Building smart solutions

Post-pandemic, buildings have to be flexible, resilient and overall more cognitive, says Visal Leng, Asia-Pacific president of Johnson Controls, the 135-year-old company whose founder invented the thermostat.

Tay Suan Chiang

Published Fri, Aug 14, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Offices

Like most people around the world, Visal Leng, Johnson Controls' president for Asia-Pacific, has been working from home. Or in his case, for the past few months, in a serviced apartment in Singapore.

Based in Shanghai, Mr Leng and his family came to Singapore in late January for Chinese New Year, and found themselves unable to return when travel between the two countries was suspended.

After working from his serviced residence for six months, Mr Leng has adjusted well to it. But during the earlier months, he too faced teething issues that many of us experienced.

"I had to help my daughter adjust to long-distance learning, and with some of her homework. I have calls at night, so there are also privacy issues to deal with," he says, during a virtual interview with The Business Times over Mi…