2019 was the year California cannabis brands began experimenting with retail concepts, and Los Angeles was ground zero. Sleek vape heavyweight Stiiizy made its suitably emphatic entry into retail in August.

The 6,500-square-foot flagship store on the industrial edge of downtown L.A.s Arts District is one of three retail locations the brand opened in California last year. (The others are in Davis and the Mission District of San Francisco.) The DTLA store brings to life the brands increasingly well realized East and South L.A. streetwear aesthetic, colored with artistic and architectural nods to the recent past and distant future.

Brands have been tapping maverick interior designers and architects from traditional sectors to reimagine their identity in dynamic retail formats, and Stiiizy enlisted San Francisco-based interior architect Gi Paoletti to help navigate the leap.

After fifteen years working in commercial and mixed-used developments for global architecture firms RMW Architecture & Interiors and NBBJ, Paoletti started her own boutique firm Gi Paoletti Design Lab, which specializes in bars, restaurants, and now, conceptual dispensaries. Some of her recent projects include the Bay Areas Tipsy Pig, Bloodhound, and Barrique. Stiiizy was Paolettis first cannabis client, and she admits being surprised about the lightning evolution of design in the herb retail sector.

I think whats really great about cannabis retail, she said, is it went from these shady stores straight to high design. Weve almost skipped that middle area. I think theres something tremendously exciting about that.

High design is apt beyond the trite pun. Stiiizys striking space is vast and cavernous, with an entirely matte-black ceiling that conveys the feeling of infinity looming above. Divided into four stark-white sales pods in which budtenders preside over more than fifty big-name brandsincluding Stiiizys new flower line Liiit, and edibles Biiitthe space also has a vape pen customization bar and a line of, frankly, very cool, limited-edition Stay Stiiizy clothing.

One of the primary directives from the client, Paoletti explained, was they wanted the entire space to be Instagrammable.

Stiiizy has been one of the most successful and active brands on Instagram, boasting around 319,000 followers at the time of writing. In the past year, the brand has found its social steez, recognizing its sleek-on-fleek metallic vapes have become a fashion accessory for L.A.s Supreme- and Golf-clad audience. The brands online presence no doubt has had a major lift from its legion of influential fans, which includes the likes of Migos, Miley Cyrus, Wiz Khalifa, Joe Rogan, and Post Malone.

When you think about making an entire space Instagrammable, youve got to consider whats going to inspire someone to want to take a picture and to share it with their friends. Whats going to create that wow factor? Paoletti said.

For her, the real question was how do you take an empty warehouse with really high ceilings and turn it into something that blows peoples minds, over and over again, every time they come in?

She focused on changeability, advising her client to frequently offer something new and visually compelling. Stiiizy chose to refresh the experience with rotating art and installations. Among the original works on display recently was a twenty-nine-foot installation by renowned L.A. street artist RETNA. Relic wildstyle pieces from L.A. street artists Mr. Cartoon and Kelly Risk Graval adorn the lobby walls.

To the brands founder, James Kim, art is a crucial part of the Los Angeles location. He explained he wanted the store to be a reflection of the creativity in the Arts District.

Paoletti baked the frequent interior refreshes into her design. In the lobby where you check in, we did these Instagram stations, she said. Theres two of them there, and inside are removable panels, so [store management] could change the interior monthly, every six months, whatever they want to do.

Stiiizy DTLAs Instagrammable-ness starts the moment consumers see its Cannabis for the Culture motto emblazoned across the top of the buildings exterior, proudly looking northeast over U.S. Route 101 and the Deja Vu strip club.

Paoletti admits her laser focus on designing a space that can exist in parallel online and in the real world was an interesting and novel challenge, and she said it is particularly innovative for once-clandestine dispensaries.

This idea of making a space like this public in such a big way is new, she said, adding research for the project took her to Denver to explore the OG recreational states retail landscape.

I toured a bunch of different cannabis stores over a week period, and I would ask, Can I take pictures? And they said, No. Absolutely not. Then I had a couple who said, You can take pictures, but no people can be in them. Thats what made me realize Stiiizys store was really at the vanguard of something new.

Her recent experience with city building departments in Los Angeles and San Francisco suggests a sea change in the desire for transparency. As Paoletti tells it, regulators want to move away from the shady, dank dispensaries that defined the pre-recreational era into something considerably more visible.

Its clear that as an architect working in cannabis retail, Paoletti feels a sense of personal obligation and responsibility for the de-stigmatization of weed. Theres still an intimidation around buying cannabis, she said. A person might be curious, but if they walk in and feel intimidated, they might turn around and walk out. Then, youve just lost someone that could have been a lifetime customer.

I think the designers role is to make this space inviting, beautiful, and also easy to walk through, she added. We talk a lot about the aesthetic, but its really important to consider the functionality of the space so people feel comfortable enough to start asking questions and learning this isnt scary. Its just a plant.

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2019 was the year California cannabis brands began experimenting with retail concepts, and Los Angeles was - mg Cannabis Retailer

William Steele, who lives in Downfield Place, also claims Castle Rock Edinvar (CRE) is responsible for repair work which left wiring in an "unsafe condition," after an electrician came in July to fix bathroom and kitchen lighting which had fused due to flooding from the flat above in November 2018.

Mr Steele, 56, says he plans to take the matter to the Housing Ombudsman and has been in touch with the trade association for the electrical contracting industry in Scotland, SELECT, and the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC).

A CRE spokeswoman said an Electrical Installation Condition Report verifies that the work carried out by their repairs team at Mr Steele's home last year meets the national safety standard for electrical installations. The Evening News has asked to see this report, which is understood to relate only to improvement work done in December.

Pictures taken by Mr Steele show the condition of the wiring when he first discovered it in November, four months after the electrician came to fix the lighting. It appears to show that the junction box a box containing the flat's wiring has been removed and left on top of his water tank lid in a cupboard.

Mr Steele, who has been a tenant in the Dalry flat for 27 years, says he was also hit by rubble falling from his water-damaged bathroom ceiling when part of it collapsed as he showered - and he made a complaint after workers failed to turn up to fix it in July.

The complaint was upheld by CRE managers who apologised to him for a "prolonged series of service failures" including workmen not leaving calling cards when he was not at home, and ensuring appointment letters reached his address.

