While the full deployment of the smart electric meters required to enable your utility to dial back appliance operation remotely is several years away, manufacturers now are outlining the full array of functionality more intelligent appliances could offer. For example, your refrigerator could text you when the door has been left open. Before you roll [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Feature writing'
Healthcare Spaces: Keeping Hospitals Healthier
July 22nd, 2011 · Comments Off · Feature writing, Writing
In a hospital, what air passes over – the floors, counters, walls and furnishings – can be just as important to the health of staff, patients and family members as the air, itself. Ensuring these surfaces aren’t adding their own pollutants to the indoor environment should be a primary goal for any designer. This article [...]
Tags: Building technology
2011: The Year of the LED?
July 22nd, 2011 · Comments Off · Feature writing, Writing
Any given year has its predictions. If you’re reading this article, the world as we knew/know it didn’t end on May 21—one of the most publicized predictions for 2011. In Chicago, Cubs fans may yet again be asserting that next year will be the year their team goes all the way. In the lighting industry, [...]
A Reverence for Wood
June 22nd, 2011 · Comments Off · Feature writing
The University of Tampa campus in Tampa, Fla., is no stranger to signature architectural structures. So when university planners and visionary donors began thinking about a spirituality center, a no-little-plans approach soon developed. The resulting Sykes Chapel and Center for Faith and Values manages to be both understated and awe-inspiring, thanks to a unique exterior [...]
Tags: Architecture
Urban Scale
June 22nd, 2011 · Comments Off · Feature writing, Writing
The term “microgrid” has been a part of broader smart grid conversations for several years, but definitions have varied. Campus-sized projects have brought these electrical-systems-in-miniature to universities and military installations, but some smart grid advocates argue developers are thinking just a bit too small. Think urban scale, they say. Two prototype projects now underway are [...]
Fukushima: Re-Energizing Nuclear-Safety Concerns
May 22nd, 2011 · Comments Off · Feature writing, Writing
As the aftermath of Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami unfolded, many became mesmerized by photos and videos of desperate workers struggling against time to keep the disastrous situation at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant from becoming even worse. Clad in protective gear, they wrestled with fire hoses and power cables in an effort [...]
Tags: Energy technology
What It’s Like To Live on Cape Cod
March 3rd, 2011 · Comments Off · Feature writing, Writing
In many parts of the country, Cape Cod is synonymous with summer. The area has everything needed for a warm-weather playground, from gorgeous beaches, pond-filled parks and miles of well-maintained bike trails to dining options ranging from five-star fancy to fried-clam casual. But for those who’ve made this arm-shaped peninsula their year-round home, real living [...]
Tags: home design
Solar Commons
February 20th, 2011 · Comments Off · Feature writing, Writing
Individual rooftop solar panels have become a more familiar sight over the past several years. But not everyone has the correct south-facing rooftop, and renters are out of the market entirely. Now, a new model of community-based solar ownership is beginning to bring solar’s energy-bill savings to a broader audience. Developers are incorporating a range [...]
Tags: Alternative/green energy
To Infinity and Beyond
February 20th, 2011 · Comments Off · Feature writing, Writing
In some ways, it seems as though nuclear power plants are the Energizer Bunny of electric-generating technology—they just keep going. Constructed between 1969 and 1996, the nation’s 104 nuclear reactors were licensed initially for 40 years of operation. Almost 60 of these plants already have been granted operating licenses for an additional 20 years, and [...]
Not So Simple Barriers
February 13th, 2011 · Comments Off · Feature writing, Writing
Ask a child to draw a building and you’ll likely get a geometry lesson in return. A rectangle topped with a triangular roof and covered in little squares representing windows. The walls? Well, simple lines will probably represent them, and, honestly, that’s how most of us have viewed them. However, today’s architects ignore the complexities [...]
Tags: Building technology