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March 9th, 2010

Are There Human Benefits in Smart Grid?


Complements of GE

Complements of GE


Companies and their stance on communicating the human benefits of smart grid

Learning how smart grid technology works is important but even more significant is figuring out what the technology will do for people. As a way to monitor power demands and reallocate resources there are many companies adopting smart grid technology. The recent buzz around this technology is not only about preventing blackouts and blowouts but also about the human benefits that comes from smart grid. With the evolution of the smart grid, companies have been creating a channel of communication, clearly highlighting the positive aspects of smart grid. Considering the current influx of interactive microsites, YouTube videos and pricey commercials, companies have become highly invested in communicating to the consumer that the smart grid, is a good thing.

As a prime example, Google has partnered with several utility companies and has been heavily involved in dialogue advocating for smart grid technology. The internet giant’s smart meter project called, Google PowerMeter is meant to organize and track energy consumption in homes and/or businesses. In efforts to support the program, Google has developed a free Web service, which allows consumers to view their electricity consumption on a daily basis. As the developers of the PowerMeter, Google.org (the philanthropic arm of the giant) has taken a deep dive in focusing on the positive impact this system will have on societies everyday use of energy.

From Google.org

From Google.org

By having information about your energy consumption, Google believes consumers will be in a better position to make smarter choices. Monitoring and having access to information about your daily energy intake will allow consumers to make informed decisions on how and when to cut back. This notion of access to information is a consistent message resonating within Google’s push for smart grid technology. Check out the video on Google.org’s Youtube channel, which gives a deeper look on how they are communicating the human benefit of smart grid technology.

GE, another company that has publicly support smart grid technology has been a heavy investor in updating the national power grid. As a part of their communication efforts GE paid $100,000 per second for a commercial that aired during this years Super Bowl. GE’s microsite provides an interactive inside look on how smart grid works. Additionally, The commercial and the microsite coupled with GE’s strong partnerships with Google and other companies like California’s PG&E and American Electric Power are clear initiatives in educating the public about smart grid. As the company continues to develop commercials and partnerships, GE has been a key player in communicating the positive impact smart grid will have on consumers.

Other major companies, like Microsoft, Seimans, Johnson Controls (client) and IBM have also been key players in advocating for smart grid technology and emphasizing its benefits.

Are there any risks in highlighting and communicating the human benefits of smart grid? Yes, there are. In the February 17th issue of USA Today the cover story of the Money section highlighted several cases in which homeowners have been unhappy with the smart grid. Instead of saving money some homeowners had seen their electricity bills skyrocket. Given this article and others, there are clear pros and cons to smart grid.

Nevertheless, this blow back and any others that follow will not put a damper to the next phase of smart grid technology. Current data shows that by the end of 2010 nearly 35% of houses and businesses will have smart meters - a clear representation that consumers do believe there is a human benefit in smart grid.



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Posted in Architecture, Green, Lists, Remodeling
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September 14th, 2009

The Top 5 NFL Stadiums

It’s been a long seven months, but the NFL season is here.  In the spirit of the season, we thought we’d play our own version of Monday Afternoon Quarterback and rank the five top stadiums in the league.  Design, location and price are all taken into account.  They may not be earth shattering designs, but they’ve made their way into conversations because of the popularity of the sport and their contribution to the experience.

You’ll notice a trend that three of our top five stadiums have retractable roofs.  This is the way professional teams are heading with unique weather patterns stretching across the United States.  Let’s get to it.  But before we start, please note, we haven’t been to all of these stadiums, but this is America after all so we’re privileged to our own opinion…

5. Lucas Oil Stadium – Indianapolis, IN
Home of the Indianapolis Colts, Lucas Oil Stadium was designed by HKS, Inc. and opened its doors for the start of the 2008 season.  The stadium features a retractable roof and a window wall, allowing the Colts to play outdoors while offering a fantastic view of the Indianapolis skyline.  Elements of kinetic architecture provide for a quick conversion of the facility to accommodate a variety of events.  The stadium looks very retro on the exterior due to Indianapolis’ fascination with the historic field house appearance of its sports venues.  With a price tag of $720 million, the stadium can seat 63,000 spectators for football games and offers 137 luxury suites – including eight field suites that offer the opportunity to see the game up close and personal.  The stadium also has two Daktronics high definition scoreboards, each one 97 feet wide and 53 feet tall.  Lucas Oil’s retractable roof is the only one in the country with two moving panels that meet in a peak above the center of the stadium.  The roof also boasts the largest opening – a 4.5-acre hole to the sky – of NFL stadiums with retractable roofs.