Mr Steele said: "Dust raining down during the use of the shower was constant and it became a serious concern when they asked to test for asbestos."

He said in December, a year on from the flood, workmen eventually came round to fully repair the bathroom ceiling.

Mr Steele also said he was satisfied with the work done by electricians in December.

But a second complaint made by Mr Steele, concerning the previous condition of the wiring, was not upheld by CRE who said they could not explain why it was outside of the junction box and that they did not leave any electrics in an unsafe state.

Mr Steele added: "It wasn't an act of God.

"The wiring was left sitting on top of the water tank. There were metal pipes resting on a cardboard lid and I could have easily just put my hand up and touched it.

"The water tank cupboard is right outside my bedroom door and, if a fire had started, I would not have been able to get out.

"The whole thing is completely unacceptable."

A Castle Rock Edinvar spokesperson said: "We take our customers concerns very seriously and have liaised with him to address them as effectively and efficiently as possible.

"We can confirm that an Electrical Installation Condition Report verifies that the work carried out by our repairs team at his home last year meets the national safety standard for electrical installations."

A NICEIC spokeswoman said they working with Mr Steele to understand the issue fully in line with their formal complaints procedure.

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Edinburgh tenant forced to shower while rubble and dust 'rained down' on him as he waited a year for bathroom ceiling fix - Edinburgh News

They say good things come in small packages, which is certainly true of a gallery in Boston. Like other galleries and museums shuttered during the pandemic, it's had to resort to presenting work online, but with a significant twist: The space only measures 20 by 30 inches.

Welcome to Shelter In Place gallery, the creation of Eben Haines, a painter who is also an exhibition designer at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts (MFA). As he told the art website Hyperallergic, the project began after he lost his job back in March, when the museum closed and furloughed its staff.

Like so many artists, Haines found himself stuck at home, away from his studio. His solution was to launch SIP, which he describes as "as a new platform for Boston artists" on his Instagram account.

SIPwas inspired byHainess participation in a 2018 group show in Minneapolistitled "Art Fair." In something of a send-up of the eponymous mega events that have come to dominate the art world, each artist had to fit their work into an "art fair booth:" A ten-by-ten inch box painted white. Haines realized that a scale-model space could also serve as a tool for his practice going forward; it would let him envision how large pieces would look in an actual exhibition setting by fashioning them first in miniature. And so he created the model that later became SIP.

Once the quarantine began, he started to invite artists to present Lilliputian paintings, sculptures and installations for the showcase, which he'd photograph and post on Instagram. Thanks to such miniaturized industrial-space-turned-gallery details as painted brick walls, windows, skylights, wooden floorboards and ceiling trusses, the images, which are shot in natural light, appear amazingly lifelike, as if they were of a real exhibitionproof that even in these constricted times, imagination has no limits.

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This miniature gallery in Boston exhibits only tiny art - Time Out

Demolition for the $13.5-million Canada Games Aquatic Centre upgrades will begin this week, nearly two months ahead of schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

City of Kamloops capital projects manager Darren Crundwell said the city bumped its timeline on account of swim meets being cancelled. Initially, the city was planning to start the project at the end of June, working the project around competitive swimming. That final meet in late June, however, has since been cancelled, swept up in myriad event cancellations resulting from the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Because the facility is closed, were taking advantage, unfortunately, of the COVID situation, Crundwell said, noting work can begin earlier as the building is empty with recreation centres shuttered due to the pandemic.

Early work, however, is not expected to shave time off of the project completion date, which remains at the end of this year, due to constraints of the pandemic on construction crews required to physically distance. However, it provides a bit more wiggle room.

Our schedule was really tight before because we were trying to do it between the swim meet at the end of June and then there was another swim meet in January, Crundwell said.

We were really compressed with the swim schedule. This gives us a little more time and we know were not going to be as efficient with construction, as well. Were ensuring our contractors are following provincial guidelines with respect to COVID. We know thats going to have impacts on productivity. This gives us a bit more float in the construction schedule.

The project is driven by need to replace the building envelope roof and walls on an aging facility. It was built before the Tournament Capital Centre was added, dating back three decades to the Canada Summer Games in the early 1990s. Unlike the citys Tranquille Road sewer project, the scope of the pool project will not change due to the pandemic.

In addition, it includes replacing the mechanical, electrical and HVAC systems, replacing boilers with energy-efficiency options, repainting interior pool walls and ceiling, offices and other space, constructing a new entrance to improve accessibility and security, replacing and modernizing change rooms and common areas, replacing the hot tub, sauna and steam room with energy-efficient options and safety improvements.

The general contractor is Chandos Construction and the project is being funded through debt ($6.2 million), reserves ($4.3 million), grants ($2.5 million) and climate action revenues ($500,000).

During deliberations, Mayor Ken Christian and Coun. Mike OReilly had suggested postponing the project until a later time, due to the pandemic, but council ultimately decided to move ahead, noting the city can take advantage of closure of the facility.

New turf installation will see Hillside Stadium closed

In addition to the Canada Games pool renovation, Hillside Stadium is getting a new field.

Beginning on Tuesday, May 19, the $600,000 artificial turf replacement project will close Hillside Stadium to the public through late July. The entire facility, including the track, will remain closed for the duration of the project.

Theres going to be equipment running all over the track and everything, Crundwell said.

Council deferred replacement of the track as it analyzed the impact of the pandemic on city finances.

See the article here:
$13.5-million Canada Games Pool project to begin seven weeks earlier than scheduled - Kamloops This Week

Smart home solutions often promise a quick and easy transformation of your home. And, in most cases, it does not require more than a little affinity for technology in order to add some smart to your home.

But do these gadgets, which promise foolproof installations, really create a smart home, or are they just toys? What can a professional system integrator add in order to transform four walls with a ceiling into something intelligent?

What to expect from DIY smart home solutions

The installation of DIY gadgets is mostly very easy and the programming via smartphones or tablets takes, thanks to intuitive apps, a matter of minutes. Within 10 minutes, you can have your light up and running with your phone, a smart thermostat automatically creates a cosy atmosphere and intelligent power sockets only provide electricity to those devices which are currently used. As it is state of the art, all solutions can be controlled from the owners mobile.

