Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Developer Sam Savarino heads into the holiday season optimistic that once the weather clears in the spring he will finally be able to begin construction on Ellicott Station -- the restaurant/brewery, apartment, and office complex on the former Della Penna and Santy properties on Ellicott Street in the City of Batavia.

Savarino said within days, once the application window is open, Savarino Companies will submit an application for funding assistance to the state's Home and Community Renewal agency and he expects a determination to be reached in January sometime.

It was good news last week, he said, when he learned that the Department of Environmental Conservation had opened public comment period for expedited remediation of environmental contamination at the sites.

Work will begin with cleanup of contamination followed by demolition of a portion of the main Della Penna building (the front part) and the rest of the buildings on the two sites. Then construction of the restaurant and brewery for Resurgence Brewing Companyin Buffalo will begin.

If all goes according to schedule, the total project -- including office space and 55 apartments -- will be completed in October 2021.

There's a significant change in the funding plan. Savarino initially intended to finance the $19 millionproject (now $1.4 million more than the earlier estimates) using a federal program known as the New Market Tax Credit, where investors could get a tax break for backing the project.

Savarino said the timing of the project no longer favors using the New Market Tax Credit program.

He said, "a lot more of my money" is going into the construction of the multi-use complex to ensure the project is fully financed.

Originally posted here:
Developer hoping for construction start on Ellicott Station in the spring - The Batavian

Ben Brewer says Deep Ellum is easily one of Dallas most energized neighborhoods. The Hines managing director is behind a new 16-story, mixed-use building behind famed music venue The Bomb Factory. Called The Stack, the project is a collaboration with Dallas Westdale Real Estate (the group developing a high-rise that will house thousands of Uber employees) and Canadas Ivanhoe Cambridge.

Deep Ellum has seen waves of redevelopment over the past several decades. A surge of new restaurant and retail, a thousand new apartments in three separate projects, and the three-building Epic development at its western edge anchor are transforming the once nearly vacant strip of Dallas into a thriving community.

We believed in the positive trajectory of Deep Ellum for some time as companies have been making influential improvements in the neighborhood, Brewer told D CEO.

Construction of The Stack, 2700 Commerce St., should begin immediately and is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2022. Itis expected to have 200,000 square feet of office space and 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.

Brewer said talks are already underway with a variety of users for the space, but declined to provide specifics on potential tenants.

The Stack will attract tenants with a progressive mindset that are seeking a vibrant and authentic location to recruit, attract, and retain the top talent for their businesses, Brewer said.

Deep Ellum is known for brick-layered industrial architecture, mural-clad streetscapes, and a walkable environment; developers worked with Dallas architect 5G Studio Collaborative to create a new office building that will blend with the fabric of the neighborhood with its brick facade and metal elements.

The team is targeting both LEED Core and WELL certificationand is one of the first new construction projects in Dallas to do so.

Tenant amenities will include electric car (and potentially scooter) charging stations, an expansive 10th-floor amenity terrace overlooking the Dallas skyline, a fitness center, bicycle storage, a coffee and cocktail lounge, concierge package delivery, and more. The building also will feature a 640-space parking garage that can be used for retail and restaurant visitors at night and on the weekends.

This development represents a continuation of Westdales intent to partner with best-in-class real estate developers and investors to create iconic office and retail space in this most unique urban neighborhood, said Joe Beard, the companys president and CEO.

See original here:
Hines and Westdale Bringing Another High-Rise Tower to Deep Ellum - D Magazine

Friday, November 22, 2019

Changes are on the horizon as the Purdue University Collegeof Veterinary Medicine moves closer to the exciting start of construction ofthe new Veterinary Teaching Hospital! Inanticipation of the establishment of the construction zone in the parking areaseast of Lynn Hall, Purdue Parking and Transportation Services this weekannounced a new parking plan for the College.The permanent changes will begin on or after January 1, 2020.

The majority of the parking spaces east of Lynn Hall, the Animal Holding Facility, and the Utility Plant Office Facility will be unavailable. Only a limited amount of spaces will be available for client parking for the Small Animal Hospital.

To help offset the loss of these parking spaces, thefollowing changes have been made to nearby parking locations (see map):

Additional parking may be found in the following parkinglocations:

Faculty and staff members interested in upgrading theirparking permit (such as from B to A) may do so by sending an email request to parking@purdue.edu.

