Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Fox Theatre, Featured Installation

Color Kinetics sent the following to me as a featured installation.  This is the Fox Theatre in St. Louis. 

Add caption


The Fox Theatre was a movie palace built in 1929 by movie pioneer William Fox as a showcase for the films of the Fox Film Corporation. The theatre, also known as "The Fabulous Fox," was one of five Fox theatres whose other locations included Brooklyn, Atlanta, Detroit and San Francisco. Today the theatre has a full calendar of live entertainment from rock concerts to comedy shows to Broadway musicals.

The theatre was originally designed by architect C. Howard Crane, who used a unique blend of Asian decorative motifs to create a magnificently ornate interior which featured a 5,280-pound chandelier and gilded velvet throne chairs. Fox's wife, Eve Leo, also added to the eclectic decor by displaying furnishings, paintings, and sculptures that she found on her travels overseas. The Fox Theatre enjoyed a few prosperous years but then fell into decline and closed its doors in 1978. However, the theatre was bought in 1981, underwent a $3 million restoration, and opened for business again in 1982.

During the summer of 2011, the theatre was renovated again. The $2 million restoration's sustainability initiatives included installing an updated HVAC system and replacing the theatre's incandescent cove lighting with an LED lighting system. Fox Theatre worked with Lighting Representatives, Inc. to find an LED replacement which would allow them to retain existing light levels and quality of light and which would work seamlessly with their current dimming system. Lighting Representatives recommended Philips Color Kinetics eW Cove QLX Powercore in 2700 K. The LED lighting solution was easily installed into the steel coves, replacing 2,200 incandescent lamps. The LED lighting solution is expected to reduce the theatre's energy consumption by 85 percent, and also significantly reduce lighting maintenance costs.


Monday, January 30, 2012

Lumen Energy

I am meeting with Lumen Energy this morning.  From their site:

Lumen Energy offers a comprehensive suite of enterprise-level energy management solutions. Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, one of the world's most sustainability-oriented, tech savvy communities, we deliver innovative solutions to our global clients that solve their most pressing energy concerns.

From daily utility invoice management, monitoring, and optimized controls, to long-term carbon management and capital planning, our solutions drive profitability, manage risk, and advance broader sustainability goals.

Lumen Energy's Strategic Alliance Partnership with HVS Global Hospitality Services provides us with deep hospitality industry expertise and intimate analytical insight into the world's most dynamic hospitality markets.

http://www.lumenenergy.net/

Utility Data Management
Real-Time Telemetry
Dynamic HVAC & Lighting Controls

Lighting Table 3 in Green Hills

My wife and I were early for a movie in Green Hills so we stopped in for a cocktail at the Table 3 restaurant next to the theatre.  I did the lighting with Gilbert McLaughlin Casella Architects.  There is cable track lighting by Prima that spans between the skylights.  Here are a couple of pictures and a video.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Politics

This was forwarded to me.  Instead of bombarding emails I am just posting here. 

Winds of Change....


Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.

In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed
around.

_*Congressional Reform Act of 2011*_

1. No Tenure / No Pension.

A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no
pay when they're out of office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social
Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the
Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into
the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the
American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all
Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise
Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and
participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the
American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void
effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this
contract with Congressmen/women.

Congressmen/women made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in
Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers
envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their
term(s), then go home and back to work.

If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will
only take three days for most people (in the U.S.) to receive
the message. Don't you think it's time?

THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!

If you agree with the above, pass it on. If not, just delete.
You are one of my 20+ - Please keep it going, and thanks.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Qtran Transformer Benefits

Here is a video that may be of interest to landscape architects and electrical engineers.  The video discussed transformer noise, light loss for low voltage lamps, and lamp life.  This is a good explanation of transformers and worth the 7 minutes.

http://www.q-tran.com/demo-kit-video/

Here is a link to to a voltage drop calculator as well.

http://q-tran.squarespace.com/storage/interactive.swf

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Beta Calco Products of the Month


BK Lighting, Adjustable Output and Beam Distribution




This is a great technology offering from BK Lighting LED.  Without a typical dimmer, the light levels of their LED fixtures can be adjusted in the field.  Here are some pictures showing the different effects at levels 1, 5, and 9.  These are great for landscape lighting and come in fixtures for uplighting trees, path lighting, in-grade fixtures, sign lighting, and step lighting.  Here is a link to the website.

http://www.bkssl.com/

BKSSL: Power of E - Adjust E-Lume

BKSSL: Power of E - Adjust E-Lume
BKSSL: Power of E - Adjust E-Lume