This all sounds great, but unfortunately there are some downsides to DIY and ironically, the first downside of all is controlling the smart gadgets from a mobile device.

DIY: One app per solutioneach!

Aside from the fact that some apps are only available for Googles Android and others only for Apples iOS, each solution requires a separate app, leaving the homeowner with a number of apps, for which manuals have to be studied, online accounts created and familiarisation required for knowing what you actually have installed.

Considering that most people do not know all the functionality of their smartphones, not knowing all functionality of your smart home gadget might not only result in a waste of money for solutions you do not use, but also possible inconvenience, which is the opposite of what a smart home is supposed to be.

A solution to this problem would be to buy devices from only one manufacturer, but this would result in a reduction in flexibility, as you would be bound to this manufacturer (who could also stop support for their smart homes products at any time). This problem brings us to the next downside of DIY systems: Compatibility

DIY: Compatibility problems

When it comes to smart home devices, there are many competing technologies, all using different ways of communicating. From the hardware side, the devices might communicate via Wi-Fi, others via cable. And from the software side, some devices might use cloud-based solutions but most established systems require a strong software compatibility.

Imagining there were only two methods of communication (Wi-Fi or cable) and only three established systems with their own software solutions (Apple, Amazon or Google), the chance that you have compatible devices is one in six. Now, in the real world, we know there are more ways of communication and many more manufacturers with solutions on the market so the logical conclusion is that compatibility is almost not-existent.

DIY: What about security and privacy?

The good news is that all gadgets usually include an encryption mechanism, which prevents unauthorised access to the devices settings. And should you have forgotten to close a door through which a hacker might slip, the hacker would only have access to one gadget and not to all those involved in making your home smart.

However, many devices used in a smart home, such as smart TVs and voice activated hubs, are collecting information in order to identify the owners patterns and automate processes (for example, a light goes on according to previous behaviours). The result is that all those companies are collecting data about you, which they might then use for further marketing or further customer service purposes. But if you are not comfortable with companies collecting data about your smart home, then this type of home automation is not for you.

What to expect from professional smart home solutions?

DIY solutions do contribute to the smart of a smart home, but at the same time, they have the reputation to be a hobby for tech-fans or a toy, some more expensive, some less.A professionally installed system, on the other hand, is not an impulse investment in various devices. It requires an initial planning process at which all needs of the home owner are identified, further usage forecasted (for example, when the children grow up and move out) and in some cases require physical work on the home, such as when new cables have to be pulled.

Not only is a professional installation fully customised to the homeowners needs, it also offers a high level of flexibility, as a professionally installed system also comes with a whole infrastructure for the home, which can be extended and modified with new devices at any time. Needless to say, a professional installation also adds greater value to your home as it has transformed the physical building to provide for a smart home infrastructure.

However, a professionally installed system will naturally involve a higher initial financial investment as the cost covers not just a few devices, but by a whole system wired through the whole house.

DIY vs Professional: Whats next?

DIY and professional systems have one thing in common: Both have many technologies and systems, and new ones are released every day. So after you have decided whether to use a DIY or professional system, the next question remains the same: Which technology is the right one?

The answer is simple: Whereas DIY solutions are mostly chosen depending on personal preference (be it design, function or just the colour), professional solutions should be open to many manufacturers in order to provide maximum compatibility and flexibility.

Professional installation: Getting rid of children's diseases

Once an open protocol technology is chosen, the issue of compatibility no longer exists. In the case of KNX for example, all compatible devices are certified and guarantee flawless compatibility, meaning that, for example, one interface can control the entire installation.

As for security, the configuration of devices is mostly done via professional tools, which require proper training in order to use them. For the homeowner, there is still the possibility to make minor changes, which have been agreed on with the professional integrator (although an installation by a professional installer is best not to be touched by newbies).

So what is the right choice for me?

The answer to this question is not at all surprising: It all depends on you! If you only need to have one or two lamps controlled with your phone, DIY might be the better choice. However, if you want to jump on the smart home train and invest in sustainable solutions, the professional installation might be more interesting for you.

These scenarios might help you decide. DIY solutions would be more favourable for smaller apartments, which have been rented. These solutions can easily be taken to the next place, adding some intelligence to the place you live now as well as future homes. Also, when you just want to add a little bit of convenience to your daily life without having the need to go all-in, the respective DIY solution is the right choice.

The recommendation for professional installations goes to home owners, who would like to add value to their real estate and are able to invest a little extra in their house. Basic installations pricewise can start at under a thousand dollars and can range to significantly higher. However, with a basic installation, you can enjoy all advantages of a smart home, totally custom made for you.

Image:https://readwrite.com/2019/12/26/iot-and-home-automation-is-it-the-future/

*Ian Richardson, Chairman at KNX National Group Australia

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How to get started turning your house into a smart home - Architecture and Design

Abstract

Not since City Hall has a tall building truly addressed the issue of creating an iconic skyline for Los Angeles. The Wilshire Grand Tower is a building of our time; a contemporary contrast to a generation of flat top buildings composed of granite and inset windows. Fulfilling a design vision of glass in L.A.s seismic Zone 4 environment will be examined in this manuscript.

Offering views never seen before in downtown Los Angeles, large format glass clads the tower to maximize visible light and openness. Factors that influenced the glass selection and stack joint design will be reviewed.

Reminiscent of Yosemites Half Dome, the 73-story tower rises above a solid podium base. Bridging between these forms is a lyrical double curved skylight that provides the enclosure for the central Atrium. The challenges and innovative solutions involved in achieving this parametric building feature will be explored.

Finally, the design of the iconic Crown will be investigated. The signature top rises 10-stories above the towers observation deck. Wrapped in glass, the Crown completes the architectural parti while responding to G4 forces.

In the heart of downtown Los Angeles, at the site formerly occupied by the Stadler Hotel, rises the new tallest building west of the Mississippi, the Wilshire Grand Center. It was Korean Airs vision to create a single, iconic tower a symbol of the friendship between South Korea and the United States, an investment in Los Angeles the city that hosts the second largest Korean population, next to Korea itself. The Wilshire Grand Center is comprised of a 900-room, four-star hotel that sits atop eighteen leasable office floors.

Its podium includes hotel convention spaces ballrooms, meeting rooms, break-out areas, along with a health club, retail spaces and restaurants. Five underground parking levels are provided to meet local requirements and serve the guests and tenants of the Center.