Initial signs of the pending construction will begin to be visible after Thanksgiving. Crews will begin installing posts for the eventual construction fencing that will encircle the parking areas east of Lynn Hall following the Thanksgiving holiday break. But access to those parking areas will remain open until the beginning of the Winter Recess period.

Writer(s): Kevin Doerr | pvmnews@purdue.edu

More here:
Parking Information Released in Anticipation of New Building Construction - Purdue Veterinary News

"GreenApple Labs is a natural fit with our program," said Cory Bruner, director of risk management for FSG. "The partnership brings a professional classroom setting into an FSG training site, giving the apprentice the ability to learn how to use a tool in the classroom and then apply the technique to their on-the-job learning opportunity."

"We are proud to partner with FSG and others to inspire and train people who want to pursue a career in the trades," said Paul McAndrew, vice president and general manager of Greenlee, Emerson. "GreenApple Labs is about providing training to students in the classroom ensuring they are ready to work when they arrive on the job."

GreenApple Labs

GreenApple Labs was created and introduced to all students to develop key trade profession competencies with equipment they will use as employees on the jobsite. Greenlee developed a series of standardized competency-based, hands-on modules that provide key skill sets required by employers as they enter the workforce. In partnership with the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3), students that successfully complete courses in the five core electrical trade categories: bending, cutting and termination, fishing and pulling, test and measurement, and wire pathways, are awarded a certificate signifying their knowledge and hands-on competency. Completed certificates meet Industry Based Credentials (IBC) requirements, which are recognized by the local, state and several national certifying entities (BICSI, ETA-I). The hands-on program includes a series of training modules that not only educates students on new technology that an electrician may need to know but reinforces fundamental skillsets while in the controlled environment of a classroom.

People interested in learning more about GreenApple Labs need to connect with Steve Lehr, director, vocational education business development at steven.lehr@emerson.com; learn more about GreenApple Labs at greenlee.com/green-apple-labs.

FSG Training

Currently, 200 students are enrolled in FSG's program. Instructor-led courses utilize training from GreenApple Labs, the National Center for Construction Education and Research, and on-the-job training. Apprentice programs consist of four levels of electrical training through the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) and help fulfill the necessary hours of on-the-job experience. Apprentice opportunities are offered at nine FSG locations, including: Austin, Dallas, El Paso, San Antonio, Chicago, Indianapolis, Southern California, and New York. Individuals interested in learning more about the FSG apprentice training program should visit www1.fsgi.com/careers/training.

Emerson's Professional Tools businesses include Greenlee as well as the RIDGID and Klauke brands and provides the industry's broadest portfolio of advanced, reliable tools and technologies for the mechanical, electrical and plumbing trades globally. Visit emerson.com/professionaltools for more information.

About EmersonEmerson (NYSE: EMR), headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri (USA), is a global technology and engineering company providing innovative solutions for customers in industrial, commercial, and residential markets.Our Automation Solutions business helps process, hybrid, and discrete manufacturers maximize production, protect personnel and the environment while optimizing their energy and operating costs.Our Commercial and Residential Solutions business helps ensure human comfort and health, protect food quality and safety, advance energy efficiency, and create sustainable infrastructure.For more information visit Emerson.com.

About FSGFSG is a registered trademark of Facility Solutions Group and the company is one of the nation's largest providers of cost-effective, comprehensive solutions to lighting, electrical, technology and signage problems. Established in 1982 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, FSG offers customers time and money-saving advantages of a single-source provider, designing, fabricating, installing, supporting, and servicing turnkey solutions that lower ownership costs both now and throughout the solution's usable life. For more information on FSG, please visit www1.fsgi.com.

Greenlee Tools, Inc. 2019

For more information, contact:Agency Contact: Liz Dorland 402.437.6066 lizd@swansonrussell.comGreenlee Corporate Contact: Michael Farris 815.312.6839 Michael.Farris@emerson.comFSG Corporate Contact: Cory Bruner 512.440.7985 ext. 12160 cory.bruner@fsgi.com

SOURCE Emerson

https://www.emerson.com

Original post:
Emerson Partners with FSG to Deliver GreenApple Labs Training from Greenlee to Help Solve the Skills Shortage - PRNewswire

ROCKFORD, Ill., Nov. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Industry experts estimate the U.S. needs 500,000 electricians to fulfill the growing construction demands. To alleviate the skills gap, Emerson's (NYSE: EMR) Greenlee businessis working with electrical contractor FSG to integrate GreenApple Labs curriculum into its free training program. FSG recently opened its Dallas, San Antonio and Austin locations, where more than 150 students attended the event to advance their trade career.

