ARCHI-TECH AV AWARDS 2008

WINNERS | JUDGES

A moving façade. A glowing blue meeting room. An ultraflexible theatre. An architectural video wall. A virtual reality room: This year's AV Awards winners push the bounds of technology and architecture.

ARCHI-TECH partners with InfoComm International^® for the annual awards program, now in its sixth year. During the nomination period, which ran from November 1, 2007, through February 25, 2008, entries for projects, which hailed from around the world, included such variety as corporate/office, worship, retail, education, medical/health, entertainment, and museums.

Each of the six judges—two architects, two AV integrators, and two technology consultants—independently evaluated the entries using the following criteria: concept, design, innovation, scheduling, teamwork, and solution. Sustainability was also considered. On March 28, the judges discussed via conference call each submission and decided award winners.

They also named two honorable mention projects: the Illinois State House and Senate chambers in Springfield, IL, and the GreenPix Zero Energy Media Wall in Beijing, China. The winners and honorable mentions were recognized on June 18 during an awards event held during InfoComm's annual trade show. The winners are:

Best Project Over $1 Million:

Victory Park Screens, Dallas, TX

Best Project Under $1 Million:

Blue Room Theater at Chesapeake Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, OK

Winners:

Harman Center for the Arts, Washington, D.C.
InterActiveCorp Video Wall, Chelsea District, New York City
Iowa State C6 Virtual Reality Room, Ames, IA

Honorable Mentions:

GreenPix Zero Energy Media Wall, Beijing, China
Illinois State House and Senate Chambers, Springfield, IL

The following professionals served as judges for this year's awards program.

Ron Baker is the director of digital technologies in the Omaha Architecture Office for HDR Architecture. His specialty is managing the digital production and technologies relating to the firm's architectural practice. He has experience in the design and production of corporate and healthcare interiors, and he is highly experienced in the organization and management techniques of HDR's CAD system. He coordinates and manages system activities from the Omaha office to HDR's other locations and is instrumental in the production techniques HDR uses to provide services to clients both nationally and internationally. Baker is a member of AIA and NCARB.

Robert Capozello is an AV systems engineer at Herndon, VA-based Applied Visual Communications. He has more than 18 years of experience in acoustical and audiovisual consulting and engineering. He has worked as an acoustical and audiovisual consultant at Polysonics Corp. for 13 years and has also worked with several audiovisual systems integration firms, providing sales and systems engineering. He is a member of InfoComm International and the Institute for Noise Control Engineering (INCE).

Paul Chapman has more than 20 years of experience as an audiovisual designer and control system programmer. He has worked with architects at all stages of projects - from the initial programming to final commissioning. As the lead designer for Fairfield, NJ-based Presentation Media Inc., Chapman has a range of projects including divisible rooms with multiple displays, video and audio conferencing, and mix-minus sound systems and control systems. As an expert in audio, he has designed complex systems for theaters, ballrooms, and auditoriums.

Brian E. Huff is a supervisory consultant for Acentech Inc. in Collegeville, PA, and has more than 25 years of experience in the AV industry, including systems design for major construction and renovation projects at some of the nation's elite universities. He holds an MBA from the High Technology program at Northeastern University, a Certified Technology Specialist-Design designation from InfoComm International, and an ISF-C designation from the Image Science Foundation. Huff is a member of the Audio Engineering Society and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.

Nestor Infanzon is vice president at HOK in Dallas. He has been in practice for the past 30 years and has been involved in the healthcare, science and technology, and higher education sectors at HOK. He is actively involved in the academic world, serving as adjunct faculty and studio critic to several universities in Texas, and is a contributing editor to Texas Architect magazine.

Bill Kistler is audiovisual department head and associate at Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon, and Williams, a Dallas firm that provides consulting and design services in sound, video, acoustics, audiovisual, telecom, and theatrical systems. Kistler has held positions with AMX, Sennheiser, and Vistacom.