There were five big design ideas set forth by the architects and designers at AC Martin. The first big idea was to change the Skyline of downtown Los Angeles, as shown in Figure 1. Acknowledging that the Wilshire Grand Center would be the first significant tower to be built in Los Angeles in over twenty years, the AC Martin team sought to create a building of our time.

The downtown Los Angeles skyline is characterized by a generation of high-rise buildings with truncated flat tops, responding to the Los Angeles Fire Departments 1974 Ordinance requiring helipads for high-rise buildings. Taking into consideration lessons learned in the past 20-25 years, coupled with advances in fire suppression systems and exiting strategies, negotiations were successful with the Fire Department and project team to gain relief from the 1974 Ordinance.

The second big design idea was to create an accessible Sky Lobby. By locating the hotels lobby at the top of the tower, all hotel guests would be treated to the never-seen-before views of downtown Los Angeles that could be experienced at the 70th floor. High speed, double-deck elevators transport guests at1600 feet per minute from the ground floor to the 70th floor, facilitating high-volume vertical transportation.

Considering the fact that the project site is located in southern California, the next big idea was to take advantage of the temperate climate in Los Angeles. With average temperatures in the 70s (Fahrenheit), the building was programmed to maximize the use of outdoor spaces. Ballrooms have operable walls that open onto covered outdoor spaces. The hotels porte cochere is a covered outdoor space that drives through the center of the site. A generous pool deck facilitates recreation and relaxation, while flanked by cabanas for more private gatherings.

Taking advantage of the Urban Context was the fourth big idea. The Wilshire Grands site is located at the confluence of two major axes in downtown. The Figueroa corridor runs in the north-south direction. With L.A. Live to the south, the Wilshire Grand Center becomes the northern anchor to the rise of major building developments along the corridor. In the east-west direction, 7th Street has experienced a renaissance of restaurant and retail developments that lands at the front door of the Wilshire Grand Center.

The fifth big idea was to optimize efficiencies wherever possible. From the design of the mechanical systems for the tower to theutilization of prefabricated restroom units throughout the hotel, the designers were challenged to be efficient while not sacrificing quality. The philosophy of efficient design is a backbone of Korean Airs success for generations, and the design team was highly encouraged to employ these principals in the design of the Wilshire Grand Center.

The journey toward creating a towering icon involved poetry and practicality. The beauty of the form was derived from an array of architectural and artistic tools that spanned several generations. From the fluidity of water color paintings, to spastic collections of computer generated Rhino model forms, to 3-D printed models, to basic paper models, each tool contributed to the sculpting of the Wilshire Grands aqueous forms. Viewing the building from various vantage points, the shape of the tower is sometimes reminiscent of Half Dome in Yosemite, and sometimes it is reminiscent of an airplane wing, a literal metaphor to Korean Airs aviation business.

The tower is a glassy expression of our time with a high performance skin, a departure from the granite inset windows characteristic of most buildings in downtown Los Angeles, as shown in Figure 2. The curtain wall was designed to maximize views and ceiling heights for the office and hotel uses.

Employing large size glass panels, kiss mullions were provided to set a datum for finished ceilings. The composition of the towers form wasrationalized into measurable geometries, facilitating the use of repeatable units for constructability and to meet the projects cost parameters.

The rectangular, slender tower form challenged the structural engineers from Thornton Tomasetti and Brandow & Johnston to develop a structure that would not tip over, while responding to the inevitability of ground motion in a seismic zone four location, a seismic hot zone.

The structural design involved a 17.5 feet deep mat foundation with over 6.6 million pounds of densely woven rebar and 21,200 cubic yards of concrete to set the stage for breaking a Guiness World Record for the largest continuous concrete pour in the world on February 16, 2014.

Rising from the foundations is a concrete core with massive four feet thick walls, ascending and tapering to two feet thick walls at the top. At three strategic locations over the height of the tower, outriggers extend from the concrete core to capture the perimeter box columns.

The outriggers are composed of bucking restrained braces (BRBs) that act as shock absorbers, resisting vertical and lateral forces. At the top and bottom outrigger locations, belt trusses of steel wide flange members encircle the floor plate to resist torsional movement.

The design of the curtain wall panels considered eight sources of structural movements [2]:1 - Interstory drifts (lateral displacements) under lateral load conditions2 - Vertical movements of horizontal framing members under live load3 - Column shortening from construction load after panel installation4 - Column shortening from imposed compatibility with concrete core creep and shrinkage5 - Differential gravity and lateral movements at terminated columns near sloping columns6 - Differential gravity movements at floor extensions at building ends7 - Main tower column shortening and lengthening from lateral loads8 - Thermal strains

Taking into account the largest of the anticipated movements, the stack joints of the unitized curtain wall system were designed for an open position of +7/8 and a closed position of -1 5/16. The profile of the stack joints was designed with a gentle curve to create a shadow line for visual depth.

Nestled between the 73-story tower and the solid podium base is the river that runs through it, a lyrical doubly curved skylight, as seen in Figure 3. Providing a glass roof enclosure for the hotels central Atrium, the skylight stretches from one end of the property into the public plaza, as shown in Figure 4. It covers a volume that is 80 feet tall at its peak and 30 feet tall at its valley. Balconies from the hotels convention floors look onto the Atrium. The light-filled space is the heart of the property, the central nucleus of circulation and wayfinding.

The poetic idea was one thing. Making it real was another thing. The design development process involved tackling major challenges, including cost, constructability and seismic movement. It was clear from the onset that the project could not support the cost and schedule implications of curved glass. The skylight was perpetually on the development managers value engineering chopping block. If the skylight was to become a reality, it would take a great deal of persistence and innovation.

The first challenge was to simplify the form while maintaining the larger design idea and aesthetic expression, the River of Glass. The complex geometries were rationalized into simple forms with manageable constraints, using Rhino and Grasshopper definitions.

The use of flat glass was fundamental to the design. The glass size was limited to 5-0 x 5-0 maximum, a constructible size parameter provided by the glazing contractor, Benson Industries. Next, the maximum allowable warpage of the specified glass from Viracon was considered and constrained to a deflection value of L/100. Through the manipulations of the Grasshopper definitions the worstperforming panel ultimately had a deflection value of L/120.

