Editor’s Letter – Spring 2021

First Thoughts

This issue we have articles on ASID, new design centers, preservation architecture and much more.

LONGMONT, COLORADO | MAY 2021

Greetings. Swirling snow flurries this afternoon are just another of Mother Nature’s ruses as the sights and sounds of spring – daffodils abloom and the sexy siren call of the Colorado lark bunting – continue to unfold. There is also a sense of spring and emergence as vaccines kick in and masks are becoming less essential. Resilience and sustainability take on new meanings.

We kick things off with another great interview by Cris Pyle who relays thoughts from Gary Wheeler, CEO of the American Society of Interior Designers. In his over 30 years in the design industry, Gary has witnessed the evolution of technology to improve not only the function, but also the appearance of a space.

Two new experience centers are profiled in this issue. Sean O’Keefe’s takes a look at the recent expansion of the BSH Experience and Design Center at theMart in Chicago, and we visit the Dallas Market Center and an evolutionary space, the ProSource Lighting Technology and Learning Center.

Bill Hensley is back with an informed article on landscape design, Steve Panosian brings luxury yachts and the intersection of technology and design to life, Stephanie Casimiro profiles Séura’s latest full-length lighted mirror technology, and we profile 3M and their array of protective window film treatments.

I had the pleasure of interviewing the design-build team behind an amazing restoration and addition project on a circa 1904 brick-clad home in Quincy, Illinois, and George McClure profiles Villa Valencia, the first U.S. residential condominium development with wellness technology solutions designed into every unit. George also shares a great conversation he had with Shea Hennings, a craftsman combining retro console cabinet design with modern sound qualities.

We’re pleased to bring you a new voice. Dennis Erskine of the Erskine Group and Chairman of CEDIA’s Certification Commission reports on power consumption as it relates to solar capture, as well as the current technology hurdles of battery back-up systems in the modern performance home.

Wrapping things up, we take a look at concrete. [I know, that sounds boring, doesn’t it?] Concrete production accounts for up to 8 percent of total global CO2 emissions versus 2.5 percent for the aviation industry and only thoughtful leadership on a global basis will aid in greening up this age-old material. [Not as boring as you thought!]

Finally, Brian Pagel relays how CEDIA Expo in September will be welcoming and educating design-build professionals. Expo will be the first time in a long time that many of us are in the same town at the same time. I’m looking forward to the show.

Let’s go see where technology meets design.

D.

Technology Designer