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Wheres the party!?!

For a steam of fresh design ideas, solutions, and answers:  LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!  

NETWORK Footage!

Thank you to all the brave souls who stepped up and told us what they were "Mad as Hell' about at the Next Cool Event 2012!  Check out the footage below and feel free to COMMENT!  

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Specializing in: 

• Visual Concepts
• Branding/ Marketing
• Commecial Interior Design
• Residential Interior Design
• Set Design
• Sustainable Design
• Art Installations

CONTACT US!

Tuskegee University: Spring Speaker Series

We here at DCR Interiors are so very proud and excited to join the Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science Spring Lecture Series at renound Tuskegee University.  We have been asked to do one of the things we do best, assemble a team of great professionals willing to share about their cutting edge projects.  Thank you to our panelists and Tuskegee University!

Steve Robinson AIA LEED, AP

BIO: Steve Robinson is based in Atlanta, Georgia and has been practicing for nearly 30 years. He formed Axios Architecture in 2006. He is a LEED AP and focuses primarily on residential, selected commercial and botanical garden projects. The recently completed visitor center and 740 space parking facility at the Atlanta Botanical Garden earned a LEED gold certification.

TOPIC: Design: Sustainability and Practice Sustainability

More than recycling and running the energy numbers. Mr. Robinson will discuss a broader context for sustainability in practice and introduce non-technical influences that have a big impact on our profession’s and culture’s ability to be truly sustainable.

Princeton Porter, AIA LEED AP, BD+C

BIO: Princeton Porter is a senior designer and professional associate at HDR Architecture – Atlanta, Georgia. HDR is a world renowned firm focused largely on Science & Technology and Healthcare related projects. Porter received his BArch from Tuskegee University School of Architecture in 1999. He has worked on a wide array of research focused projects including: corporate pharma, university, and government. His projects employ a rational design process that is focused on creating an architecture that blends sustainable elements as a part of a cohesive whole.

TOPIC: The Georgia Tech Carbon Neutral Energy Solutions Lab

The Georgia Tech Carbon Neutral Energy Solutions Lab (CNES) project is a 42,000 square foot laboratory facility that is intended to set a new standard of sustainable design for buildings of its type; by optimizing passive energy technologies, reducing electricity loads, and maximizing the use of renewable energy. Over time it will house a variety of energy research programs requiring large scale (high-bay) and intermediate scale (mid-bay) spaces.

Derek Paul Gabriel, CEO Direct Sun Solar

BIO: Director/CEO of DirectSun Solar Energy and Technology, LLC, is a turn-key solar developer and renewable energy integrator. With projects in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, New Jersey, and Colorado, DirectSun focuses on utility scale solar farm developments and institutional solar installations. The company also provides EPC services to the solar industry with a special emphasis on land use policy development.. In his role as Director/CEO, Mr. Gabriel utilized his legal and contract development experience to assist and write the first land use/zoning ordinance that pertained to solar farm construction in the State of Georgia, later adopted by the Walton County Board of Commissioners (Georgia) as the standard for solar farm land use regulation in the county. DirectSun and Mr. Gabriel, has also been influential in fostering and developing MBE partnerships that enhance diversity in the construction of renewable energy facilities throughout the United States. Currently, DirectSun is partnering with Mr. Thomas Reed, Jr. (a native son of the Tuskegee, Alabama community) in an effort to develop a 10MW solar farm project. When completed, the solar farm will generate enough electricity to supply approximately 3000 homes and businesses in Tuskegee.

Drew Bowen, Construction Manager

BIO: Team Lead for utility scale solar farm development with DirectSun Solar Energy and Technology, LLC and owner of Drew Bowen Electric. NABCEP-certified solar power systems designer and installer. Fully licensed electrician in Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Responsible for installation of nearly 300 solar powered systems – both PV and solar hot water -- throughout Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama. These include PV systems at such institutional/commercial locations as the REI sporting goods store in Dunwoody, Georgia (200 kW), the Georgia Power corporate headquarters in Atlanta, the Southface Energy Institute, Trees Atlanta, the Fernbank Science Center, and other sites in and around Atlanta including Medshare, the Atlanta Food Bank, East Decatur Station, Grady Homes, and numerous homes and small businesses. Has also installed PV systems at a 48-unit subsidized housing complex funded by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and a major state facility for the Space Research Institute at Auburn University.