Placing a delicate glass element between two massive building forms in a seismic hot zone was seemingly illogical. However, the notion became achievable when equally motivated professionals were teamed together to make it happen. The skylight was organized into clear components to identify layers of primary structure, the skylights structure, and the glazing system.

Seismic movements between the Tower and Podium were calculated and defined by Brandow & Johnston, the Structural Engineer of Record. Within the skylights enclosure, it was necessary to consider the combined movements of the tower and podium in the x and y directions. The movements ranged from 13 inches at the 7th floor to 3 inches at the 1st floor.

The skylight would be fixed to the podium side, and seismic motion would be addressed on the Tower side. To accommodate the range of movements between intersecting floors, slide bearings were designed to move within the constraints of keeper plates, attached to the Towers perimeter box columns. Movements in the z direction, primarily for wind uplift, were addressed through the addition of steel tubes, welded to the towers box columns that lock the skylight in place.

Next, the structure of the skylight itself was addressed. Catena Engineers, structural engineers from Portland, Oregon analyzed the skylights form and maintained the aesthetic by introducing drift joints and V-braces into the skylights structural system of trusses and purlins. Large full-scale mockups of the skylights frame were created by Columbia Wire & Iron, steel craftsmen also from Portland, Oregon, to ensure that the framing sections could be installed seamlessly, sequentially and without complications. The construction of the Atrium Skylight has since been completed and is a recognized captivating form in the City of Los Angeles, unlike anything that has preceded it in Downtown.

Taking into account the lessons learned through the design development of the tower and the skylight, the Crown was the final piece to be considered. The Crown is also referred to as a Sail because of its gentle curvilinear form, as shown in Figure 5. Its south-facing side curves both in plan and in section. Its north, west and east sides are both orthogonal and sloping planes. The signature top of the Tower rises 100 feet above the observation deck.

It is open at the top and is a functional screen to conceal the building maintenance units, elevator machine rooms and mechanical equipment that reside within its enclosure. By utilizing Grasshopper definitions again,the doubly curved forms were rationalized to minimize warpage, allowing the unitized curtain wall panels to cover the glass screen, a visual extension of the Towers fenestration.

The structure of the Crown was first envisioned to be light and lacy. It was about joinery and beauty, the iconic top to redefine the skyline of downtown Los Angeles, ultimately accented by a Spire that rises another 173 feet above the peak of the Crown. Upon further analysis by the structural engineers, it became apparent that an earthquake could produce 4G forces of acceleration at the top of the Tower.

Gone was the notion of laciness and filigree. The Crowns structure became a statement of brute force. Paired vertical trusses were replaced by robust sized wide flange steel members and massive gusset plates. Despite the functional realities of the seismic forces and their implications on the structural design, the design team persisted to ensure that all beauty was not lost. The structure was organized and engaged with the overall design of the Crown.

The Wilshire Grand Center will open for business in June 2017. The original design objectives will have been implemented: Skyline, Sky Lobby, Climate, Urban Context and Efficiency. The original building forms remain intact. Through the perseverance of the design, engineering and contracting team, beauty plays well with the beast.

[1] Wilshire Grand Center construction photo by Gary Leonard[2] Thornton Tomasetti Memorandum to Brandow & Johnston, Structural Movements for Faade, June 18, 2013

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Beauty and the Beast - Glass on Web

We live in three places simultaneously: in the body, in the built world and on this earth. Increasingly, the second body (the built world), is the one that controls us the most. In devising a habitus in relation to a habitat, we reinforce through habit modes of behaviour that both protect and alienate us from the immediate life of the body and the cosmic life of the planet.

Antony Gormley (2020)

Thaddeaus Ropac Paris Marais gallery reopens this week on Tuesday 12th May, in accordance with French government guidelines.

They will be carefully monitoring entry to the gallerys exhibition rooms to assist with maintaining the guidelines on social distancing and protection.

In Habit is an exhibition of new sculptures and drawings by Antony Gormley, centred around a space activating installation. Run II is a singular, continuous, square aluminium tube that fills the space of the main gallery in snaking 90-degree turns, the horizontal sections recalling heights familiar to us in our built environment: chair or table, worktop or shelf, door or ceiling. It uses the simplest means to activate and energise space, to create awareness of the way we move about in our constructed habitat.

Run II runs freely through the gallery and, by stepping through the work, our bodies can recognise and be liberated from the effects of what the Japanese call the culture of the chair. Run II is, in Antony Gormleys words, a zone of reflexivity in which light, air, volume and your displaced biomass are all tuned by the orthogonal yet free play. By encouraging you to be a figure in a ground, you become the viewed for other viewers and, in doing so, can use the space of art as an emergent field. Gormley invites us to pause and consider our dependency on this second habitat the body of architecture and to create an awareness of the ground itself, to earth you.

Alongside this new large-scale, site-specific work are several life-size cast iron Liners: single open lines, multiple lines and endless lines without beginning or end, that explore the internal volume of the human body, rather like the London Underground map. Like Run II, these works are seen by Gormley as diagnostic instruments that attempt to re-locate you in your first habitat your body. I do not want to illustrate emotion or sensation, but these rusty maps might be helped by your projection of what it feels like to do a shoulder stand Fill; lie on your side Level; balance on your bottom while lifting your head and feet Float; feel your relationship to the earth while balancing on your feet and clasping your legs as tight to the body as possible Nest. Presented in the lower ground floor gallery, a delicate Framer entitled Rest, alludes to body space as architecture, and is accompanied by a selection of spatial drawings. Gormley believes that sculpture in the digital age has a unique ability to return us to first-hand experience and to become a ground on which our forgotten internal perceptions of being in the world might return us to being in touch with ourselves and our home planet.

Mark Westall is the Founder and Editor of FAD magazineFounder and co-publisher Art of Conversation and founder of the platform @worldoffad

Link:
Antony Gormley exhibition In Habit re-opening this week at Thaddeaus Ropac Paris - FAD magazine

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic can be felt across the chemical industry. The growing inability in the production and manufacturing processes, in the light of the self-quarantined workforce has caused a major disruption in the supply chain across the sector. Restrictions encouraged by this pandemic are obstructing the production of essentials such as life-saving drugs.

