Sad News & New Beginnings

Today I read some very sad news. Michelle Kauffman told the world on her blog yesterday that her (extremely unique) Green Architecture and home building company will no longer be able to keep their doors open. If any of you have followed Michelle Kauffman’s work, you know that she is a visionary and leader in the green, healthy and energy efficient home design and building. Instead of just designing green homes, her firm also built the homes in special factories before shipping them to a home owners site to be assembled. The process of building the homes in a factory helped to reduce building waste and ensure the highest quality homes. Unfortunately because of the current economic climate, the financing market for home buyers and key partners going out of business, they simply weren’t able to hold on any longer.

Of course the death of one thing nourishes the life of something new. True to form, Michelle remains upbeat and optimistic about the future of green design and building. Keep an eye on her blog if this subject interests you. I have a feeling we will be hearing some great news in the months to come.

And Michelle…. Keep on doing what you do. You are an inspiration to me and countless others throughout the world!

Saving Energy Through Building Automation

I read a great article from Neil Gifford at Smart Buildings this morning. I always enjoy reading what he has to say about how technology is making buildings smart. When you really start to get in to this stuff like I am, you start to see how the future of green and sustainability has a lot to do with our adoption of technology in our buildings. This goes far beyond just automation for lighting and HVAC systems – even though simple automation helps a lot (I leave the room and the lights automatically turn off after 5 minutes). Neil talks more about how an intelligent building wide automation system should start to take data in real time by monitoring building loads and usage in real time and reporting that information back to facilities managers to act upon. Based upon specific data and parameters set, the system could automatically adjust heating and cooling loads based on occupancy data and similar factors.

Check out the article for all you designers, builders and facilities managers. Looking forward to getting more of these types of systems in our buildings!

Construction Industry & Investing In Technology

After reading a recent article in ConstrucTech magazine, a few thoughts came to my mind that have been brewing for quite some time. The article focuses on how construction firms are being forced to look more towards technology solutions to help improve efficiencies in their organizations. It talks about how technology can really help contractors to be better at estimating and project management efforts if they would just use the tools they already have better, and start taking things like BIM (Building Information Modeling) seriously.

While I agree that technology can really help any organization who is serious about improving, I have a little bit of a different approach than most. Just as the article says that builders are on average using only 20-30% of the capabilities of their current software systems, I think there is a reason for that. Software and technology is only good to a company if it is easy to use and manage. You can have all the features in the world but if the system isn't easy to use, it is for nothing.

My suggestion to the construction industry is this:

Start focusing on ease of use, and improving communications. This doesn't mean having more meetings or sending out more articulated addendums (althought that couldn't hurt). It means taking a fresh approach to how builders communicate internally and externally on projects. Why not start using new (and sometimes free) communications tools such as Blogs, Twitter & LinkedIn groups? Instead of sending out individual emails to every sub contractor on your project, setup a blog and give subcontractors access to that blog. All new status updates can be posted here such as RFP's, RFI's, addendums, project drawings, etc....

Why not setup a private Twitter group for your internal project teams and use if for sending out frequent, up to the minute updates to your team? Everyone has cell phones right? By communicating things in real time, you can save precious money & resources.



Something very cool to look in to is a product called BaseCamp created by a company called 37Signals. This product is an EXTREMELY easy to use Project Management tool that focuses on the communication aspect of projects. By using a Blog type format for organization, a new project can be setup online where files can be stored & shared, all communications can be centralized, and things like project calendars and the like can all be centralized. Finally all communications with all team members can be kept in one place. It plays very nice with email as well.

In closing, I really just want to drive the point home that technology shouldn't be about more and more features. Technology should help enable. Enable better communcations. Enable better efficiencies. Enable people to do their job and only their job.

How does your organization rate when it comes to this simple concept? Does the technology you use empower or slow down your employees? Take a really close look and answer honestly.....

Calling all Architects! AMX Education Program for CEU's

As with all other aspects of our lives, technology is becoming more and more integrated in to the built environment. It is now possible to have a "smart" home or office building capable of automating complex tasks such as lighing regulation, heating & cooling regulation, daylight harvesting, shade & blind control, sound & video distribution, and a number of other devices.

As a designer it is important to stay ahead of the curve and know how to work with technology in your design. Technology and architecture really can co-exist to create amazingly beautiful - and functional - spaces.

MediaLogix is your partner in Technology Systems design & engineering. We are commited to working with you to design cutting edge homes and offices. We have partnered with AMX to offer our architect partners a series of classes designed to educate you on technology systems integration and how to integrate these systems in to your projects.

