May 2011 Newsletter
May 16, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
Social Media for Architects, Part III: Maximizing LinkedIn
Facebook, Twitter, and some other popular social media sites get more attention, but LinkedIn is the most important site for business professionals. Where other sites encourage you to post photos of your latest party and spout off political opinions, LinkedIn is designed for one thing: To help you succeed in business.
LinkedIn profiles of architects are subdued. They have minimal flash, maximum information. Check out the profile of Chris Dunlop and Bettina Mehnert .
Here are five tips to create a winning LinkedIn profile:
1) Focus on reaching potential clients. Rather than just dumping your resume onto your profile (which is possible), use your profile to show potential clients what you can do. Write briefly about what types of problems you solve, the types of clients you work for, and other key introductory characteristics.
2) Make connections. Don’t build a profile and wait for business to roll in; it won’t. LinkedIn makes it easy to locate potential contacts and request a connection. And once you connect, it shows you your contact’s connections so you can attempt to connect with them, and on and on. The goal is a giant web of connections.
3) Give and get testimonials. As advertisers have known for decades, testimonials can be powerful. LinkedIn has a convenient format for adding testimonials to your profile. One of the best ways to get testimonials from trusted clients is to give them one first. Once they see how much you value the relationship, many return the favor.
4) Join LinkedIn groups. Groups on LinkedIn are collections of like-minded individuals. As you can imagine, being in the right groups is a great way to connect with potential partners and clients. There are many architecture groups, including groups sponsored by the AIA, ARCHITECTURE magazine, and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Set the search function to “Groups” to find more. You should also join your local chamber of commerce and other local groups to connect with potential clients in your area.
5) Use “Status Updates” to keep your firm on your clients’ radar. Architects can use Status Updates to report on important new projects, new positions, and other such information. Your connections will get an email about your status update (or a periodic email showing the status updates of all of their connections), so a Status Update is a subtle way of reaching out.
Social media can be a lot of fun, but if you’re serious about using it to help your business, you must maximize your LinkedIn profile.
Psychology of Architecture: Your Work and the Mind
Your client asks for high ceilings because she thinks they make her foyer look impressive. But did you know they will also make her a better abstract thinker? Design’s effect on the mind has been studied for decades, but several recent studies shed new light.
The study about ceiling height, by professor Joan Meyers-Levy at the Carlson School of Management , showed that high ceilings caused occupants to see the “big picture” view of things rather than small details. Clearly the expanses opened the mind to broader thoughts.
Another study revealed some remarkable effects of color in design. Red interior walls help with detail-oriented tasks; blue helps with creative tasks. Check out the details in Science magazine . Using psychology in architecture is a big deal in hospital design — think lots of light, happy colors, easy-to-navigate spaces, all designed with healing in mind. There’s even an organization that advocates this type of design, the Center for Health Design .
Taking it a big step further are Susan Lee Painter, PhD, and Constance Forrest, Psy.D., who began their careers as psychologists but migrated to design. Now they run ForrestPainter Design in Venice, California, where they apply their psychology skills to interior, workspace, and landscape design.
“The Design Psychology assessment tools, adapted from clinical interview and assessment measures, yield the data and insights to choose the color, lighting, texture and arrangement of space for their clients’ residential, office and landscape projects,” according the firm’s website.
Want to use some psychology in your own design? Designer Maria Lorena Lehman offers five tips in her blog Sensing Architecture : Observe occupant behaviors; review their photos and memorabilia; create a survey or conduct an interview; learn about their struggles; and brainstorm with them.
Bottom line: Remember that your clients will be living or working the spaces you design, and it will affect them every day.
An Easy Way to Invite Bids
Inviting bids can be a time-consuming hassle…but not if you use BidCaster from AIR Graphics. BidCaster is an easy-to-use online tool that allows you to send hundreds of ITBs via email or fax, right from your computer. Bidders can preview plans and specs and indicate their interest in your projects.
Bidcaster lowers your pre-construction costs, reduces time and labor for you and your bidders, allows you to be more competitive by receiving more bids, and tracks your bid responses easily and conveniently.
Learn more here BidCaster
ArchiQuiz
1) Which 20th Century architect pioneered modern architecture and was associated with the saying “less is more”?
2) What is the second tallest skyscraper in the United States? (hint: think hairpiece)
3) Which U.S. president was born in a Sears Catalog Home?
4) What school of art and design named by rearranging the German words for “house construction”?
Amazing Architecture
Shipping containers have been used for all sorts of architectural marvels, but you’ll love these five examples, from a 1,000-unit student housing complex in Amsterdam to Container City in London.