"GreenApple Labs is a natural fit with our program," said Cory Bruner, director of risk management for FSG. "The partnership brings a professional classroom setting into an FSG training site, giving the apprentice the ability to learn how to use a tool in the classroom and then apply the technique to their on-the-job learning opportunity."

"We are proud to partner with FSG and others to inspire and train people who want to pursue a career in the trades," said Paul McAndrew, vice president and general manager of Greenlee, Emerson. "GreenApple Labs is about providing training to students in the classroom ensuring they are ready to work when they arrive on the job."

GreenApple Labs

GreenApple Labs was created and introduced to all students to develop key trade profession competencies with equipment they will use as employees on the jobsite. Greenlee developed a series of standardized competency-based, hands-on modules that provide key skill sets required by employers as they enter the workforce. In partnership with the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3), students that successfully complete courses in the five core electrical trade categories: bending, cutting and termination, fishing and pulling, test and measurement, and wire pathways, are awarded a certificate signifying their knowledge and hands-on competency. Completed certificates meet Industry Based Credentials (IBC) requirements, which are recognized by the local, state and several national certifying entities (BICSI, ETA-I). The hands-on program includes a series of training modules that not only educates students on new technology that an electrician may need to know but reinforces fundamental skillsets while in the controlled environment of a classroom.

People interested in learning more about GreenApple Labs need to connect with Steve Lehr, director, vocational education business development at steven.lehr@emerson.com; learn more about GreenApple Labs at greenlee.com/green-apple-labs.

FSG Training

Currently, 200 students are enrolled in FSG's program. Instructor-led courses utilize training from GreenApple Labs, the National Center for Construction Education and Research, and on-the-job training. Apprentice programs consist of four levels of electrical training through the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) and help fulfill the necessary hours of on-the-job experience. Apprentice opportunities are offered at nine FSG locations, including: Austin, Dallas, El Paso, San Antonio, Chicago, Indianapolis, Southern California, and New York. Individuals interested in learning more about the FSG apprentice training program should visit www1.fsgi.com/careers/training.

Emerson's Professional Tools businesses include Greenlee as well as the RIDGID and Klauke brands and provides the industry's broadest portfolio of advanced, reliable tools and technologies for the mechanical, electrical and plumbing trades globally. Visit emerson.com/professionaltools for more information.

About EmersonEmerson (NYSE: EMR), headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri (USA), is a global technology and engineering company providing innovative solutions for customers in industrial, commercial, and residential markets.Our Automation Solutions business helps process, hybrid, and discrete manufacturers maximize production, protect personnel and the environment while optimizing their energy and operating costs.Our Commercial and Residential Solutions business helps ensure human comfort and health, protect food quality and safety, advance energy efficiency, and create sustainable infrastructure.For more information visit Emerson.com.

About FSGFSG is a registered trademark of Facility Solutions Group and the company is one of the nation's largest providers of cost-effective, comprehensive solutions to lighting, electrical, technology and signage problems. Established in 1982 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, FSG offers customers time and money-saving advantages of a single-source provider, designing, fabricating, installing, supporting, and servicing turnkey solutions that lower ownership costs both now and throughout the solution's usable life. For more information on FSG, please visit www1.fsgi.com.

Greenlee Tools, Inc. 2019

For more information, contact:Agency Contact: Liz Dorland 402.437.6066 lizd@swansonrussell.comGreenlee Corporate Contact: Michael Farris 815.312.6839 Michael.Farris@emerson.comFSG Corporate Contact: Cory Bruner 512.440.7985 ext. 12160 cory.bruner@fsgi.com

See more here:
Emerson Partners with FSG to Deliver GreenApple(TM) Labs Training from Greenlee to Help Solve the Skills Shortage - MDJOnline.com

Gulf Island Fabrication Inc. (NASDAQ:GIFI) and Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW) have been rivals in the Oil & Gas Equipment & Services for quite some time. Below is a review of each business including various aspects such as dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, earnings and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

Table 1 demonstrates Gulf Island Fabrication Inc. and Tidewater Inc.s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Profitability

Table 2 provides the return on equity, net margins and return on assets of the two firms.