Choose from any of the following classes for AIA and/or IDCEC credits:

A/V Control Systems for Commercial Properties

In this one-hour course students will have the opportunity to 1) understand the principles of an A/V Control System, 2) learn about issues that must be considered when designing for a control system, 3) observe the functional roles of each piece of a control system and 4) learn how a control system can help achieve LEED points 5) see examples of an A/V Control System in Commercial applications.

A/V Control Systems and Energy Efficient Applications

In this one-hour course students will be introduced to the idea of using an A/V control and automation system to contribute to the energy efficiency in all building types. Participants will learn practical soltions for integrating control systems and the possible contribution a control system could have in a project seeking LEED certification.

Introduction to Digital Signage

In this one-hour course students will be introduced to the features and benefits of using Digital Signage. Each student will have the opportunity to understand 1 ) What Is Digital Signage, 2) Digital Signage Definitions, 3) What is Pre-Packaged Digital Signage and 4) How to plan and design a project for Digital Signage.

Introduction to RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)

In this one-hour course students will be introduced to RFID control. Each student will be introduced to the concept of using an RFID badge in order to control, manage and monitor their environment in all vertical market applications. The course defines clearly RFID, 1) what is RFID, 2) features of an RFID system, 3) components of an RFID system and 4) how to plan for using an RFID based control system,

To get more information or sign up for any of these classes, please click here to contact us.

We are happy to come to your office or will happily host the class at either our Downtown Denver or Littleton offices.

- The MediaLogix Team

Control your building with your iPhone!

Let me just start by saying how cool my job is. Really. I get to work with the newest and coolest technology available to businesses. Every day we seem to learn about something new that we haven’t used or implemented yet. One thing I knew was on the horizon but didn’t expect so soon was the Crestron Mobile App. Now anyone with an iPhone (and a Crestron control system obviously) can monitor, control and update their home or business from anywhere in the world right from their phone! All you need is a network connection which can be 3G, Edge or WiFi at this point.

Smart phones are taking over! This is just one of many amazing new tools that you will be able to use directly from your Smart Phone. We can’t wait to start implementing this with some of our customers. If one of you are reading this now and want to give it a try, just let me know!

Open Architecture Challenge: Classroom

Recently local developer, Urban Ventrues and respected architect Michelle Kaufman announced that they will be partnering on a Green, Sustainable community development here in Denver. The project is called Aria Denver. As a result of that announcment, I found Michelle's blog and have been following it ever since.

I'm really glad I have been because she has some very interesting and thought provoking posts. Yesterday's post was one of those. She brought to my attention a design competition currently underway and sponsored by Open Architecture Network. The idea is for local architects and designers to partner with a local school to help design a classroom of the future. Something that is smart, safe and sustainable. Because this is through the Open Architecture Network, any designs that win the competition would make their design available worldwide through some type of open copyright. This is opensource software for architects! What a great idea. The reason for the competition is to address the fact that (according to the World Bank), educating all children worldwide will require the construction of 10 million new classrooms in more than 100 countries by 2015.

MediaLogix partnered with local architecture firm, Bennett Wagner Grody to design a similar classroom for the National Middle School Association show in Denver last year. Actually, I should say that Bennet Wagner Grody designed the classroom and MediaLogix designed the technology systems.

So, who is up for it? Any architects out there interested in taking on the challenge? We know that technology is an integral part of future classrooms. It enables better presentation/learning environments and the ability to connect in a multitude of ways. We have some great ideas so lets get started!

Throw out your paper! (metaphorically speaking)

I was inspired by a post today from the RNL Green Design Blog. Greg Buglewicz wrote some great tips on how to reduce your use of paper in the office. Anyone trying to "Green their routine" in the office should definitely check it out. Of course being in the technology and Audiovisual industry, I turn to technology as a way to save on if not elminate paper use altogether. Here are some of my ideas:

1. Create more Conference Rooms & Huddle Rooms: Make more room for collaborative type spaces. Instead of printing out drawings, lists of items or similar to share with colleagues, focus on storing digital copies that can be presented on a large format LCD display or projection screen. Manipulate the digital copies together and only print out final copies for storage or presentation to a client.

2. Utilize Interactive Whiteboard Systems: Pull up plans or documents on a large interactive whiteboard. These systems allow you to annotate, write (electronically) and mark on any type of computer content you have displayed. Red Line some plans and save digitally. You don't need a stand alone system for this either. Hitachi offers a great wireless tablet with free software for annotating on a traditional projection system.

3. Fax from your computer: Stop printing out a paper copy to fax! Most printers these days have functions built in to send digital files directly through the fax machine. Additinally you can get services from your printer or online services that allow you to receive faxes digitally as well. Use these features! You will not only save paper but I promise you will eventually come to love how much easier it is to store all your files digitally instead of pilling them up on your desk. If your printer doesn't have built in functions for this, check out services from eFax or Fax.com.