The new 33-floor headquarters office tower for CMA CGM in Marseille,
France looks like a giant metallic curving arc that accelerates skyward. It was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. http://www.zaha-hadid.com/offices-and-towers/cma-cgm-headquarters-tower
The Park Hotel Hyderabad, designed by Skidmore, Owings, Merrill, is a 270-room hotel that combines modern, sustainable design with local traditions. Many of the interior surfaces, with a jewelry concept, reflect local designs and were implemented by local artists and craftsman.
Being Green
The new Matrixair Solar Air Heating and Ventilation System uses transpired solar technology — which involves air heated by passive solar panels affixed to the side of a building — to efficiently heat buildings.
The AIRxpert 7000 monitors indoor air quality in large buildings. It provides ventilation system diagnostics, monitors energy conversation, and keeps tabs on environmental quality.
Harmonium linoleum flooring is made from 95 percent natural materials, such as linseed oil, flax seed, wood, and limestone. Plus, 73 percent of these materials are rapidly renewable.
Huvco tubular skylights bring natural sunlight into interiors of small buildings and homes. They’re a great way to provide natural light into spaces that cannot be lit by traditional skylights.
Are trusty photovoltaics reaching new heights? Photovoltaic installations surpassed 14 gigawatts of generating capacity worldwide in 2010.
News
Boston Architect celebrates 30 years
http://irealtywire.org/11474659/boston-architect-celebrates-over-30-years-of-business.html
New Marriott Hotel in Fenway Neighborhood http://www.bostonsf.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=00DFCE13162E4038937C80D17767B829
Paul Comeau joins Sasaki design firm
Boston architect Sean Stewart designs Buffalo renovation
http://www.buffalonews.com/city/city-hall/article418844.ece
JFK Museum expansion opens
Aprill 2011 Newsletter
April 19, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
Architects, the New Humanitarians
The notion that architecture can change the world is not new — which architect hasn’t dreamed of creating a structure that inspires, protects, and enhances lives? But that notion is lately taking on new strength. As the world suffers from catastrophes nature-made and man-made, many architects are heeding the call to help.
Consider Architecture for Humanity a non-profit design services firm that brings design and construction expertise to communities in need. Architecture for Humanity can be found in hotspots around the world, from Haiti to Japan to Africa.
What differentiates Architecture for Humanity from some other organizations that help rebuild disaster-stricken areas is that they generally plan long-term. In a recent interview on CBS News, Cameron Sinclair, one of the founders of the organization, said:
“Our architects and designers don’t fly in on weekend trips, they live in the villages and towns from 9 to 18 months. They become part of the community and begin to understand the nuances of how to make the biggest impact with the budget they have. Recently we were asked to build a series of schools in a country emerging out of a bloody civil conflict. By listening to the community we realized they didn’t need schools, they needed a school system, complete with teachers, curriculum and facility support. It was obvious to our team that the first thing that was needed was not a classroom but a teacher training facility and staff housing near existing remote schools.”
Of course, Architecture for Humanity is not the only organization promoting the social value of architecture.
Hasim Sarkis, a professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, espouses the social value of architecture in his work and classroom.
“For about five or six years,’’ Sarkis said in an interview in the Boston Globe “there’s been pressure from architecture students. How can they be socially committed? they say. How can architecture be a larger social project?”
Sarkis shows his students that good architecture and socially good architecture are not contradictory. Great design can be applied to modest projects.
For example, Sarkis designed a cluster of 84 apartments for fisherman in Lebanon. The spaces are modest and affordable, but the design makes them bright, practical, and uplifting.
Another example of architecture serving the social good is a project that will give homes to 50 Thai orphans, designed by the Norwegian firm Tyin Tegnestue 
The orphan’s homes, dubbed Butterfly Houses, provide private spaces within a community setting.
“We have searched for a deeper meaning in our profession, and find it in building projects for people that really benefit from improved physical surroundings,” says architect Andreas Gjertsen in an interview on CNN .
Not Your Typical Dormroom
Remember the cramped, drab dorm room you shared with three other students during your freshman year? Well, it’s history. Many of today’s college students enjoy the best work of architects around the world.Check out “The Sponge” on the campus of MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, otherwise known as Simmons Hall. 
Designed by architect Steven Holl, the 350-bed dorm includes a theatre, cafe, and terraces. Large openings throughout the building serve as “lungs,” circulating natural light and air. And each dorm room has nine working windows!
Another non-Animal House student residence is State Street Village on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. 