TOPIC: SOLAR IN COMMERCIAL & EDUCATIONAL DESIGN: A LOCAL EXAMINATION

Direct Sun Solar will examine local solar project development in the surrounding area. These projects include installations on the campuses of surrounding universities and the proposed Tuskegee Solar Farm on Hwy 81.

NETWORK!

Thanks to all those who helped make NETWORK @ The Next Cool Event 2012 such a huge success.  A huge thank you to the contributers who stepped up and told us what they were 'Mad as Hell' about!  We cant wait to share with you some of the footage, coming soon!!

Please enjoy these pictures of the event, and see even more on our FACEBOOK page: http://www.facebook.com/dcrinteriors

 

NETWORK @ The Next Cool Event!!!

 Celebrating all there is to be MAD about, we present to you our exhibition for the 2012 Next Cool Event: NETWORK!!!

The movie that made the phrase "I'm Mad as Hell and I'm Not Going to Take it Anymore!!" part of the American experience reminds us in 2012 that music, film, and design must continue to strive for the freedom ideals of the American dream.

With this exhibit, we challenge our guests to engage in the conversation for the solutions we need in 2012.  Through design we will explore consumerism, sustainability, freedom of speech, alternate realities, patriotism, and technology.  Our friends ACB Designs and artist Meclina Gomes-Priestley lend their talents to create a thought-provoking, interactive time capsule for modern America.

Step up and tell us what you're 'MAD AS HELL' about!

http://www.thenextcoolevent.com

The Next Cool Event is a collaborative design affair mixing the best and latest from the entertainment industry, music industry, the interior design industry and the event industry...featuring people, places and things which are cutting edge. Friday night Red Carpet Cocktails, Saturday night VIP Gala(by invitation only) and Saturday daytime venue What A Life for the entire family. Produced by TO THE TRADE ONLY.

The Next Cool Event:

February 17 & 18, 2012

Atlanta Expo Center NORTH

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Happy 2012!!

Happy New Year to all of our loyal clients, fans, and readers!  We are greatly looking forward to 2012 and some special projects we have on the horizon.  Have a safe and blessed new years, and stay tuned for details on our plans for the coming year!

Light at the End of the Tube

Daylighting is one of the most important aspects to any room's design.  Natural light is beneficial to our physical and mental health, and also a powerful mood booster.  Sometimes, however, utilizing natural light was just not feasible.  Skylights can be rather cumbersome when it comes to interior roof lines, shading, leaking, and glare.   The answer to all of these issues is the light tube.  This tube of reflectant material connects the daylight hitting the dome mounted on the roof, via refraction and mirrors inside the tube, to the ceiling.  Perfect for introducing daylight into bathrooms and closets (never will you step outside and realize you don't match again!)  Just another little tip from DCR Interiors to make your home or office more functional, energy efficient, and enjoyable!

Now for those real solar enthusiasts, there is an even more intrical advancement to solar, Hybrid Solar Lighting. (HSL) Check out the video!

SAVE YOUR ENERGY with Collaboration!

  

SAVE YOUR ENERGY!

Strategies in Entreprenuership, Collaboration in Design, and Synergies in Solar Power

Dana Redden of DCR Interiors, along with Gail Ried, author of the Idiots Guide to Low-Cost Start-Ups, Pamela George of Training by George, and Freddy Luster of Inman Solar, will be speaking at the the 2011 National Organization of Minority Architects [ NOMA ] Conference Friday, October 21st @ 10:50 AM on the theme of collaboration.  Collaboration is as critical as ever in the world of Architecture and Design.  Times like these, with the world in transition, are the times history has proven produce the most ingenuity and innovation.  Collaboration also takes place in the business world.  This is especially true of small business.  Most importantly, one must learn the techniques of collaboration, what makes team work - work.  As we touch on the strategies in entreprenuership, collaboration by design, and synergies in solar power, we would like to follow up with a few resources to help put the suggestions in our 2011 NOMA presentation into action.  Below are some programs and applications here to make collaboration easier:

Google Docs

Google Docs is an excellent application for collaboration. You can share documents and spreadsheets and collaborate with your team/clients in real-time. Being a browser-based application – the requirements to get up and running is very minimal. Storing your work online means they’re readily available anywhere with an internet connection. Check out the user examples of Google Docsto gain some ideas on how to use Google Docs.

