Luxo Announces AIA/CES Accreditation
Luxo, a worldwide pioneer in multi-adjustable, spring- balanced task lighting, announced that it is now a partner in the AIA/CES Continuing Education Program. As an AIA/CES Registered Provider, Luxo is offering architects and designers CEU credits for attending qualified Luxo presentations. Luxo is offering the following two programs for immediate CEU credits: European Healthcare Lighting Trends—An Evidence-Based Design Approach; and Ergonomics and Energy Efficient Office Lighting—A Two-Component Approach. Additional programs will continue to be added throughout the year. For more information on AIA/CES guidelines in your state, go to www.aia.org. For further information, contact Luxo at (914) 345-0067 or visit www.luxous.com.
Lightouch Design Competition Calls for International Participation
DesignSingapore Council and FLOS invite designers from around the world to create innovative lighting solutions for the Lightouch Design Competition 2007. For the 2007 competition, designers are called to create a functional, adaptable, modular and scalable lighting system. This is the second in the series of Lightouch design competitions. The underlying philosophy of Lightouch is that nobody has monopoly over good ideas. Designers, non-designers, professionals or students are all welcome to participate. The competition will close on March 30, 2007. The top entry will win the grand prize of a trip to Milan on business class as well as a learning tour to the FLOS factory. The designers for the eight best entries will be invited to Singapore next year for a prototyping workshop conducted by FLOS. More details on the competition can be found at www.lightouch.org.
IIDA Announces Support of Curriculum Standards Revision
The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) supports a major standards revision project currently being conducted by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA … formerly FIDER). A $15,000 grant was awarded to assist with this important work. The Council is embarking on this project to update the standards used to measure interior design education for accreditation, the quality assurance mechanism for academic programs. "Standards must be updated regularly to advance the growing interior design profession. The world changes, work changes, and educational preparation for the profession, likewise must change to remain relevant. Standards are strong influencers of change in higher education," says Joe Pettipas, IIDA, 2007 chair of CIDA. Further information about the standards review process can be found at www.accredit-id.org.
Glass Wall Incorporated to Help the Healing Process
Visitors to Cleveland Clinic's new Heart Center are greeted by an arrival garden featuring a breathtaking garden wall sculpture by renowned glass art designer and manufacturer, Joel Berman Glass Studios. The landscape design called for a contemporary representation of the elements found in classical gardens: the flower bed, the hedge, the pool and the garden wall. An abstraction of the archetypal garden wall, the team at Joel Berman Glass Studios cast the elements for the wall in textured glass. The texture, "Bricks," from Berman's Bricks, Boards, Sticks and Stones Collection, is itself an abstraction of brick as the quintessential building material. The appliqué pieces are an evocation of sedimentary rock found in Ohio. During the day, clinic visitors are greeted by a tranquil, soothing landscape space. At night the wall is lit from within by a series of colored lights compelling the sculpture to glow with an inner radiance. Visit www.jbermanglass.com for more images.
Improved Recruitment + Retention Strategies for 2007
While the majority of A/E firms conduct regular performance appraisals, many are not getting the full benefit these sessions can provide. When implemented correctly and appropriately tailored to each firm, performance appraisals are an inexpensive way of improving the typical A/E firm and for addressing one of the stickiest issues firms will face in 2007: recruitment and retention. A/E Performance Appraisal Cookbook, a recent ZweigWhite publication, shows how A/E firms can get increased benefit from their performance appraisal process. From creating a new program, to improving an old one, this cookbook gives firm leaders everything they need to create an effective performance appraisal program that will benefit the company. For further information, contact Elaine Kornbau at [email protected] or visit www.zweigwhite.com.
Concreteideas.com: A New Resource for Decorative Concrete
Concreteideas.com is the first Web site designed by professionals for professionals in the decorative concrete and construction community. Its focus is to promote the use of decorative concrete to architects, designers, builders and other industry professionals. Those who specialize in retail, commercial and custom residential projects will find answers, articles, technical information, ideas and local professional decorative concrete contractors. Concreteideas.com features an innovative new design concept that is easy to navigate and contains images, video clips, technical data and companies showcasing the very best of what decorative concrete has to offer. Visitors to the site will find inspiration, innovative new finishes and creative new design trends. Go to www.concreteideas.com for more information.
InformeDesign® Releases Implications on Space Syntax
A recent issue of Implications, InformeDesign's monthly newsletter on design and human behavior, examines the field of space syntax. A set of theories and techniques for the analysis of spatial configurations, space syntax looks at the connection between the design of spaces and the social uses of those spaces—typically by examining the plans of buildings, cities or landscapes. "Space syntax attempts to make explicit the spatial relationships that underlie our everyday experience of the designed environment and the way it functions culturally and socially," says author John Peponis, a professor of architecture and head of the morphology lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In the article, Peponis draws on examples from urban planning and office design to illustrate some of the techniques used in space syntax and the kinds of analyses it can produce. The issue also includes summaries of two space syntax research projects. Go to www.informedesign.umn.edu for more details.
Laminate and Vinyl Flooring Market Set to Pass $4 Billion by 2010
Positive U.S. economic trends coupled with easy-to-install options for DIYers have spurred growth in the laminate and vinyl flooring
industry, with the market increasing nearly 8 percent from 2001 to 2005. As the remodeling boom continues, the market should see healthy gains, exceeding $4 billion by 2010, according to "Laminate and Vinyl Flooring in the United States," a new report from market research publisher SBI, a division of MarketResearch.com. SBI's findings show double-digit growth from 2001 to 2005 in the laminate sector, which has found favor with homeowners seeking a wood-flooring look at a budget price. The advent of glueless, interlocking floors will help laminates grow from $1.2 billion in 2005 to more than $1.9 billion in 2010. Although vinyl flooring still dominates with almost a two-thirds share of the combined market,
SBI expects the vinyl sector to grow more slowly than laminate flooring—reaching $2.4 billion by 2010. For more information, visit www.sbireports.com.