Volatility and Risk

Gulf Island Fabrication Inc. is 3.00% more volatile than Standard and Poors 500 due to its 1.03 beta. Competitively, Tidewater Inc. is 77.00% more volatile than Standard and Poors 500, because of the 1.77 beta.

Liquidity

Gulf Island Fabrication Inc.s Current Ratio is 2.8 while its Quick Ratio is 2.7. On the competitive side is, Tidewater Inc. which has a 4.3 Current Ratio and a 4.1 Quick Ratio. Tidewater Inc. is better positioned to pay off short and long-term obligations compared to Gulf Island Fabrication Inc.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

Roughly 69.3% of Gulf Island Fabrication Inc. shares are held by institutional investors while 83.4% of Tidewater Inc. are owned by institutional investors. Gulf Island Fabrication Inc.s share held by insiders are 4.2%. Comparatively, insiders own roughly 1.2% of Tidewater Inc.s shares.

Performance

Here are the Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Half Yearly, Yearly and YTD Performance of both pretenders.

For the past year Gulf Island Fabrication Inc. had bearish trend while Tidewater Inc. had bullish trend.

Summary

On 6 of the 10 factors Tidewater Inc. beats Gulf Island Fabrication Inc.

Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a fabricator of offshore drilling and production platforms, and other steel structures for customers in the oil and gas, and marine industries in the United States. The company fabricates jackets and deck sections of fixed production platforms; hull, tendon, and/or deck sections of floating production platforms, such as tension leg platforms, single point anchor reservoirs, floating production storage and offloading vessels, and minimum deepwater operating concepts; piles, wellhead protectors, and subsea templates, as well as various production, compressor, and utility modules; produces and repairs pressure vessels used in the oil and gas industry; fabricates various other types of steel structures; and provides onshore and offshore scaffolding and piping insulation services. It also fabricates and repairs offshore supply vessels, anchor handling vessels, lift boats, tugboats, towboats, barges, and other marine vessels; constructs dry docks to lift marine vessels; and offers steel repair, blasting and painting, electrical systems repair, and machinery and piping system repairs, as well as propeller, shaft, and rudder reconditioning. In addition, the company provides interconnect piping services on offshore platforms and inshore structures; fabricates pressure vessels and packaged skid units; and on-site construction and maintenance services, as well as offers conversion projects. It serves oil and gas companies and their contractors, petrochemical, marine, offshore support, offshore and inland barge, support vessel operators, offshore construction contractors, alternative energy, and diving companies, as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy, and state and local governmental agencies and their contractors. Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Tidewater Inc. provides offshore service vessels and marine support services to the offshore energy industry through the operation of a fleet of marine service vessels worldwide. It provides services in support of offshore exploration, field development, and production, including towing of and anchor handling for mobile offshore drilling units; transporting supplies and personnel necessary to sustain drilling, workover, and production activities; offshore construction, remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operations, and seismic and subsea support; and various specialized services, such as pipe and cable laying. The company operates and charters deepwater vessels, including platform supply and anchor handling towing supply vessels for use in transporting supplies and equipment from shore bases to deepwater and intermediate water depth offshore drilling rigs and production platforms; towing-supply vessels for use in intermediate and shallow waters; and crew boats and utility vessels to transport personnel and supplies from shore bases to offshore drilling rigs, platforms, and other installations. It also operates offshore tugs for use in towing floating drilling rigs and barges; and assisting in the docking of tankers, as well as in pipe and cable laying, and construction barges. The company serves oil and natural gas exploration, field development, and production companies; independent exploration and production companies; government-owned or government-controlled organizations, and other companies; drilling contractors; and other companies, such as offshore construction, diving, and well stimulation companies. As of March 31, 2017, it owned or chartered 260 vessels and 8 ROVs. Tidewater Inc. was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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See the original post:
Comparison of Gulf Island Fabrication Inc. (GIFI) and Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW) - The Broch Herald

The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) has long kept 3D models of its city. However, cobbled together over the years, the files are at times cumbersome and as firms increasingly turn to 3D printing for model making and testing, not so useful. Printers dont know how to process them or they are not designed in a way that print with stability. MakeTANK, an initiative of the Boston Society of Architects (BSA) saw this as an opportunity.

