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     Announcements Press Releases In The News |
Winter 2003 Report If you would like more information on any of these projects or stories, please contact Jeff Wilde, Partner, at (212) 725-6800 or jwilde@smwinc.com. Quieting the Quay Honey for the Ears Finding Cures for Neurodevelopment Disorders, Starting with Autism Getting By I-75/85 Security on Inner-city Campus Sandy Brown Associates and Shen Milsom & Wilke Announce Joint Venture Agreement Radio Frequency Identification Brings New Meaning to Building Security Quieting the Quay One Raffles Quay, Singapore
Acoustics: Shen Milsom & Wilke, New York City Completion: 2005 Size: 1.6 million square feet (approx.) Challenge: Two Class A office towers, one 50 stories and the other 29 stories, share a podium with a district cooling system plant in between. With more than 20 cooling towers in the works, the plant will have propeller fan blades located fewer than four feet from the towers’ glass curtainwalls. How do you keep it quiet in the office towers? Solution: Using SoundPLAN software analysis, Shen Milsom & Wilke created a visual representation of the noise transmission from the cooling plant to the office space. The noise levels of the towers were modeled with actual noise readings from similarly sized fan units at other locations. The solution includes using a laminated glass system for the curtainwall that is recommended for low-frequency noise--such as the rumble of cooling towers. Additionally, after researching designers and manufacturers of cooling-tower assemblies, Shen Milsom & Wilke found a German manufacturer whose towers are "super quiet." These will be used in building the plant. Shen Milsom & Wilke also provided base building architectural, structural, and mechanical review. This included evaluating the floor slab and building structure to ensure that traffic, trains, and human activities would not interfere with occupant comfort. The curtainwall construction was examined for noise interference and the parking lot for noise and vibration transmission. Honey for the Ears Sunset Center for the Arts, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Acoustics, sound systems: Shen Milsom & Wilke/Paoletti, San Francisco Completion: Summer 2003 Challenge: This historic 1931 theater, which hosted Duke Ellington, Isaac Stern, and other greats, and is home to the Carmel Bach Festival, suffered from decades of neglect and surprisingly poor acoustics--it originally served as a grammar school auditorium. Solution: First priority was to improve architectural acoustics in the 718-seat theater. Shen Milsom & Wilke reshaped the interior aesthetics of the hall, covering the arches that project into the hall with acoustically transparent perforated metal and removing the sound-obstructing plaster. An overhead sound-reflecting canopy, also covered in perforated metal, was added to project sound energy from the musicians and performers on stage to the audience. The building shell was acoustically tightened as well to minimize exterior noise and to quiet mechanical equipment, plumbing, and other building systems. Sophisticated sound reinforcement and enhancement systems were added to deliver clear intelligible speech and a full musical range to all seats in the hall. This is done via a central loudspeaker system, integrated into the architecture, and a concealed, digital sound enhancement system. The latter expands the capability of the hall, permitting, with the touch of a button, acoustic flexibility and refinement beyond what was built in and accommodating any size and type of acoustic performance. Thanks to Shen Milsom & Wilke’s design, the annual Bach festival, which was prepared to leave the hall for another venue, is staying on--enthusiastically. The improvements have also resulted in a broader program of performers, including the Monterey Symphony Orchestra, lectures, and plays. Finding Cures for Neurodevelopment Disorders, Starting with Autism Medical Institute for Neurodevelopmental Disorders (MIND), University of California at Davis
Audiovisual/multimedia, acoustics: Shen Milsom & Wilke/Paoletti, San Francisco; Ellery Penas and Gasper Sciacca, project managers Completion: August 2003 Challenge: At the MIND Institute, researchers expert in autism, fragile X syndrome, ADHD, and other neurodevelopment disorders needed to observe, record, and archive their patients’ interactions with family members and doctors. By comparing current and past behavior over months and years, they hope to uncover linkages among environmental and other factors believed to trigger autism. Solution: Shen Milsom & Wilke created a multimedia network for recording and sharing patient sessions. Young people are examined in one of 19 treatment rooms, each of which is equipped with two discretely placed video cameras and microphones. Researchers or family members can watch the examinations in adjacent observation rooms. These contain a large-screen video display that observers can use to control the cameras and sound recording equipment in the treatment room. They can record the sessions and also replay past sessions using a DVD player in the room. As many as 400 people can gather in the facility conference room and observe a live session. They can even suggest that the physician ask specific questions via microphones in the conference room and an unobtrusive earpiece worn by the doctor. Sessions may also be recorded from a central editing suite. Footage may be edited for quality, length, sound, and other criteria, then archived in various formats to a network storage system. Using a central file server, these recordings may be disseminated throughout the MIND network or even across the Internet. Autistic children can be very noisy. To maintain an air of calm, Shen Milsom & Wilke helped specify sound-isolation construction and sound-absorbing treatments. Getting By I-75/85 Georgia Institute of Technology's New Technology Square, Atlanta
