Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Lutz, Florida (PRWEB) February 04, 2015

VOLT Lighting, an innovative factory-direct manufacturer of LED lighting products, announced today the introduction of new Solar LED Security Flood Lights. The lights are constructed of a main fixture/sensor assembly and a separate solar panel. An external power source is not required. These lights provide cost-effective solutions for security lighting needs.

Heather Weston, VOLT Product Manager, commented on the unique benefits of these solar lights, We anticipate two primary uses, replacement of existing outdoor incandescent floodlights and addition of new lighting locations especially in areas remote from power sources. The products are easy to install and provide added measures of security while providing significant energy cost savings.

Weston continued, Replacing existing incandescent security flood lights with solar lighting makes sense because older lights consume hundreds of watts while solar lights have zero energy cost. Also, the ability to add security lighting to remote areas improves overall security and is a great way to leverage the new solar panel technology.

Westons point about adding light to remote areas is critical for homeowners with larger properties. These properties often lack electrical power in backyard regions leaving security holes on the property. VOLT Lightings Solar LED Flood Lights solve this problem because the units solar panel provides power for its floodlights connection to electrical power is not required.

An additional feature is that the solar panel can be mounted up to 15 feet from the fixture/sensor unit. This gives the installer flexibility in choosing the best location and orientation of the solar panel the lighting fixture can be in shadow while the panel can be in an exposed area to best collect sunlight.

Also, motion detection is critical to the functioning of the lights, so the VOLT Lighting product allows the user to adjust the detectors sensitivity. This prevents unwanted light activation from things such as moving plants and small animals.

VOLT Lightings new solar LED flood lights have other features & benefits that are described in detail on the company website: View VOLT Solar LED Security Flood Lights.

About VOLT Lighting Based in Tampa, Florida, with East- and West-Coast distribution centers, VOLT Lighting manufactures low-cost, high-performance indoor and outdoor lighting products. For more information go to http://www.voltlighting.com.

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New Solar LED Security Flood Lights from VOLT Lighting Provide Cost-Effective Security Solutions for Homeowners and ...

C.A.N.C.E.R. - architects (drum cover)
my first drum cover! enjoy (: Thanks for watching!

By: Andrs Olivares

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C.A.N.C.E.R. - architects (drum cover) - Video

Boston, Massachusetts (PRWEB) February 04, 2015

Stephanie Horowitz of ZeroEnergy Design, a green architecture firm, received the Earl R. Flansburgh Young Architects Award, a new award recognizing design excellence by an architect under 40. The award is co-sponsored by the Boston Society of Architects/AIA and the Flansburgh Family.

The award is named for Earl R. Flansburgh FAIA, a distinguished Boston architect and founder of Flansburgh Associates, who completed more than 200 diverse educational facilities projects during a career spanning more than 45 years. Flansburgh, the 1981 BSA president and 1999 BSA Award of Honor winner, generously supported emerging professionals and advocated for women architects. The firm he founded has been guided by the philosophy that a well-designed building improves the quality of our lives.

The 2015 Flansburgh Young Architects Award was juried by the BSA Honors and Awards Committee, with special consideration given to candidates who embodied the design philosophies of Earl R. Flansburgh. The award was presented to Stephanie Horowitz at the 2015 Boston Society of Architects Design Awards Gala.

Im honored to receive this inaugural award in the name of a great architect and fellow Cornellian, said Stephanie Horowitz, Managing Director of ZeroEnergy Design.

Stephanies work on energy efficient modern design has garnered significant interest in the past including EcoHome Design Awards, Best of Boston Home, BSA Sustainable Design Citations, the Carbon Challenge Award, and others.

About Stephanie Horowitz As Managing Director of ZeroEnergy Design, Stephanie orchestrates projects that range from net-zero energy workspaces to Passive House certified homes. She believes that great design should enhance the value of each place, be long-lasting, and make optimal utility of both space and energy. In addition to her role at ZED, Stephanie serves on the Massachusetts Design Selection Board as the AIA of Massachusetts' representative and is a founding board member of Passive House New England. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University. Stephanie is a Certified Passive House Consultant and a Registered Architect in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, North Carolina, and New Jersey.