What other ideas are out there? Do you think technology will eventually eliminate the need for paper altogether or will there always be a place for paper in the office?

My Profile - Online & Off

When MediaLogix introduced a profile based building system a few years back on our One Willow Bridge project, many had never heard of such a thing. It was pretty cutting edge at the time and quite frankly still is. One Willow Bridge is a fractional ownership residence in Vail where the residents might get a different unit each time they come to visit. That being said, the experience for them remains very much the same each time they visit. Each of the units in the building have a complete Crestron Control system that operates and automates every function of the home including lighting, heating & cooling, TV Channels, Direct Phone numbers (inbound and outbound), concierge services, pre-programmed home “scenes” and more. The problem with allowing so much customization is the fact that each time the resident comes back to town (and subsequently gets a different unit to stay in), they have to go through and set all there preferences again. That WOULD be the problem if the resident profile system wasn’t introduced.

Instead of each resident “re-programming” their home every time they come to visit, we were able to setup a profile based system that follows them around to each unit as they are occupied. Before the resident ever comes to town, they log in to a website to inform the building when they are coming to town. The building system intelligently registers this information. As the resident physically arrives, the building recognizes them based on an intelligent RFID based key card system. The building knows to let them in and after they park their car, they are directed to the correct elevator, floor and unit. When the resident walks in to the unit, it might be the first time they have ever seen it, but everything they stored before is already loaded in to the system. This creates an automatic “home” where all of their favorite pre-sets, media, phone numbers and the like are already there waiting for them.

Getting to the point

My point in this post is to ask a simple question. All of us have online accounts with Yahoo, Google, Microsoft or similar. As technology continues to grow, our accounts are capable of handling more and more tasks. Where as I used to just have email through Google, I now have a fully functioning web based business hub that handles contacts, docs & spreadsheets, unified communications (including video communications), and much much more. My account saves my preferences so I can access them from anywhere and at any time (with an internet connection). This change combined with building wide technology systems like I mentioned above are bound to hit a crossroads at some point. This means that in a few years, my Google Account might just interact with any compatible “Google Home Automation System” to offer me very similar features and functions as One Willow Bridge does independently.

Of course this is just my thoughts of where this might go. What do you think? What technologies do you see shaping the world and how we interact with it? Does all this stuff creep you out or get you excited? We are all very interested to hear!

The ZED Prize!

I came across a very interesting competition and had to share it. Seeing as how many of our clients and partners are deep in to the green living movement, I’m sure many will find this intriguing. Perhaps this post might even inspire some of our local architects and designers to get involved! It’s called the ZED Prize and the folks over at Zerofootprint are hoping to turn it in to the largest architectural prize issued worldwide in 2009. That is quite a bold goal!

The idea of the competition is to address the issue of re-purposing or “Re-skinning” (as they call it) existing buildings to have little or no carbon foot print. As they point out on their website, we are starting to do a good job of building NEW buildings that have low carbon footprints but we need to do a MUCH better job of re-skinning existing buildings. I would say they make a very good point. Especially seeing as how existing buildings account for 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions in north America.

Of course a smart building isn’t smart at all without a smart technology system helping to run it. That is where MediaLogix comes in! Our focus is on creating integrated building solutions for commercial buildings in Denver and throughout the west. We would love to partner with a forward thinking architectural firm or developer to help create the (Retrofit) buildings of the future! Email us or comment on this blog to get the conversation going!

Bell Tower Approved!

We have been following Buzz Geller’s Bell Tower with great interest and enthusiasm over the past year. If you haven’t already read about it in the Rocky Mountain news or Westword, you should definitely check it out. The tower was actually finally approved last Thursday the 5th after a long drawn out process between the Lower Downtown Review Board and Buzz Geller and his Architectural Firm, Fentress Architects.

I like many other people in the community think this is a great victory for Denver! Finally a building that steps out of the “Box Mold” that most buildings in the area fall in to. In addition to inspiring architecture, I’m interested in the “Guts” of the building and how Fentress plans on utilizing technology in the residences. This project could be very similar to our “One Willow Bridge” project in Vail that was also marketed and sold to the upper 1% of buyers.

People you can Count on

Kevin sent me a great article worth sharing. Our goal at MediaLogix is and always has been to help our clients utilize technology to enhance their overall business success. Implementing People Counting systems can help certain companies achieve that. As described in this article by Smart Buildings, Knowing how many people have entered a building or a space is directly related to a financial or management objective for the building. Some of those management or financial objectives might be related to Security & Access Control, Life Safety, Financial Metrics, Audience Tracking, HVAC Control, Staff Management, Space Planning and more.

MediaLogix specializes in integrating technologies such as this in to your overall building management programs. Shoot me an email or comment on this posting so we can start the discussion!