Lucas Oil Stadium

4. Qwest Field – Seattle, WA
Designed with the help of Microsoft guru Paul Allen, Qwest Field is the home of the Seattle Seahawks.  Ellerbe Becket, in association with Loschky Marquardt & Nesholm Architects, designed the 1,500,000 square foot project.  An obstacle during design was the relativity small site for an NFL stadium.  Upper-level seats were cantilevered over the lower sections to fit within the limited space.  Seats were also angled and lower sections brought closer to the field provided a better view of the playing surface than typically seen throughout the league.  This set up also provides the Seahawks with one of the better home field advantages in the NFL.  On the north end of the stadium, downtown Seattle is visible. The designers intended for the structure to visually compliment the visible Seattle skyline.  It has a vertically orientated scoreboard at the top and bleacher seating for 3,000, called the “Hawks Nest”, at the base.  The south end was also left partially open to allow views of Mount Rainier.  Qwest Field was completed with seating for 67,000 and allows for 5,000 to be added for special events. The stadium has 111 suites and over 7,000 club seats.  Two distinctive arched roofs cover nearly 70 percent of the seats, leaving the rest of the stadium and field open to the elements.

Qwest Field

3. Reliant Stadium – Houston, TX
The first stadium in the NFL with a retractable roof, Reliant Stadium is the home of the Houston Texans.  The stadium has a seating capacity of 71,500 and had a price tag of $352 million.  Designed by HOK Sport (now known as Populous) and HSC (Houston Stadium Consultants) the stadium can also be configured to utilize space for meetings, exhibits and concerts.  According to the architects, “the high-tech facility offers a sense of transparency with its futuristic roof fabric and expansive areas of glazing.  These materials provide a bright, open-air feel to the facility’s concourses and gathering spaces. At night, the building glows from within, exuding excitement.”  The stadium has over 7,000 club seats and 166 luxury suites.  The retractable roof can open or close in seven minutes.  The stadium won the Merit Award for Architecture in 2006 by the Houston Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Reliant Stadium

2. Lambeau Field – Green Bay, WI
Home of the Green Bay Packers, Lambeau Field opened its doors in 1957.  It is the only true retro-look stadium in the NFL today and stands alone when compared to the other stadiums listed in our countdown.  Lambeau was the first stadium built for the exclusive use of an NFL team and is the longest continuously occupied stadium in the NFL.  After undergoing a $295 million face lift in 2003, seating capacity rose to 72,928 and the unique seating bowl remained.  Why get a roof or artificial turf when you can play in temperatures as cold as -13 degrees Fahrenheit?  Lambeau Field was named #1 in stadium experience in all of professional sports in ESPN The Magazine’s Ultimate Standings.  You can’t beat the heritage. But it begs the question. Why aren’t they number one on our list?

Lambeau Field

1. Cowboys Stadium - Arlington, TX
The NFL’s first $1 billion facility is the crown jewel of all stadiums.  Home of the Dallas Cowboys, the stadium has a retractable roof, a league-high 300 suites and a seating capacity of 80,000 (second largest to Washington’s 91,704).  Stadium renowned architects HKS, inc. designed the facility and the stadium opened just last month.  For what it’s worth the $1.15 billion price tag does have its flaws.  The video board (the world’s largest 1080p HDTV at a cost of $40 million) hanging above the field stretches from one 20-yard line to the other is actually low enough to be hit by teams having to punt (see below).  That doesn’t affect our grade.  Fun fact - the roof required 2,000 gallons of each of primer and finish paint.  This stadium is slick and will be hard to top for years. The 4-page press release comprehensively lists all of the firsts it has accomplished (in typical Jerry Jones fashion).  “Unique” and “progressive” might be an understatement.  This might be the best stadium in the world, period.

Cowboys Stadium

 

These modern marvels are America’s finest.  Their designs are amazing and the game day experiences are unbelievable.  They can’t be beat.  If you don’t agree with us, we’d love to see your list.

The next time we do this list,  it’s a safe bet “green” and “efficiency” will be two of the most important factors in determining the best.

 

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July 2nd, 2009

AIA Home Design Trends Survey

Back in March, Build Intel reported on the thrifty consumer and the shrinking home sizes that have emerged since the economy went south, in “Honey They Shrunk the House”.  Yesterday, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) released their Home Design Trends Survey focusing specifically on overall home layout, size and use in the first quarter of 2009.