About ZeroEnergy Design ZeroEnergy Design creates innovative & environmentally sensible homes and buildings. The multidisciplinary team of architecture, engineering, and business professionals takes a calculated, multidisciplinary approach to modern green design and sustainability. The consistent result is a beautiful, high-performance home or building that holistically matches the owners lifestyle, aesthetic desires, and environmental ideologies. http://www.ZeroEnergy.com

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Architect Stephanie Horowitz of ZeroEnergy Design Receives Earl R. Flansburgh Young Architects Award

Long Beach, California (PRWEB) February 06, 2015

The 2015 Jury of Fellows from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has elected Janis Kent to its esteemed College of Fellows. Ms Kent will be elevated at the Investiture Ceremony at the Ebenezer Baptist Church this May during the 2015 National AIA Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. A national and global leader in Accessible Design, Ms. Kent has pioneered barrier-free design and the broader implementation by thousands of architects of Accessible environments, through her presentations, prolific writing, teaching, regulatory advocacy, and consulting.

The AIA Fellowship program was developed to elevate those architects who have made a significant contribution to architecture and society and who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession. Election to Fellowship not only recognizes the achievements of the architect as an individual, but also honors before the public and the profession a model architect who has made significant contributions to architecture and society on a national level.

A licensed California Architect for over 30 years, Janis Kent has been involved with Access in the built environment since the beginning of her practice. Ms. Kent is the Founding President of the Certified Access Specialist Institute (CASI), a designated Subject Matter Expert (SME) by the California Division of the State Architect, a Certified Access Specialist (CASp), and serves on the committee to develop the California state CASp exams. This last year she was recognized for her contribution in Access by the California Commission on Disability Access (CCDA).

As a frequent writer and speaker on the subject of Accessibility, Ms Kent has made presentations on Accessibility at numerous venues from Dwell On Design in Los Angeles, to Design DC in Washington, to the National AIA Conventions in Chicago, New Orleans, and upcoming in Atlanta. She conducts seminars for the Nevada State Board of Architecture, Interior Design, and Residential Design; and has presented to business associations including numerous AIA Chapters, Chambers of Commerce, the US Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT), Manufactured Housing Educational Trust (MHET), California Public Parking Association (CPPA), the Los Angeles Housing + CID, and the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

Her most recent book is the Second Edition of Stepping Through Accessible Details. Richard Halloran, Secretary of the San Francisco Access Appeals Commission, described the book as The most comprehensive and thorough compilation of accessibility information I have encountered.

About Stepping Thru Accessibility: Stepping Thru Accessibility, Janis Kents company, consults with Architects, Building Owners, Tenants, Developers, Property Managers, Attorneys, and Public Agencies, assisting them to navigate their way thru accessibility issues associated with the Americans with Disabilities Act Standards (ADAS), the California Building Codes (CBC), and other federal Access regulations.

Ms. Kents professional blog, seminar information, and publications can be found at http://www.steppingthruaccessibility.com.

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Accessibility Expert Janis Kent Elected to AIAs Prestigious College of Fellow

Media release 4 February 2014

NZIA seeks Creative Director for New Zealand exhibition at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale

The New Zealand Institute of Architects is inviting applications for the prestigious position of Creative Director of the official New Zealand exhibition at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale.

This will be only the second New Zealand national exhibition at the worlds leading architectural event, following the countrys successful inaugural exhibition at the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale.

Participation in the Venice Biennale is a great showcase for New Zealands architects and architecture, and also for our culture, said Unitec professor Tony van Raat, who is Commissioner of the New Zealand exhibition at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale.

The Biennale runs for six months, includes more than 60 national exhibitions, attracts nearly 250,000 visitors, and is covered by thousands of media representatives. Its a unique opportunity to tell our architectural story to an international audience, to offer our take on the architectural issues that confront communities all around the world, and to learn from the experiences of others.

Professor van Raat said he expects teams assembled by applicants for the Creative Director role will include not only architects and architecture students, but also practitioners from a wide range of related fields landscape architects and engineers, artists and writers, graphic designers and animators, gallerists and curators, and construction and logistics specialists.

Were looking for a really strong idea that will make for a compelling exhibition, said Professor van Raat. The Biennale is a sophisticated event and we want to surprise its international audience let them know theres more to New Zealand than sport, scenery and hobbits.

The 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale will run from June to November. Applications for the position of the Creative Director of the New Zealand exhibition must be submitted by 12 March 2015.

Entry details and requirements for the Creative Director role are on the New Zealand Institute of Architects website at http://www.nzia.co.nz/venice-biennale.aspx.