Stixy

Stixyis a flexible, online “bulletin board”/drawing board. There’s little structure and it’s up to you how you want to use it, so it’s a great whiteboarding application. One of the useful ways to use Stixy is mocking up or wireframing web pages – your team member or clients can then go in and modify the design or post notes on particular aspects of the design.

Project2Manage

Project2Manageis a fully-featured, free, hosted solution for project management and collaboration (similar to Basecamp). You can set up different roles and permissions to limit what each team members see, write in your milestones to show everyone your goals, and be able to manage unlimited projects.

bubbl.us

bubbl.us is a free, web-based application for collaborative brainstorming. You can create beautiful mind maps that you can share with team members. You can save, email, and print your mind maps or even embed them directly onto a web page.

Dabbleboard

Dabbleboardis a robust, online whiteboard that’s easy to use. Use Dabbleboard to create wire frames of your user interface, draw flow charts, and create network diagrams, among other things. You can create Toolkits (a set of reusable drawing objects) or use pre-made Toolkits.

Protonotes

Protonotesis a free annotation widget for your HTML prototypes. All you need to do is plop in a JavaScript onto your web page and voila – it just works. Usability testing, design critiquing, and quality-assurance testing are just some of the things that you can use Protonotes on. To get alerted when a new note has been posted, you can subscribe to your team’s notes RSS feed. You can export your data (your “protonotes”) as a CSV file which can be opened by spreadsheet applications like Google Spreadsheetsor Excel or even use your own MySQL database to store your data.

ProjectPier

ProjectPieris a self-hosted, open-source, PHP-based project management application. Manage your tasks, team members, and projects under one interface. The interface is very simple and lacks the “whiz-bang” features of other solutions, but its does project management and collaboration quite well. If you need more convincing, read the 10 reasons for using ProjectPier straight from the creators.

Twiddla

Twiddlatouts itself as a free, web-based meeting playground. Twiddla is an exceptional, no-hassle whiteboard solution for collaborating online. You can browse websites and draw on them, share files, and chat with your team. There’s even an “audio” option so you can communicate verbally (great for people who don’t draw well). Whether you’re critiquing a design or surfing the web for design inspiration, you’ll definitely find a use for Twiddla.

Wetpaint

Wetpaintis a freeform collaboration application that brings in features from wikis, blogs, forums, and social networks. Because it’s simple to use and requires no technical expertise, it’s an excellent platform for generating content from different sources which you can use “as-is” or on your website.

Skype

If you’ve been a web worker for a significant period of time, there’s little chance that Skypehas evaded you. In case you haven’t heard of it, Skype is an application that allows you to make telephone calls over the internet (the technology is called Voice over Internet Protocol– or VoIP). You can make free calls to other Skype users and toll-free numbers, and even landlines/cell phones for a small fee. Aside from its VoIP feature, there are also built-in features for instant messaging (IM), video conferencing, and file sharing.

Thinkature

Thinkature is an excellent, free web collaboration tool. You’re given a workspace to help you visually communicate via chat, drawing, or grabbing content from around the web. Its flexibility allows you to dictate how you want to use it.

Spicebird

If you want to manage projects using a desktop application to conduct your remote/web-based collaboration, check out Spicebird – a robust, open-source platform for all your collaboration requirements. It has a built-in instant messaging chat system, a group calendar, an address book to place your team’s contact information, and much more. View the video demonstrationto get a feel for what Spicebird is all about.

Mindquarry DO

Mindquarry DOis an open-source collaboration application written in Java (J2EE). They’ve discontinued the Mindquarry GO which used to be an online version of Mindquarry, but Mindquarry DO is still available for download. Check out the requirements specificationsto make sure your server has what it needs to run Mindquarry.

Vyew

Vyewis a web-based conferencing application that’s free to use for up to 20 participants. You can share your desktops, use the built-in screen capture tool to save sessions, customize your Vyew by adding your company logo, utilize useful plug-ins like DiagramVyew to create diagrams to share with everyone, and much more.

Writeboard

Writeboardby 37 Signals is a simple, web-based collaborative writing solution that’s free and easy to use. You start by creating your own Writeboard, invite your team members (if you want to collaborate), and then just start writing. People can see updates, edits, and changes in real-time. You can save, track revisions, create versions, and roll back to previous versions of your Writeboard.

What’s your web-based collaboration tool?