Telecommunications, multimedia, acoustics: Shen Milsom & Wilke, New York City; Jon Burris, project manager Completion: Autumn 2003 Challenge: Interstate 75/85's 14 lanes of heavy traffic make an effective divide between the existing Georgia Tech and the new Technology Square campuses. Yet linking these two--both functionally and symbolically--was essential to the functioning of the school and to the rebirth of this urban area and its emerging high technology core. Solution: The new campus encompasses education, research, and hospitality, forming a complex of buildings in Midtown Atlanta. Among these are the DuPree College of Management, which was relocated to Technology Square from the existing campus; the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center; the Global Learning Center that supports distance and professional education; and the new Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development, an incubator working to grow the area's technology economy. At Georgia Tech, technology is fully integrated into the curriculum. Shen Milsom & Wilke designed the infrastructure and instructional technology systems in nearly all Technology Square spaces. The network design seamlessly connects the new and existing campuses with an extensive fiber-optic system carrying data, video, and audio traffic. To physically link the two campuses, cabling was run across the highway in the underbelly of a nearby overpass. A distance learning master control, relocated from the old campus, is central in linking classrooms and studios on both campuses to remote sites worldwide. This infrastructure was designed in support for Shen Milsom & Wilke’s advanced instructional technology systems installed in all Tech Square classrooms. "Smart podiums," multi-screen projection, omnipresent capability for recording and teleconferencing, and a fully networked, campus-wide control system have made Tech Square one of the nation's most advanced educational installations. Security an Inner-city Campus Brooklyn College-West Quad, Brooklyn, NY
Building security: Shen Milsom & Wilke, New York City Completion: 2006 Challenge: Brooklyn College is an inner-city campus with 24/7 access. West Quad is a new, multi-use facility that includes a pool, gymnasium, and fitness center, as well as offices for the bursar and faculty. It is also where students go for registration and orientation. Security is needed during operational hours to track activity throughout the facility, but also after the building is closed to monitor activities and to augment the services of the university police. Soultion: A closed-circuit television surveillance system allows the remote monitoring of activities within the building from multiple points on campus. For example, the registrar’s office can watch staffing levels and keep tabs on the number of students present. External surveillance systems are used to watch pedestrian traffic, sidewalks, roads, and parking. Access control and alarm systems are helpful after business hours when students need to use the building for collegiate sporting events. The security system is zoned so that portions of the building can be shut down during vacation periods. Sandy Brown Associates and Shen Milsom & Wilke Announce Joint Venture Agreement
Sandy Brown Associates and Shen Milsom & Wilke are joining forces to provide architects, building owners, and other clients with integrated services in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States. The firms will work together on a wide range of building types, including commercial, corporate, transportation, government, healthcare, education, and museums and galleries. The Joint Venture announced on Nov. 18, 2003, and is effective immediately. The companies are currently working together to provide acoustics and audiovisual/multimedia design services for the Corporate Executive Board (CEB), an education and support firm for corporate executives, at Victoria House in London. Shen Milsom & Wilke’s Washington, D.C., office is also working with CEB on a project in the capital. Sandy Brown Associates, opened in 1969 by the late Sandy Brown and David Binns, has offices in London and Edinburgh. The firm’s reputation was originally based on Mr. Brown’s skillful acoustic design of commercial sound recording studios for such musicians as Cream, Eric Clapton, and the Rolling Stones. Today the company provides coordinated design of acoustics and audiovisual technology from initial system design to final installation and commissioning. Radio Frequency Identification Brings New Meaning to Building Security By Robert Martino Robert Martino leads Shen Milsom & Wilke’s building security consulting team. He has experience on many different types of projects, including international airports, office high-rises, government buildings, casinos, and healthcare facilities.
Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are tiny devices that consist of silicon chips and an antenna that can transmit data to a wireless receiver. The signal from a chip is transmitted to a computerized database where it triggers a range of different actions--for example, if the chip is part of a hospital patient’s id bracelet, the chip might indicate that the patient needs medication or is ready for a meal. A physician might use a laptop or handheld computer to intercept a patient’s ID and automatically connect to his or her chart. An RFID may be embedded in an IV pole so that a nurse can locate it. RFIDs can--and will--be used to track everything from product inventory to healthcare patients. And they are increasingly important to intelligent building design. One of Shen Milsom & Wilke’s roles, particularly in the area of building security, is researching and understanding new technologies. In this way, we can help a client decide what is most suitable for a new facility. We are studying the use and installation of RFID in a new healthcare facility that is scheduled for completion in 2010. The system will use the facility’s information technology and telecommunications infrastructure. We are also using our experience with building security, wireless, and audiovisual technology to create paging systems that combine with RFID to create a paging system that "knows" where a worker is--based on signals from the RFID chip which acts as a homing device. The paging system automatically activates the speaker closest to the worker--instead of disrupting everyone in the facility. RFID tags are available in a range of configurations--as a flat card, tag, bracelet, or embedded device. In this way, a chip might be attached to a part in a manufacturing facility that is then tracked throughout the plant to make sure it follows the correct path. A chip might even be implanted in an employee’s id card so that office security can track that individual’s movements. Ultimately, RFID technology will tie into the Internet. When this happens, the uses of these versatile chips will bloom. For questions about RFIDs, please contact Robert Martino at 212/725-6800 x254, or rmartino@smwinc.com. Shen Milsom & Wilke, an international technology consulting practice founded in 1986, offers comprehensive services in the areas of telecommunications, audiovisual/multimedia, and acoustics. The firm has offices in New York, Princeton, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Houston, Denver, San Francisco, Las Vegas, London, Dubai, and Hong Kong, and a staff of more than 140 professionals. Shen Milsom & Wilke was named one of the 100 fastest growing A/E/P firms in the nation by Zweig White & Associates for the years 2001 and 2002. To unsubscribe please send an e-mail to unsubscribe@smwinc.com. You need to send from the e-mail account in which you receive the newsletter. No subject or content is needed. If you cannot send from that account, or wish to change your subscription e-mail address, mail us at smw@smwinc.com. |
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