MakeTANK was initially started to integrate maker culture into the design process, according to Sasaki director of technical resources Bradford J. Prestbo, who has been intimately involved with the project along with the rest of the firm. The hope was to leverage the many makers and maker spaces in the greater Boston area, and help architects increase client engagement and decrease contractor riskand costby testing their designs out first. Imagine going into a restaurant where the chef only wrote recipes and has never actually cooked them, said Prestbo, half-joking. Thats kind of like the architectural profession today, where we just do a lot of paper architecture and paper designs without going through the process to actually taste what weve coupled together to make sure its actually an effective solution that also will perform long term.

City Print is MakeTANKs latest project, just announced at ABX19, though its been under development for over a year. The collaborative team of architects that came together for City Print developed a series of scripts that helped turn the existing models of Boston into watertight solids, meaning that when processed in Grasshopper they can be effectively fed into 3D printers. They also added additional topographic details. The process, however, could not be fully automated.

The files have to be individually opened, the scripts ran, and all of it double and triple checked for quality control. To help convert the over 200 model tiles of the city to be 3D ready, MakeTANK has enlisted the whos who of Boston-area architects. We are engaging in the greater AEC community to help us process the tiles, explained Jay Nothoff, Sasaki fabrication studio manager, and then turning around and handing this resource back to that same community as a finished project for everyone to enjoy and use as they will further project work.

The revamped models will be added to the BPDAs free repository and the BSA is using them themselves. Theyll be replacing their lobbys current scale model of the citythe basis of which was originally designed in the 1980s and is mostly focused on the financial districtwith a new, modular replica made from these printed files. Were zooming out from the financial district, said Nothoff. Were including the City of Boston in its entirety and were making a model that is easily updated because it is built off a grid system. As portions of the city change and grow, these titles are semi-precious at best; theyre just going to be held in place with magnets so we can pull the tile and put a new one in its place to most accurately represents the City of Boston in its current state.

Felipe Francisco, an architectural designer at Sasaki, went on to explain that many community groups didnt feel represented by the previous BSA model. Were open to try and create a new dialogue with those groups, explained Francisco. We want to use this as a resource for community groups to be able to come in and use this model to diagram stories over it through projection mapping about their communities. By collaborating with visualization experts, the BSA is developing tools to use the re-built model as a storytelling and visualization device. The intention is to build a base projection for the model itself that delineates roads, waterways and what have you, said Nothoff. On top of that could be layered information on sea-level rise, income data, other metrics, or more abstract visuals. Were reaching out to various organizations throughout the greater Boston area, such as the Boston Foundation, to help us gather all the voices that are currently feeling underrepresented and give them equity with his model and teach them how to use the projection map on to the model and tell their story.

The process is ongoing. Interested area firms can check out tiles from a grid of the city, and for a dose of healthy competition, check out a leader board. You grab a tile, fill out a form, and submit it and shortly thereafter you get all the support files and the working files and scripting as well as instructions on how to process them, explained Prestbo.

Original post:
Boston architects come together to make a 3D-printable map of the city - The Architect's Newspaper

Prior to modeling software, architects needed a way to determine how the passing of the sun would affect houses they were working on. Are some parts of the house getting too much sun or not enough sun? Are weird shadows being created? Does the design work as well in summer, when the sun is higher, as in winter, when the sun's arc is lower?

To determine these answers, they needed two things:

1) An intern, to build the model and get everyone coffee to drink during the evaluation phase, and

2) A heliodon.

A heliodon was a big-ass contraption that a woman named Candace had to wheel into a room and set up.

There was a dial Candace could use to set the house's latitude.

Candace used this dial to set the month.

The varying rings corresponded with the sun's position in different seasons.

There was no motor. To move the sun from dawn to dusk over the model of the house, Candace had to put some elbow grease into it.