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NZIA seeks Creative Director for Venice Architecture Biennal

Irish architects Sheila ODonnell and John Tuomey at home in Rathmines. Photograph: Dara Mac Dnaill

Sheila ODonnell and John Tuomey received texts, emails and tweets over the last few weeks as their names were carefully carved on to the marble wall in the lobby of the Royal Institute of British Architects, near Regents Park.

Today, the work is complete, placing their names in a distinguished lineage of architects including Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry who have been awarded RIBAs Gold Medal Prize a decision ratified by Queen Elizabeth II.

Last night, the queen attended a London dinner honouring the Dublin couple the end of nearly two days of engagements, including a lecture at RIBAs Portland Place headquarters to nearly 500 people.

Normally, architects get prizes for projects when they enter them into a competition. This is the only one where nobody applies. The first thing you know about it is when they ring up, said Tuomey yesterday in a London taxi, as he and ODonnell raced to the next event.

The call came last summer, under strict conditions of secrecy and subject to later ratification by the queen a precaution taken ever since John Ruskin refused it after an emissary called to the Italian church he was renovating at the time.

Modestly, Tuomey told The Irish Times: We looked at those names on the wall when we came in there when we were students, never thinking that one day ours would be there, too. We have to live up to it now. However, the couples legacy is already distinguished: the Glucksman Gallery in University College Cork, the Lyric Theatre in Belfast and the more recent students centre at the London School of Economics.

In all, they have been nominated five times itself a record for the Stirling Prize, another competition run by RIBA which seeks to honour the best new building erected in the United Kingdom or Ireland.

Currently, the architects are involved in projects in Hungary and in the United States, plus some teaching there, along with continuing to teach in the school of architecture at University College Dublin.

Urging more flexibility, ODonnell said younger architects careers are being hindered by project management rules that demand that architects have completed three buildings of a certain type over the past five years before they can win a contract for another.

Continue reading here:
Irish couple awarded prestigious Royal Institute of British Architects Gold Medal

Tulsa, OK (PRWEB) February 04, 2015

KSQ Architects has designed the first of three phases of purpose-built student housing and clubhouses in Lynchburg, Virginia. Called The VUE @Liberty Mountain, the development consists of 168 apartments with 676 bedrooms in phase one. On the edge of Liberty University's campus, this state-of-the-art student community will have one, two, four, five and six bedroom apartments and feature a 16,000 sq ft clubhouse.

A partial list of features and amenities includes:

The Hub clubhouse features a unique design and includes the following:

The Oasis courtyard, a 500-foot long resort-style recreation area to relax, study and connect includes:

The developer, Chris Langley, a Lynchburg native and a leader in multifamily and student housing in the Lynchburg market, has served over 6,500 Liberty students. CF Evans Construction, of Orangeburg South Carolina, is the general contractor. Construction is anticipated to be complete July of 2015.

Whether the student housing is located on-campus or off, KSQ is committed to creating vibrant communities for young adults to live, learn, socialize and grow, said KSQ Principal and Director Armand Quadrini, AIA, LEED AP. Millennials are bringing fresh perspectives to the housing market, and its thrilling for us to study their viewpoints and living needs, and to innovate within this generational shift. Were excited to be on this team, and to be designing especially for the needs of Liberty University students.

Owner/developer Chris Langley agrees. Our team is truly excited to take off-campus student housing to the next level. Were using what weve learned over the last 23 years while serving more than 6,500 students and creating a whole new experience in dynamic, vibrant student living at The VUE @Liberty Mountain.

Upon our first meeting with KSQ, our team was highly impressed with their capabilities and what they have accomplished in the student market. We were seeking an architectural firm willing to partner with us in the creative process to deliver a product students will love.

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Originally posted here:
KSQ Architects Designs Off-Campus Student Housing Community Next to Liberty University

The Museum of Modern Art has named Spanish Architect and his firm Office for Political Innovation winners of this year's PS1 Young Architects Program. This summer, Jaque will take over the courtyard of the MoMA's contemporary-leaning PS1 gallery with a giant water purifier dubbed COSMO.

COSMO is a movable structure made of custom water pipes designed to bring such an essential infrastructural component of city life to the forefront of public consciousness. The immense, conical pipe installationshaped almost like a series of nuclear reactorsfilters 3,000 gallons of water at a time.

As water flows through the pipes suspended over PS1s courtyard, COSMO purifies and filters it. Plastic mesh at the installations core glows when the water purification cycle has been completed, a process that will take four days. The filtering system eliminates nitrates, increases the level of oxygen in the water, and balances the pH. Over the course of the summer, the cycle will repeat with same batch of water, making it progressively cleaner.