The nature of operation in chemical plants that cannot be easily stopped and started, makes the operational restrictions in these plants a serious concern for the industry leaders. Restricted and delayed shipments from China have created a price hike in the raw materials, affecting the core of the chemicals industry.

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The slacking demand from different impacted industries such as automotive is negatively influencing the growth of the chemical industry. In light of the current crisis, the market leaders are focused to become self-reliant which is expected to benefit the economic growth of different economies in the longer term. Companies are triggering events to restructure and recover from the losses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ship Decorative Panels Market: Introduction

Ship decorative panels are durable and luxurious finish materials used as a floor or ceiling covering in a ship. Ship decorative panels are usually made of wood, aluminum, steel or other metals. It ensures easy and fast installation and high standard. Certain ship decorative panels offers fire resistance property and acoustic insulations. Apart from a basic scope of ceiling and floor panels, ship decorative panels are also designed for wet areas.

Ship Decorative Panels Market:Drivers and Challenges

Among the various types of ship decorative panels materials, luxury vinyl panels are the trending luxury grade flooring with better quality and overall value. Also, Ship decorative panels are available in wide varieties such as inlaid or printed types. Inlaid type panels are those which maintain their color even when damaged or scratched as the inlaid pattern extends through the depth of the flooring. This gives the flooring a deeper and attractive look as gravel or concrete are embedded into it. Printed type panels are manufactured using 3D pattern or normal pattern printing on a material. Thereby, contributing towards the ship decorative panels demand significantly.

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Further, interior decoration is a worldwide passion with lifestyle trends and needs in areas, such as design, architecture, and technology guiding consumers with contemporary decoration. A wide array of ship decorative panels are available and they are easy to install, maintain and clean. Moreover, most of the ship decorative panels are inherently waterproof, making it the preferred choice for marine application. Also, ship decorative panels is considered to be a decorative product owing to the recent innovations, such as resemblance to ceramic or other contemporary looks. Also, it is preferred cruise ships as it is durable, trendy and available with built-in adhesives. Increasing sea-tourism is expected to drive the ship owners towards decorated or attractive cruises, thus driving the demand of ship decorative panels market.

Furthermore, ongoing activities related to current initiatives, such as One Belt, One Road, initiative for expansion of Suez and Panama Canal, is estimated to potentially affect the global seaborne trade. Growing technological advancement and e-commerce, thus the freight forwarding, coupled with industrial revolution in emerging countries, has the prospectus of reshaping the marine industry and in turn driving the demand for ship decorative panels market.

Moreover, the increasing fleet of ships is expected to drive the demand of ship decorative panels over the projected period of time. Furthermore, shipping of goods via cargos is comparatively economical than shipping via air, hence cargo shipping is witnessing significant demand in recent past. This, in turn, will augment the growth of the ship decorative panels market over the forecast period. However, high installation cost could hinder the growth of the ship decorative panels market.

Global Ship Decorative Panels: Market Segmentation

On the basis ofmaterial type, the global ship decorative panels market has been segmented as:

Ship Decorative Panels Market: Regional Overview

As the ship decorative panels market is expected to be fragmented, various market players across the globe are focusing on strengthening their partnerships with local companies, and they are strategically deploying prime distributors in emerging regions. The key players of ship decorative panels are also involved in marking their direct presence in the local markets through mergers and acquisitions with regional players across the emerging regions. Thus, regions, such as China, India, and South East Asia Pacific are expected to expand at a significant rate in terms of manufacturing base of ship decorative panels. North America is anticipated to register significant growth in the ship decorative panel market, after Asia Pacific as a result of the regions increasing export and import business, and passenger traffic, which in turn will drive the regional ship decorative panels market share of the ship decorative panels. Expanding import and export of oil and gas in Middle East Africa via sea-cargos, is stipulated increase the trade of ship decorative panels in coming years.

Global Ship Decorative Panels Market: Key Players

Ship decorative panels market is expected to be fairly fragmented market, owing to a vast number of local as well as global manufacturers. Examples of some of the market participants in the global ship decorative panels market identified across the value chain include:

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Ship Decorative Panels Market Development, Key Opportunity and Analysis of Leading Players to 2018 - 2028 - The Canton Independent Sentinel

07.05.20

Audio and video have combined to create On Air, which recreates a realistic tv game show experience in Sweden. Paul Milligan looks at how it was done.

Game shows have been one of the most popular genres of programmes across the world since television began in the 1950s. No matter what the format, audiences have been gripped at the change to win big prizes or a large amount of money. Yet the vast majority of us will never actually take part in a tv quiz. That is until now. On Air opened its first venue in Stockholm with the aim of recreating the feel of being on a real game show but surrounded by your friends or colleagues in a relaxed atmosphere. The concept was quickly successful and a second On Air opened in Gothenburg. The Swedish city of rebo is home to the third On Air venue, which is also the first franchise for the brand.

Hosted inside Pitchers, a multi-activity entertainments hub features a number of attractions including bowling, shuffleboard, arcades and a casino. This project came about as Pitchers had a VR attraction that wasnt really working in the way it wanted it too, so was looking for something else to fill the space. Pitchers was contacted by On Air in Stockholm, and the collaboration then began.

The opening of On Air has seen part of its extensive ground floor area built to resemble a TV studio game show set. The On Air experience includes a 90 minute game show (with two short breaks). Visitors compete in a team with friends or family against other groups in the studio, each team consists of 2 to 6 people, and the room can accommodate up to 9 teams at once in the studio. Every team is placed behind a team podium equipped with a buzzer used to answer questions (in English) on a variety of subjects.

Tasked with making sure it looked and felt and performed as the existing two venues do was Anders Neldin, head technician and Christopher Gothnier technical manager from On Air. The plan from the owners was clear, as highlighted by head of sales, Patrick Haginge, to make sure every technical and aesthetic aspect of the studio was of the highest standard. When we started On Air here, we said if were going to do this, it must be perfect. To create a total experience we needed everything to be right - thats why people keep coming back. Its just so, so much fun because of the way that every element works together.

Were Neldin and Gothnier able to use some of the designs from the previous two projects on the rebo project, or did they have to start from scratch? The owners (of On Air) came with a design with how everything should look, how they want LED lights to work and how the all the wooden panels should look, gave us suggestions and then we made the technical installations, says Neldin.