Here's what the process looks like on video:

Enter a caption (optional)

It should be noted that not all architecture firms had the heliodon operated by a woman named Candace; some firms went with a Victoria or Rebecca, and occasionally guys named Don, Peter or Thaddeus were allowed to touch it too.

Go here to read the rest:
The Old-School Contraption Architects Once Used to Simulate the Sun Passing Over a House Model - Core77.com

Powder Coated Metal New York Chess Set. Image: Skyline Chess

Trained architects turning their hand to product design is not a new phenomenon. In the 21st century Sam Jacob Studio is producing t-shirts and Zaha Hadid Architects are producing everything from vases to shoes, at the turn of the previous century architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh was designing clocks. It is common for architects diversify into other careers, as polymathic architecture education fosters a wide variety of skills.

I spoke to Ian Flood, co-founder of Skyline Chess, a London-based company that was started when housemates and architectural designers Ian Flood and Chris Prosser would play chess in the evenings and concoct the architectural skylines of their dreams to compete in theoretical games. So far the pair have created architectural chess sets of London, New York, San Francisco, Dubai and Paris, with a special Brutalist London edition. Shanghai and Hong Kong chess sets are in the pipeline.

The project was started with a London chess set six years ago and has gone from strength to strength since. The chess sets are now stocked in such hallowed halls as the Guggenheim, MoMA, The British National Gallery and The Southbank Centre. The driving idea is that materials such as bronze, metals and marble combined with the knowledge and execution of an architect makes for a high quality product.

Founders Ian and Chris believe in using traditional production methods such as lost-wax casting and sketching. For example, the San Francisco chess set, available in solid bronze or powder coated metal has the following architectural make-up: The pawns are played by the famous Painted Lady houses, St. Marys Cathedral plays the Rook, with Columbus Tower playing the Knight. Coit Tower is cast as the Bishop, with the Iconic Transamerica Pyramid playing the most powerful piece on the board, the Queen. The King is played by the recently completed Salesforce Tower. The pair have also produced sets of playing cards for the London, Paris, New York and San Francisco editions.

I asked co-founder Ian Flood some questions...

In cities like New York and San Francisco where the architectural offerings are vast, it must be difficult to choose only a selection of buildings. Is there a specific process behind this?

Well start by looking at the city as a whole and begin to select buildings based on their form and height. In a traditional chess set the king is represented by the tallest piece, and then in descending order of height to the pawns. We try to retain that legibility in our games.

We aim to choose buildings which could be recognisable as the chess pieces they going to represent; for example the bishop in our London chess set is played by 30 St. Mary Axe and the Chrysler Building for New York, both of which have a similar silhouette not dissimilar from the mitred hat of a traditional bishop. This allows us to compete different cities against each other on the board as well.

We try and stay true to the relative heights of the pieces in each set, so they can be identified as a cityscape.

Alongside the city editions, you have the London Brutalist Edition which focuses on a particular architectural style. Are there any plans to do another style or is the focus in the future going to be on cities?

Were both big fans of Brutalism and this edition allowed us to showcase another side to Londons architecture which our first version didnt necessarily represent. Currently were focusing on new cities (Hong Kong and Shanghai will be launched next), however were definitely looking to do future editions based on other specific styles and periods of history.

For the bronze editions you collaborated with a small family business in Birmingham, England, where they manufacture the chess sets using an ancient lost-wax casting technique. Do you feel its important as a designer to support local craftsmanship?

Definitely. We have a close working relationships with 3 small manufacturers here in the UK which allows us to test new ideas and overcome any manufacturing issues a lot more easily than using overseas companies.

It also allows us to test new ideas on one-off editions, for the Paris Wireframe set we 3D printed in castable wax before using lost wax casting to create the pieces. As the tolerances were so fine we had a lot of input from the foundry about what was possible.

There is a high level of skill involved in the production of the sets and its great to see them at work first hand whilst helping to preserve these ancient techniques where possible.

You have had high profile clients such as NBC and Chanel, who has been the most interesting or surprising?

We currently have an exciting new edition in progress for a big institution in Rome, which well be sharing more details of in the coming months, and have a wide range of clients internationally. Closer to home were currently working on a proposal for a major UK sports team.

You use hand sketching as part of your creative process, do you feel that analogue skills are still important in the digital age?

