Willow & BNP Paribas bring AI to European buildings

Willow has rolled out its conversational artificial intelligence and digital twin platform at Métal 57 in the Paris region, as part of a wider European partnership with BNP Paribas Real Estate Property Management.

The agreement focuses on integrating Willow’s “conversational building” approach into properties managed by BNP Paribas Real Estate across France and other European markets. The initiative targets areas such as energy performance, tenant comfort, maintenance, incident handling and environmental reporting.

Métal 57 in Boulogne-Billancourt now uses Willow Copilot, an AI system that connects building data with facilities and property management teams. The 37,000-square-metre complex can respond in real time to questions from managers and can highlight issues, weak spots and areas for operational improvement.

The system consolidates information that previously sat in separate building systems and data sources. It then uses that consolidated data for automated analysis and continuous monitoring.

Willow Copilot also generates faster recommendations and reports for staff. Managers interact with the system through a conversational interface instead of manually searching through dashboards and data feeds.

The companies state that the approach supports day-to-day building operations, including tenant comfort levels, energy use, maintenance scheduling and incident response. Facilities teams receive more immediate feedback from the building systems and can adjust operations more quickly.

The platform also gives building managers tools for quicker access to operational information and more time for strategic analysis. BNP Paribas Real Estate Property Management said this supports better targeting of on-site actions and more reliable follow-up.

Energy and cost management form a key part of the deployment. The platform flags abnormal energy consumption in real time and identifies maintenance issues that could generate avoidable costs if left unaddressed.

BNP Paribas Real Estate Property Management said the technology also supports a stronger user experience for tenants and other occupants. The aim is a more responsive building that adapts more closely to comfort and usage requirements.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting is another focus. The system increases the use of corporate social responsibility data and provides greater transparency over building operations. The partners said this could simplify environmental certification processes and support reporting obligations for owners and investors.

The rollout at Métal 57 forms part of BNP Paribas Real Estate’s broader innovation strategy for property management. The company is integrating digital technologies into buildings in France and across Europe in response to regulatory pressure, cost constraints and changing expectations from tenants and asset owners.

Key sector challenges include energy performance, occupant quality of life, CSR requirements, cost control and tenant satisfaction. BNP Paribas Real Estate said the Willow platform sits at the centre of its response to these issues.

Through the partnership, property and facility management teams gain a single operational environment that draws on digital twin models and AI. They can monitor building systems, track incidents, review historical performance and assess potential improvements within one consistent data layer.

The partners expect that this will support higher operational quality, including faster access to building information. Staff can concentrate more on analysis and decision-making, with fewer manual data-gathering tasks.

BNP Paribas Real Estate Property Management plans to extend the approach beyond Métal 57. The company is preparing wider deployments across client portfolios in Europe.

“With Willow, we are taking a new step in the digital transformation of our buildings by integrating artificial intelligence into the heart of property management. Following the success of the project at Métal 57, our ambition is to offer our clients the use of this solution across their portfolios to make each building a smart, conversational space that serves its occupants, with a connected, fluid, and sustainable real estate experience,” said Grégoire Tripon, Deputy Global Head of BNP Paribas Real Estate Property Management.

Willow positions itself at the intersection of AI and physical infrastructure. The company builds digital twins of buildings and uses these data models as the reference point for AI-driven analysis and interaction.

At Métal 57, the approach links sensors, building management systems and other data feeds into one digital representation of the property. The conversational layer on top of this digital twin allows managers to query conditions, performance and anomalies using natural language.

The partners said this interactive model increases the amount of useful information available to operators. It also supports earlier detection of issues and better anticipation of emerging needs in the building.

“Operational intelligence is progressively transforming the built world, and our collaboration with BNP Paribas Real Estate is a concrete illustration of this evolution. By making buildings more interactive and capable of sharing useful information, we provide operators with additional information that strengthens building management and supports the anticipation of needs. Willow is proud to contribute to this shift, at the intersection of artificial intelligence and infrastructure, where digital and physical systems work together more seamlessly,” said Bert Van Hoof, CEO of Willow.

The partners plan further rollouts of the technology across additional assets under management in Europe. They expect more buildings in the region to adopt similar conversational and data-driven operating models over the coming years.