building. Pulling cables and fitting out rooms then takes far less effort than in a building that is in use. Doing it afterwards means opening ceilings again, working outside office hours and disruption for tenants.

There is also a legal reason. For major refurbishments with a permit application after 12 February 2026, the European Gigabit Infrastructure Act requires the building to be fibre-ready. Read more on our page IT and regulation.

Sustainability and digital go hand in hand

Sustainability and digitalisation seem like two separate subjects. In practice they have a lot to do with each other:

  • Smart control saves energy. A building management system that knows which rooms are occupied only heats and cools where needed. That only works with a good network.
  • Insulating glass blocks signal. New glazing can make mobile coverage inside much worse. So include indoor coverage in the design. Also read: poor mobile coverage in your office building.
  • More sensors, more network. Every sensor, meter and charging point is a device on the network. That requires capacity and good security.

Read more about this connection on our page IT and sustainability.

What to think about during the refurbishment

A practical list to discuss with your architect and installer:

  1. The connection. Does the fibre run into the building? Is there room for a second connection via a different route (dual entry)?
  2. The technical room. Enough space, cooling and its own power circuit. Plan this early, because space is hard to find later.
  3. The cabling. Choose CAT6A and install enough cables for access points, cameras and sensors. Also read: CAT6 or CAT6A.
  4. Cable routes. Install trays and conduits with room to spare. Then you can extend later without breaking anything open.
  5. WiFi design. Have the positions of the access points calculated in advance, based on the floor plan and expected use. After handover, check it with a WiFi survey.
  6. Building systems. Make sure climate control, access and cameras are on their own shielded network (network segmentation).
  7. Documentation. Ask for drawings and test reports of everything that has been installed.

Get advice in advance

An installer installs what is in the specification. If the digital infrastructure is not properly described in it, it will not be properly installed either. That is why it helps to get advice before the tender. During a pre-inspection we look at what is there now and what is needed for the IT-Label you want to achieve.

After the refurbishment: show it

Is the building finished? Then record what you have achieved with an IT-Label audit. Together with a better energy label, you show tenants and buyers that the building is fully up to date again.

Want a quick impression of where your building stands now? Take the free self-scan.

Further reading

Blog 30 September 2026 Technical due diligence in real estate: don't forget IT When a building is bought, the roof, façade and installations are examined closely. The digital infrastructure often gets one line. Why that is a risk. Blog 30 September 2026 Cybersecurity in smart buildings: separate the networks Climate control, access passes and cameras are increasingly on the network. Convenient, but also a risk. How to set up a smart building securely. Blog 30 September 2026 Preventing internet outages at the office When the internet goes down, the whole office often grinds to a halt. You cannot rule out an outage completely. You can greatly limit the impact. Here is how.

Take the free self-scan and find out within two minutes which IT-Label your building is likely to achieve. Or ask our specialists for help, with no obligation.

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