You should get the feeling you are going into a TV studio and its a real TV show, everything has to be nice and tight and look proper and work together seamlessly. There should be specific lights and music when people enter, when they push a button everything should just work with their system and their lightning programme.

To make the game show as realistic as possible the host (actually one of four different actors/comedians) acts just as a typical TV game show host does, they are micd up with a MiPro headset, and there are handheld mics for when contestants are called up to interact with the host for various games. The whole feeling is very TV show-y. All we needed to do was to glue everything together, says Gothnier.

Either side of the presenter are a 75-in Samsung LCD display on which questions or text or video are used for the quiz. Behind the presenter are different things the presenter can pull down, like an old map which can be used for some games. Audio is a huge element of the experience. When guests arrive they go into a bar/waiting area in the basement with some Audac speakers placed around the area to play music from the main room. Audio there is handled by 12 Pioneer Pro Audio CM-C56T-K ceiling speakers, driven by a Powersoft Quattrocanali 1204 DSP+D amplifier in a mono 100volt configuration. Both brands were favorites of the installation teams from previous jobs. There are nine seating areas for contestants, each with a single speaker above and a further three at the front above the host so everyone receives a uniform experience. This was the first European installation of the CM-C56T, Gothnier describes the decision to go with Pioneer: The closed back of the 6-in speakers gives a warmer sound than some of the 8-in competitor brands that we have used in other parts of the complex, and from an installation point of view the engineering behind the units has been closely considered from a practical as well as a sonic point of view.

The reason to go with Powersoft was twofold says Neldin, We put in Powersoft amps because we know with Powersoft amps any speaker you use with them will sound great. We also want to be able to control the audio via Armonia (software), so we can give each different every section its own volume level. We have the people on the floor who are further from the ceiling so it's a little bit louder there, and for the people on the top its a little bit softer, having this system makes it easy to use Powersoft and to run 100v systems, so we put in some extra money on that and we took out the money on some other stuff to meet the budget.

All audio is run locally through a Behringer X Air XR12 mixer, just to make it very simple for the staff, adds Neldin. There is a rack room just outside of the main room, and everything is run from there.

Fitting was in less than three weeks from start to finish, icluding the installation of bespoke wooden desks. The most difficult aspect with the installation was the LED installation which was a hassle because everything is run on square damping mats, and the electricity was kind of iffy in some places, which made the LEDs behave strangely, says Neldin.

Day-to-day AV support is provided by an on-site technician, but if there's a problem, like a more technical audio or lightning problem, they contact me, says Neldin. That's one of the one of the benefits with running Powersoft because I can maintain a lot of that from distance. Everything is in quite close quarters and we talk to each other every day. So if there's a problem, they just call us or email us.

KIT LIST

Audio

Audac loudspeakersBehringer X Air XR12 mixerLectret HE-747 stage headsetMiPro ACT-32HC wireless mic, ACT-32T bodypack transmitter Powersoft Quattro1204DNT amplifierPioneer Pro Audio CM-C56T-K ceiling loudspeakers

Light

Chauvet DJ Datastream 4 (DMX Splitter)Ledj LP600RGB, FLS-RGB60BL flexible colour strip, LedjFTP3 DMX driverLedux Lumere Pilote-60, Lumere Pilote-100Showtec Shark Zoom Wash One

Video

Samsung 75in LCD displays

Here is the original post:
Time to play at On Air - InAVate

whats-on, music-theatre-arts,

In March this year, Warumungu/Luritja woman Kelli Cole, a curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Special Projects at the National Gallery of Australia, joined the Tjanpi Desert Weavers, an award winning, Indigenous governed and directed social enterprise of the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women's Council (NPYWC). The women artists were working on a commission for the Know My Name project, an initiative of the National Gallery of Australia to celebrate the significant contributions of Australian women artists. Next year, the Tjanpi Desert Weavers commission will become part of the national collection, which includes the largest collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in the world. As the sun sets and the heat abates, the Tjanpi Desert Weavers are still working, the campground alive with laughter. Being on Country gives the woman the energy to continue the flow of weaving, replaced by inma (cultural song and dance) once night falls. Having spent numerous weeks working side by side collecting, gathering and hunting, the women draw on their experience and cultural knowledge as they work on the large Kungkarangkalpa (Seven Sisters) installation. I watch as their hands move without much thought, as if they retain the muscle memory embedded in the past. Tjanpi Desert Weavers (Tjanpi meaning 'wild grass' in Pitjantjatjara language) was first conceived in 1995 when a passionate NPYWC employee, Thisbe Purich, decided to introduce a basket weaving workshop in Papulankutja (Blackstone), Western Australia. The NPYWC had been formed during land rights struggles of the 1970s when Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara women felt their voices were not being heard and the Tjanpi Desert Weavers was a response to NPYWC members advocating for cultural appropriate ways for women to earn an income. Anangu women had always worked with natural fibres to make manguri, a traditional head accessory composed of a circular ring to carry their carved piti, wirra, mirtulpa or karnilypa (wooden bowls). For 25 years, the women artists of Tjanpi Desert Weavers have developed and mastered their skills, weaving beautiful baskets and creating ambitious collaborative fibre art installations using the desert grasses that have sustained them for thousands of years. Displaying "endless creativity and inventiveness", these whimsical works generate awareness and insight into culture and Country alongside their focus of creating income and employment for women on their homelands so they can provide for their families and community. Now representing over 400 women artists, the Tjanpi Desert Weavers' remit is vast, covering approximately 350,000 square kilometres and encompassing 26 remote communities across the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia. Aboriginal people in Australia have had a continuous connection to their land for over 65,000 years. The relationship between Anangu and Country is vital to their wellbeing and centred upon respect and care for the land. A key part of caring for Country is the continuation of cultural practices, visiting significant sites and performing inma. By doing so, people believe that the land will continue to sustain them. Life on Country revolves around the Tjukurpa, stories that are passed down from one generation to the next. To understand the humble beginnings of the Tjanpi Desert Weavers, you must meet the women who have shaped it and understand the history which has influenced contemporary practices. Due to many government policies of the time, the 1950s and 1960s represented a period of displacement and relocation for many Aboriginal people as they were moved off their ceremonial lands. The first church-run Mission was set up at Mt Margaret Mission in 1921, where Yarnangu women were first taught craft. By 1937 the Presbyterian Board of Missions established a mission at Pukatja (Ernabella), South Australia, and by 1948 it had grown into a settlement with thousands of sheep roaming the country. Anangu women were taught to spin the sheep's wool on large spinning wheels and to weave with it. Having used human hair to make string for millennia, the new medium of wool was easily integrated into cultural practice by the women. During March, as the heat rose and the wind rolled across the Rawlinson Ranges, fibre artists from the Tjanpi Desert Weavers came together to create their most ambitious collaborative work to date, Kungkarangkalpa (Seven Sisters). The Seven Sisters is an epic ancestral story that has an important underlying teaching element. It follows the journey of seven sisters as they are pursued across Country by Wati Nyiru/Yurla, the male ancestral being, who is chasing the eldest sister. The sisters constantly try to evade their pursuer leaving traces of their journey in the landscape. In an attempt to escape, they eventually launch themselves into the sky, transforming into the stars that form the Pleiades. Wati Nyiru follows and becomes the Orion constellation. The retelling and depiction of this story relays the impact of transgressive behaviour and water resources necessary for survival in the desert. Drawing on this story, Kungkarangkalpa (Seven Sisters) is a large-scale ceiling and floor installation with seven woven figures representing the sisters placed on the floor of the gallery. Floating above from the ceiling is a large woven form with small lights blinking from within, referencing the Pleiades star cluster.