Based out of Madrid and NYC, the Office for Political Innovation is known for blurring the lines between art, architecture, and research. Jaque has a neon-tinged aesthetic that he incorporates everywhere from a modern home in Ibiza (pictured below) to a monastary. The firm's experimental performance IKEA Disobedients premiered at MoMA PS1 in 2012.

MoMA PS1s annual competition requires architects to come up with innovative, environmentally friendly temporary installations that provide shade, seating, and water during the museums summer music series, Warm Up. Last years winner transformed the outdoor courtyard space with a self-assembling mushroom tower.

According to Jaque, the COSMO system can be easily produced around the world to give people access to clean water. The installation opens at MoMA PS1 in late June.

[Images: courtesy of Andrs Jaque/Office for Political Innovation]

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MoMA's 2015 Young Architects Winner Is A Giant Water Purifier

(MENAFN - Gulf Times) Qatari retail market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8% in five years up to 2018, the fastest in the GCC region, a new study has shown.

According to Alpen Capital, the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) retail sales are expected to grow at a 7.3% CAGR between 2013 and 2018 to reach 284.5bn.

"While retails sales growth across all the GCC countries is expected to remain positive between 2013 and 2018, the outlook for Qatar is the most optimistic during the period," Alpen Capital said in its 'GCC retail industry report'.

"While Qatar's retail market is expected to register a CAGR of 9.8%, the other five GCC countries are seen registering an annual average growth rate of 6%-7% during the period," Alpen said.

Based on the moderate growth scenario for Alpen's supply-side estimates, occupied modern retail sales area in the GCC is projected to reach 6.6mn sq m in 2018, while expected growth in the supply of modern retail sales area over the forecast period is partially lower than the demand-side CAGR estimate for retail sales. The supply of new modern retail sales area is expected to adequately meet the increasing demand for retail space over the next five years.

The population base of the GCC region is one of the fastest growing, with 41% of its population in the age group between 15 and 34, having a strong preference towards international brands. The region also has one of the most attractive corporate tax regimes, which works as an "attraction" to retailers.

Over the years, the region has emerged as an international tourist hub, enjoying popularity among leisure travellers, international shoppers and pilgrims. A high influx of tourists presents an environment conducive for the growth of the retail industry.

The region's economy has emerged as one of the richest and fastest growing in the world, largely on the back of its proven crude oil reserves. The region is comparable to some of the strongest developed economies of the world, supported by its cash-rich governments, healthy credit ratings and strong currency reserves.

Dubai's successful bid to host the World Expo 2020 paves the way for further growth of its non-oil sector, lending momentum to the construction, tourism and hospitality sectors.

Qatar's non-oil sector increased by more than 10% in 2014, stimulated by its major infrastructure projects such as the Doha Metro and the Hamad International Airport. Some countries in the region are, however, yet to reduce their dependence on the hydrocarbon sector to a meaningful degree.

Continued here:
'Qatar retail market growth to top Gulf'

UDA welcomes bumiputera investment in BBCC project

Kuala Lumpur: UDA Holdings Bhd is inviting bumiputera investment in its RM8 billion gross development value mixed development project, the Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC), under the construction and retail section.

UDA Chairman Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani said under government rules, any new retail development must have at least a 50 per cent participation from among bumiputera businesses.

"We are looking for bumiputera investors with a good track record, in terms of handling retail businesses, as well as building and maintaining any past development projects.

"We are aware that most bumiputeras do not carry an international or well known brand.So, we've decided to build the Malaysian Grand Bazaar, specifically to give them an opportunity to market their products," he told reporters here Wednesday.

He was speaking after the signing of the BBCC's tripartite agreement here Wednesday for the development of the project.

The Malaysian Grand Bazaar will showcase the best of Malaysian food, handicraft, arts, heritage and culture, together with a wide variety of local designer and homegrown brands.

Johan, said however, only qualified bumiputeras, in term of experience and track record, will be considered got the Malaysian Grand Bazaar and the development site, to ensure the quality of the BBCC as the next tourist attraction.

Meanwhile, the BBCC project, a redevelopment of the 7.85-hectare former Pudu Jail site, will be a partnership between UDA, Eco World Development Group Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund board.

The project will commence in the second quarter of this year and stretch over eight years.

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UDA welcomes bumiputera investment in BBCC project