Jeremy Wolff

Jeremy Wolff

“The era of the ‘McMansion’ could well be over as home sizes have been trending downward recently, with a significantly higher number of architects reporting demand for smaller homes this year,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA.  “And as the housing boom has passed there seems to be a renewed interest in investing in properties to make homes more livable, as opposed to real estate that can be resold quickly for a profit.”

At this point, it’s a better focus for new home builders to concentrate on the livability of the home and less on the extra bells and whistles that can often cloud the total essence of the home while tacking on extra tens of thousands of dollars with the potential for no additional return.

Buyers aren’t interested in the huge spaces with the vaulted ceilings and two story foyers anymore, they simply can’t afford it.  Thanks in large part to the green building movement, people are also now concerned about their environmental impact.  Bottom line though, they’re looking for more economic homes to reduce the costs of maintenance and living.

The idea of outdoor living areas isn’t anything new but the report does state that 60% of respondents saw an increase in the size of their outdoor living space. “Adding decks, porches and patios are all part of the outdoor living enhancement trend,” added Baker. “But that also extends to more formal outdoor ‘rooms,’ cooking areas and blended indoor / outdoor features,” Baker added.

Below is a list of traditionally popular residential elements along with the percent of respondents that reported increases in the overall size of these elements:

Residential element 2009 2008
In-home accessibility 63% 67%
Open space layout 50% 53%
Access into/out of home 49% 59%
Informal space 45% 61%
Finished basement/attic 32% 46%
Single-floor plan 34% 40%
Home volume 11% 28%
Square footage 4% 16%
Lot size 2% 7%

We may have seen the end of the excessively large homes, at least for now, as homeowners/buyers are going to continue to look for areas to cut back until we see some end to the sagging economy.

If you’re marketing to homeowners, or home builders, now’s the time to tout those humble home features and products that add value.  How a product adds value to your home and lifestyle is going to be something consumers hold close for a long time to come.  For the first time since the Great Depression, we seem to be living within our means. But for how long?

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June 24th, 2009

An Architecture Firm’s Strategy for Navigating the Recession

Guest post by Diane Stahl, Vice President of Marketing for Rubeling & Associates, Inc.

This is the third economic downturn I’ve experienced in my 30-year career in the building industry.  My advice for those new to marketing in tough times is first, “don’t panic” and second, “know that recessions don’t last forever and the actions you take today will position your firm for even greater success when it is over.”

My outline for securing this success includes:

  • Maintain contact with existing clients. You are not calling to ask for work.  Your purpose in staying in touch with these clients is to let them know that the company is surviving and is also available to assist them in any way they may need.  This call is also a good opportunity to affirm your firm’s relationship value by discussing how the downturn has affected the client’s business and markets, and share mutual challenges.
  • Don’t cut back on tactics that work. Most firms do decrease their marketing budgets during lean times, but whether it’s an ad, a mailer, or a sponsorship, if it has brought positive feedback, keep doing it.  If you can’t afford the full fare, cut back on the amount or size, but keep doing it.
  • Make the best use of downtime. Every company has Marketing materials that have been sitting on a back burner that need to be “tweaked”.  When you are not up against a deadline, your time is best spent examining these materials as the whole promotional package instead of trying to make alterations with each qualifications submission.
  • Talk with vendors / suppliers / contractors. They are a great resource of information on your prospects, your competitors, and when the signs of the upturn begin to show.
  • Research, research, research. Now is the time to fill those databases to the maximum.
  • Look at your market association memberships. What services do they offer that you haven’t taken full advantage of yet?  Your company has probably been a member for years, but it’s also most likely been years since you checked out the variety of services the organization has to offer.
  • Keep the two-fold goal in mind. Yes, your goal is to help your firm through this downturn, but the bigger picture is that your actions are also positioning the company for future growth.

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June 17th, 2009

What we missed at NeoCon 2009

Where have all the architects and designers gone?  Well if you’ve had a tough time getting in touch with you’re A+D friends this week they just might be at the NeoCon World’s Fair.  NeoCon 2009 began Monday in Chicago and showcased thousands of the hottest new products and resources for the corporate, hospitality, health care, retail, government, institutional and residential interiors.