https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/9gmjQxX8MpSQh6J68NHMnY/9a88bc8f-91d3-438b-a9f4-f167e494ebfb.jpg/r3_530_5182_3456_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg

In March this year, Warumungu/Luritja woman Kelli Cole, a curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Special Projects at the National Gallery of Australia, joined the Tjanpi Desert Weavers, an award winning, Indigenous governed and directed social enterprise of the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women's Council (NPYWC). The women artists were working on a commission for the Know My Name project, an initiative of the National Gallery of Australia to celebrate the significant contributions of Australian women artists. Next year, the Tjanpi Desert Weavers commission will become part of the national collection, which includes the largest collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in the world.

As the sun sets and the heat abates, the Tjanpi Desert Weavers are still working, the campground alive with laughter.

Being on Country gives the woman the energy to continue the flow of weaving, replaced by inma (cultural song and dance) once night falls. Having spent numerous weeks working side by side collecting, gathering and hunting, the women draw on their experience and cultural knowledge as they work on the large Kungkarangkalpa (Seven Sisters) installation.

I watch as their hands move without much thought, as if they retain the muscle memory embedded in the past.

Tjanpi Desert Weavers (Tjanpi meaning 'wild grass' in Pitjantjatjara language) was first conceived in 1995 when a passionate NPYWC employee, Thisbe Purich, decided to introduce a basket weaving workshop in Papulankutja (Blackstone), Western Australia.

The NPYWC had been formed during land rights struggles of the 1970s when Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara women felt their voices were not being heard and the Tjanpi Desert Weavers was a response to NPYWC members advocating for cultural appropriate ways for women to earn an income.

Anangu women had always worked with natural fibres to make manguri, a traditional head accessory composed of a circular ring to carry their carved piti, wirra, mirtulpa or karnilypa (wooden bowls).

For 25 years, the women artists of Tjanpi Desert Weavers have developed and mastered their skills, weaving beautiful baskets and creating ambitious collaborative fibre art installations using the desert grasses that have sustained them for thousands of years.

Displaying "endless creativity and inventiveness", these whimsical works generate awareness and insight into culture and Country alongside their focus of creating income and employment for women on their homelands so they can provide for their families and community.

Now representing over 400 women artists, the Tjanpi Desert Weavers' remit is vast, covering approximately 350,000 square kilometres and encompassing 26 remote communities across the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia.

Cynthia Burke with her dog Tiny from Warakurna (WA) out collecting Minarri grass, 2017. Picture: Rhett Hammerton

Aboriginal people in Australia have had a continuous connection to their land for over 65,000 years. The relationship between Anangu and Country is vital to their wellbeing and centred upon respect and care for the land.

A key part of caring for Country is the continuation of cultural practices, visiting significant sites and performing inma. By doing so, people believe that the land will continue to sustain them. Life on Country revolves around the Tjukurpa, stories that are passed down from one generation to the next.

To understand the humble beginnings of the Tjanpi Desert Weavers, you must meet the women who have shaped it and understand the history which has influenced contemporary practices.

Due to many government policies of the time, the 1950s and 1960s represented a period of displacement and relocation for many Aboriginal people as they were moved off their ceremonial lands.

The first church-run Mission was set up at Mt Margaret Mission in 1921, where Yarnangu women were first taught craft. By 1937 the Presbyterian Board of Missions established a mission at Pukatja (Ernabella), South Australia, and by 1948 it had grown into a settlement with thousands of sheep roaming the country.

Anangu women were taught to spin the sheep's wool on large spinning wheels and to weave with it. Having used human hair to make string for millennia, the new medium of wool was easily integrated into cultural practice by the women.

During March, as the heat rose and the wind rolled across the Rawlinson Ranges, fibre artists from the Tjanpi Desert Weavers came together to create their most ambitious collaborative work to date, Kungkarangkalpa (Seven Sisters).

The Seven Sisters is an epic ancestral story that has an important underlying teaching element. It follows the journey of seven sisters as they are pursued across Country by Wati Nyiru/Yurla, the male ancestral being, who is chasing the eldest sister.

The sisters constantly try to evade their pursuer leaving traces of their journey in the landscape. In an attempt to escape, they eventually launch themselves into the sky, transforming into the stars that form the Pleiades.

Wati Nyiru follows and becomes the Orion constellation.

The retelling and depiction of this story relays the impact of transgressive behaviour and water resources necessary for survival in the desert.

Drawing on this story, Kungkarangkalpa (Seven Sisters) is a large-scale ceiling and floor installation with seven woven figures representing the sisters placed on the floor of the gallery.

Floating above from the ceiling is a large woven form with small lights blinking from within, referencing the Pleiades star cluster.

More:
The Tjanpi Desert Weavers are working on a major commission for the National Gallery of Australia - The Canberra Times