| | WELCOME TO OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER | We plan to keep our newsletter short and to the point, presenting news, articles,
and facts you’ll find interesting, informative and even entertaining. |
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Technology in the Board Room
| Ed Logsdon will be speaking on Thursday, October 20, 2011 from 12:00pm to 12:45pm at AVXpo at the Crown Plaza DIA. This session, titled "Technology in the Board Room" will identify the various design elements which need to be considered, (e.g., aesthetics, lighting, room acoustics, network bandwidth, etc.) to successfully integrate technology into boardrooms, optimize users' experience, and, thus, maximize the ROI. An abstract of Ed's presentation follows.
Corporate board rooms are often designed to incorporate the most recent technological advances in equipment and software. The word “technology”, as used here, should not be construed as solely related to “information technology” (IT), or to refer only to information transport systems (ITS); it is the transfer of information via aural and visual means as well. In the board room, the goal is to increase the transfer of knowledge, concepts, and ideas as well as to increase the productivity of those present. Employing technology to achieve this goal often requires unique solutions and the careful consideration of multiple design challenges. If not done carefully, the benefits and return on investment (ROI) for the equipment and systems installed, as well as the software utilized, will not be realized. |
| | | Photo of Newmont Mining Corporation's Boardroom |
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| | | | Jeff Kwolkoski will present a Lunch-and-Learn at EVstudio on Oct. 11. The subject is Architectural Acoustics in Multi-Family Buildings .
There are several other topics we can cover within our expertise, contact us to find out which topic would best fit your needs.
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| | Falko Freimann, Technology Design Engineer, attended the BICSI Fall Conference in Las Vegas the week of September 18th. The main topic of interest was what is new with wireless. Two papers were presented on the subject, “Wireless Trends Driving Demand for Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS)” and “Understanding New Wireless Codes”. The new Chapter 24 “Emergency Communications Systems (ECS)” in the NFPA 72 2010 Edition addresses these important topics. Look for more information in future editions on DAS and how it will affect every new building. Our upcoming newsletters will report on the newest findings. |
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| Make-A-Wish Kickball Tournament: | |
| | This was our fourth year playing and sponsoring The 7th Annual Make-A-Wish Kickball Tournament. Make-A-Wish is an incredible organization that helps grant wishes to kids with life-threatening medical conditions.
Somehow our kickball skills seem to be improving each year (though we only play one day out of the year!) This year we won our first game, tied our second... and lost our third. Let's not talk about that last one.
Thanks so much to everyone who came out and cheered for us from the sidelines and filled in on the field when we needed an extra player or two. An added thanks to our contributors – we raised over $3,000 for the foundation. It's all for the kids! |
| Tips for Architects and Contractors | : System Checkouts - Are You Ready? |
| We sometimes arrive at a project site for testing or a final checkout, only to learn that the building or systems are not ready yet. This can be a frustrating waste of everyone’s time and might require a return trip later at additional expense. To ensure that our visits go smoothly, keep these tips in mind before we arrive for the testing.
On every project where we provide a system design (such as audio/visual, theatre lighting, theatre rigging, or structured cabling systems), we prefer to make a final checkout to verify that the system is complete, operational, and consistent with our design before it is turned over to the owner. Before scheduling our final checkout, consider the following tips.
• The contractor should complete all testing per our specifications and issue a letter indicating that the systems are complete and installed per the construction documents.
• Is the system installed and operational? Really? (Hint: “well almost…”, “for the most part…”, and “except for…” are not good answers to this question.) Make sure that the answer to this question is “yes” before contacting us to schedule the checkout. | | | System Checkouts require coordination |
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| • The system contractor should be on hand to demonstrate the functionality of the system.
• Please schedule the owner training for another time, preferably after our final checkout. We cannot conduct a thorough checkout during the training.
• Make sure that all punchlist items from previous visits have been resolved before the final checkout.
Last month, we discussed how architects and contractors can prepare for acoustical testing. |
| | | Photograph provided courtesy of Denver International Airport |
| It was late on a Friday afternoon in August 1991, when I first received a phone call from the architects asking me, “Where would you locate loudspeakers in a large (approximately 250 ft wide x 900 ft long) airport terminal building?” At that time, we were not yet working on the project, but I was ready and willing to help. We discussed different loudspeaker options, and the general approach of using many zones, with the loudspeakers operating at low power levels, located close to the listeners. That was only the beginning.
Within two weeks, we were under contract and responsible for the full design of the Voice Paging System for all buildings at Denver International Airport. You know the old adage “Be careful what you wish for: you might get it.” As a young engineer (at that time,) I was simultaneously elated and intimidated by the scale of the job. Heck, it was a $4B dollar airport project, which sounded much bigger then than it does now.
By the time the paging system design was complete, it included 218 microphone stations, 685 power amplifiers, 450 digital audio processors, 12,000 loudspeakers, and many miles of wiring to provide paging to the all areas of the buildings, |
| including the train and baggage areas in the tunnels. There are five computers, with RS422 control connections to a dual token ring fiber optic bus, all working together to control pages and play back recorded announcements. The equipment is also connected to two sources of electrical power, and battery UPS to protect against power outages. The final cost for the installation was approximately $8M, the largest system on which we have ever worked.
This was my first networked sound system and I realized, then, that this was a sign of things to come. I shared my design concepts in a technical paper titled “Fault Tolerant Distributed Control of the Denver International Airport Voice Paging System” at the Audio Engineering Society’s 13th International Conference held in Dallas, TX in 1994. The paper describes how the entire system uses unified control, with monitoring and redundant equipment, with the ability to self-correct in the event of equipment failure.
That was then. Now, it is common for us to design IP-controlled digital audio systems that run on a network. The systems are easier to operate, self-monitoring and redundant, greatly decreasing maintenance time and improving reliability.
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| | New Projects | We are excited to be selected as the acoustical consultant for the new Research and Education Laboratory at Idaho National Labs. INL's vision for this new LEED facility is to be a “'state-of-the-art' laboratory with the tools, equipment, and resources to attract, retain, and enable scientists to conduct leading-edge research and be recognized for scientific discovery and innovation both nationally and internationally.” Over half of the building will be dedicated laboratory space, along with offices, conference rooms, and a multipurpose auditorium. We will be working with Plan One/Architects of Driggs, Idaho
Other New Projects Include:
• Aiea Library
• Altura Elementary School
• Google Boulder
• Greenview Condominium Testing
• Honolulu Design Center
• Union Station North Wing Core and Shell | Completed Projects | • Denver Public Schools North High
• Kaimuki Plaza
• Kukui'ula Noise Measurements
• University of Colorado Colorado Springs Science Auditorium
• Wailuku Municipal Parking Structure
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