About Us
Our approach to projects generally follows a model that serves the building design & construction industry. This model has three distinct parts: developing a program, planning the building construction, and planning the technical systems. While there is overlap between these, they occur at different stages of a project and have somewhat different objectives.

The program development effort comes first, and defines both the goals that the technical systems are to achieve and the means used to achieve them. The more participants in the discussion, and the more comprehensive the end result, the better. It is during this stage that issues of functional capability, staff support, cost, maintainability, and future expansion are addressed.

Next is the need to define the building construction to support the program. Typical tasks are establishing projection geometry and viewer sightlines, and identifying electrical, lighting, and HVAC requirements. This works best as an iterative process, with an architect playing the central coordinating role.

Designing and specifying the actual equipment systems comes last. Here, typical tasks include selecting equipment, defining its interconnections, designing user control systems, and preparing bid specifications and drawings. This period often extends through coordination with the installing contractor and the conduct of final performance tests.

With bricks & mortar construction often having a lifetime of decades before any major renovation, it is important that the building accommodate both present and future needs. The equipment systems themselves are more fluid, and will probably be upgraded within five years of the initial installation. Together, these imply a longer-term view of the building and its infrastructure, while the equipment can be tailored to meet more immediate needs.

The design & construction process is a collaborative effort, and we see ourselves as part of a team. Where issues are important (such as sightlines), we push hard for them; where they relate more to appearance (is a device surface mounted or flush mounted), we recognize that there are many opinions beyond ours that need to be considered.

As an overall philosophy, we work hard to achieve systems that are easy to use and which adhere to the needs identified. Endless flexibility can be a disadvantage to the presenter who has only a routine requirement. At the same time, we realize that we cannot know all the uses to which the equipment will be put, and that we need to allow for its use in unanticipated ways. These are at times conflicting, and there can be widely varying solutions to what initially appear to be quite similar needs.