NeoCon is the annual event that brings together top minds in interior design and architecture including the International Interior Design Association’s International Conference, American Society of Interior Designers National Conference and so many other exhibits and sensory design experiences.

If you weren’t at NeoCon this week then you missed MOMA senior curator, Paola Antonelli’s keynote speech about the evolution of architecture and deign as a result of “momentous changes in technology, science and society, and to convert them into objects and ides that people can understand and use.”

Among the new products that were unveiled and showcased this week include:

  • The Wave Wall from 3form, a modular system of easily transportable wave-shaped panels that connect to give a 3D effect.
  • The Dorma Magneo is a new magnetic entrance system designed for all building types and its low energy and is smart enough to detect any obstructions preventing injuries.
  • Hum. Minds at Work. from Kimball Office is an adaptable, collaborative workspace that fuse together, personal work space, multi-use space and sleek design.

There’s still time to be a part of the Fair. Everyone was ga-ga over the trabasa by IdeaPaint, and understandably. Tweet your sketch request to @mdctabrasa.

Want to see more? Here’s a great photo album from @tiffanygholar who’s in attendance at #NeoCon09. Speaking of #NeoCon09, everyone using the hashtag on Twitter was featured on this screen at the Fair:

12717960

Bet you wish you were there? We do…

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March 25th, 2009

The AIA’s Architectural Billings Index Rises Slightly

The Architectural Billings Index (ABI) rose two points to 35.3 after dipping to an all-time low of 33.3 in January. The index is one of the professions’ leading economic indicators and reflects a 9 – 12 month lag time between architectural billings and construction spending.

February ABI

February ABI

According to AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA, the country is likely to see a light demand of new construction projects throughout the year. He also said there is hope the stimulus bill will result in more project activity.

So what does the report mean?

  • Commercial/Industrial had the lowest score in February – 32.0 – down from 33.8 in January
  • Institutional scores dropped to 36.8 from 37.1 in January
  • Multi-family residential increased to 33.3 from 29.5
  • Credit availability remains a large concern for construction projects

As Baker stated, we should see a gradual improvement in construction, especially in the education sector. Provisions of the stimulus plan include $8.8 billion for school construction and modernization. (Check out our post about the modernization of the school system.)

npr.org

npr.org

California may be a prime example of the stimulus at work. With the warming of spring comes more construction jobs, according to the California Job Journal. And according to Baker, the rise in the ABI will  “provide hope that some stalled projects will resurface in the near future.”

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March 19th, 2009

Interview with an Architect: Blueprint for the Future

Searching for a way out of the recession, consumers and professionals alike are finding ways to adapt and change to the economic climate. Architects are no different. The Architectural Record makes note of that in its current issue with a special report – Recession & Recovery.

We had the chance to catch up with Glenn W. Birx, FAIA, Vice President/Principal of Ayers/Saint/Gross, an architectural firm with offices in Baltimore, Tempe and Washington, D.C.

What are some current challenges you are seeing in the building industry?
We are facing the biggest challenges in my 30 years of practice. The slowdown in the building industry is unprecedented and has affected everyone from architects and engineers to developers and building owners to construction managers and subcontractors. Layoffs are rampant and there simply is not enough work to go around. The bad credit market has postponed or stopped many projects that were once underway.

Where do you see the biggest opportunities for growth based on the challenges you addressed?
Due to the Stimulus Package passed by Congress, there are new opportunities for many infrastructure projects. This will help civil and structural engineers first, then filter down to the contractors. There are opportunities for planning expertise, as many owners are now planning for the future. However, they still do not have the funds to support current building projects. There are opportunities for renovation and deferred maintenance projects, as many owners are opting for repair and renovation, which may require less funds than new building projects.

What are the advantages of hiring an architect?  What are some benefits in the current economic climate?
When money is tight like in this market, an architect is the professional who can optimize building funds and get the most “bang for the buck.” They are also skilled at developing creative ideas for all building problems, creating adaptive re-use projects and managing tight budgets.

How is your business adapting to the economic challenges?
My practice is expanding to overseas markets. We are also offering experienced renovation and planning expertise to our clients. We are also following the many projects that will eventually come from the Stimulus Package.

Patience is the name of the game as there is light at the end of the tunnel. To endure the current climate, industry executives are realizing change is good and adapting is key. The Stimulus Package has instilled a lot of hope in Americans like Glenn. See how the construction and infrastructure money from the Stimulus is divvied up, courtesy of the law firm Patton Boggs LLP.

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