Editor’s Letter – WINTER 2021

This issue we have an interview with a trade-show producer, plus articles on wellness architecture, smart window treatments, taming indoor air pollution and more.

 

LONGMONT, COLORADO | FEBRUARY 2021

Greetings. As I sit down to write this short intro, it’s cold outside. Minus eight degrees cold. One of those artic weather fronts that infiltrate the lower 48 and remind us – especially when millions of people have lost power (at minus eight degrees!) – that resiliency is not just a buzz word anymore. Today’s array of climate events that are stretching our infrastructure speaks volumes to the advancements required in smart city energy grids and battery-powered homes.

We have a packed house for this issue, leading off with Cris Pyle’s interview with Brian Pagel, Executive VP of Emerald who produces the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) as well as CEDIA EXPO. On the sustainability and resiliency front, Bill Hensley brings to life Nexii and their amazing Nexiite building material, while Jason Takahashi explores the recent evolution in solar technology that makes the future appear particularly bright.

We have two articles from Steve Panosian. Check out his amazing story of a new paint technology that reduces up to 95 percent of indoor air pollution, and his equally compelling take on a new display technology from Sony he calls the million dollar view. And senior editor George McClure also contributes two flavors this month – how invisible speakers are changing the décor landscape and an awesome interview with wellness architect Veronica Schreibeis Smith of Vera Iconica Architecture.

Stephanie Casimiro weighs in with a great take on StruXure’s new hi-tech Cabana X, and I had the pleasure of interviewing technology design firm Cinegration about a killer Hunter Douglas automated window treatment project they did for a custom home builder in Breck, as well as design-build colleagues Daniel Shaffer, Tracee Murphy and Mark van den Broek from the beautiful environs of Sarasota.

Taking over the reins of our designing with light series is noted designer Glenn Merlin Johnson. Glenn has spent over 38 years perfecting his layers of light philosophy with thoughtful user-driven programming methods that specialize in dimming and the picturesque environs of artistic illumination as a highly-skilled technical practice. His first article discusses the optimal design-build team scenario, and over the next year he will share some of his insights in lighting design.

And rounding out this issue with final thoughts is Jennifer Kirkpatrick of Proluxe by American Lighting, who has some thoughts about how lighting manufacturers are supporting the burgeoning category that modern lighting has rapidly become. And how important it is for the industry’s growth in regards to educational opportunities, hands-on experience centers, and the continuing evolution of the very products that make it all so luminous.

Let’s go see where technology meets design.

D.

 

Technology Designer