Very much so, just as tracing over a floor plan can be the easiest way to solve a problem, we find that working by hand can sometimes lead you to a different outcome that you may have developed using a computer.

Is there any particular building which you have modelled that has either changed your opinion of it, or deepened your appreciation for it?

Were currently working on a range for the recent Hudson Yards development in New York The Vessel by Thomas Heatherwick is an incredible engineering feat and posed us with some unique challenges to make it work as a chess piece.

You offer a bespoke service and have created amongst others, a chess set to celebrate 100 years of The Bartlett School of Architecture. What is the most unusual request that you have received?

Working with the Bartlett really allowed us to be more unconventional with our thinking (as you would expect from them) and the final result is quite telling of this! We get all kinds of bespoke requests, from designs based on private islands to sets featuring peoples family members (and pets)

Lastly, if you could pick a favourite chess set, what one would it be?

I spent some time working in an architecture studio in Paris, so this edition is a particular favourite of mine. The set which myself and Chris play with most often is probably San Francisco.

Read more:
A Conversation With the Architect Who Is Bringing the World's Iconic Buildings to the Chessboard - Archinect

Industrial IoT processes increasingly base IoT implementations on the ISA-95 standard, which means organizations must understand what the standard does and doesn't define.

Anyone involved in developing industrial IoT (IIoT) products should be familiar with ISA-95, the standard from the 74-year-old International Society of Automation (ISA), but what is ISA-95 and how does it work?

As the name implies, work on ISA-95 started in 1995 and it continues to this day. ISA-95 defines the software interface between enterprise and control systems. Specifically, it defines semantics and operational models for how industrial control systems -- also called manufacturing execution systems -- exchange information with enterprise resource planning applications. ISA-95 comprises six key components, each of which builds on the other:

The six parts of ISA-95 create three key takeaways. First, ISA-95 is exclusively a software and information model. It describes how the underlying software applications and infrastructure -- such as databases -- should interconnect. Second, most manufacturing applications, software and services in the past 25 years have implemented ISA-95. Finally, experts continue to work on ISA-95. Parts two and five have been updated in 2017 and 2018 respectively to include capabilities required by IoT. These three takeaways lead to three tips that IoT architects and technologists must understand.

No need to reinvent the wheel. ISA-95 is already widespread in manufacturing and industrial organizations. Even though IIoT is in some respects new, it doesn't require rethinking the software, database and information structure from the ground up. That work has already been done and organizations considering IIoT adoption have likely already implemented the structure. IIoT architects should think in terms of integrating into ISA-95, not supplanting it.

Even though IIoT is in some respects new, it doesn't require rethinking the software, database and information structure from the ground up.

ISA-95 is silent on hardware and lower-level infrastructure, including network, security, compute and storage. A fundamental divide splits IT between software and infrastructure people. Even though organizations can implement infrastructure through software, the logistics of getting data from point A to point B, then processing and storing it effectively still comprises infrastructure. Similarly, virtual machines and containerized applications have replaced servers, and software-defined networks and software-defined WANs replace traditional appliance-based networking.

For most software developers, infrastructure stops at the database; they assume the mundane functions of data transport, storage and compute are handled elsewhere. In the world of IoT, there is no "elsewhere" yet. Developers must consider factors such as whether the factory-floor network should be 4G, 5G, Bluetooth or wireless, if IoT analytics should happen in the cloud or on-premises, or where edge computing fits in.

IoT architects and engineers should focus on infrastructure and cybersecurity requirements. Given the established framework of ISA-95, architects can best spend their efforts on network, compute, storage and cybersecurity for IoT and IIoT. The ISA has developed cybersecurity framework IEC 62443 that aligns with ISA-95, but it focuses more on the information and modeling or conceptual level and requires enhancement and extension to cover the entire IIOT. There's not yet an accepted cybersecurity framework governing how these underlying components work together securely and effectively. Standardization efforts are still nascent and chaotic. Organizations should aim to develop a consistent working infrastructure to slide in underneath and around ISA-95, rather than to replace it.

ISA-95 forms an excellent starting point for IIoT architects. However necessary, it's not complete per se, and architects should think in terms of supplementing ISA-95 with the appropriate infrastructure and cybersecurity.

See the article here:
ISA-95 for IIoT gives architects a standard for integration - TechTarget