Helmut Jahn designed this high-tech complex that includes six U-shaped structures built from steel, concrete, and glass. Jahn designed what he calls the “ultimate” dorm by adding A/V lounges with plasma TVs and a laundry room that alerts students via the web when their load is done. Bet those students aren’t bringing the laundry home to mom!
Of course, American students have nothing on the Europeans when it comes to fancy dorm living. Check out the Bikuben Student Residence in Copenhagen, which is designed to encourage student interaction by connecting all the dorm rooms and common areas in a double spiral around an atrium. Another architecturally significant dorm is found at Ljubljana University in Slovenia. This 2006 building features communal leisure and teaching spaces on the first floor and 56 residential rooms on the second and third floors. The student units are arranged around central service “cores” that contain bathrooms, kitchens, and dining rooms. Privacy of the bedrooms is assured by a series of folding, perforated, aluminum panels.
Makes you want to return to school, doesn’t it?
Amazing Architecture
The Pillars of Hercules have risen again! Spanish architect Rafael de la Hoz designed this double-towered office and retail building in Bay of Algeciras in Cadiz, Spain. The 20-story buildings, designed to honor the legendary Pillars of Hercules, are the tallest buildings in Andalusia. 
Check out this very cool housedesigned by Antonio Cardillo. Built in Melbourne, Australia, the home was inspired by Roman ruins and offers amazing views.
Architecture in Motion: The headquarters 
for Vodaphone in Porto, Portugal is an architectural splendor that matches the brand’s slogan, Life in Motion. Designed by Barbosa Guimaraes Arquitectos, the white-and-glass structure seems to spill to the ground.
ArchiQuiz
How well do you know your profession? ArchiQuiz is a new feature of our newsletter. See how you do!
1) In what Midwestern town did Frank Lloyd Wright open his first studio?
2) What foundation sponsors the Pritzker Architecture Prize?
3) The White House is made in which architectural style?
4) What is North America’s tallest building’s new name? And who designed the building?
Answers
Being Green
Everyone knows about compact fluorescent bulbs, but another high-efficiency option is LED lighting. Viribright LED bulbs last almost 20,000 hours, use 80 percent less energy, and are available for commercial and residential use. http://www.viribright.com/
An attic fan is a great way to keep an entire house cooler. Now homeowners can use solar power to run the fan, with the Solar Aire solar-powered attic fan system. The system cools up to 1,500 square feet in the summer and vents moisture year around. http://solaroenergy.com/products-2/solar-ventilation/
Tired of housewrap? Try ZIP System roof and wall sheathing, which includes built-in protective overlays that eliminate the need for housewrap or felt. Not only is it easier to install, but it helps ensure an energy-efficient structure. http://www.zipsystem.com/
Hot water heaters can consume a lot of energy. The NEXT Hybrid hot water heater from A.O. Smith uses two heating technologies to maximize efficiency. It uses a heat transfer process with a secondary heat exchanger to capture the heated flue gas and route it back through the tank to extract additional heat.
“Green” Your In-House Document Reproduction
Every time you hit “print” on your computer or copier, you are affecting the environment a tiny bit. Add those bits up, and the prints and copies you make can have a serious impact.
Let AIR Graphics substantially reduce the environmental impact of your document reproduction by having us install a “green” facilities management (FM) program in your office. This program includes the following:
* Use of 100 percent recycled paper for small-format documents and 30 percent recycled for large-format.
* PlanWell software, which allows you view plans and specs on-screen and manage access to your projects.
* Electronic work orders and Bidcaster software to minimize paper usage
* Biodegradeable presentation material
* A “green” plotter that uses less energy and toner
* Digital Upload directly to AIR Graphics production facilities for your overflow work and save the emissions from coming to your office for pickup.
Contact Leo Ladas FM director today for more information! lladas@airgraphics.com or phone 1-800-734-3373 x225
News
The Boston Society of Architects has a new home: http://www.archpaper.com/e-board_rev.asp?News_ID=5168
The BSA also has a new executive director: http://www.architects.org/news/welcome-margaret
Machado and Silvetti Associates of Boston has been chosen by the Massachusetts College of Art and Design to expand and renovate two galleries: http://gregcookland.com/journal/2011/02/18/massart-picks-architect-for-gallery-renovation/
Wellesley College plans dormitory renovation: http://www.wellesleynewsonline.com/news/residential-planning-committee-established-to-plan-dormitory-renovation-1.2000602
Eduardo Souto de Moura wins Pritzker Architecture Prize: http://pritzkerprize.com/
March 2011 Newsletter
March 18, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
Social Media for Architects, Part 2: The Blog
You probably already know how much people enjoy talking to architects. Even people with no relation at all to design fields have opinions and preferences regarding architecture that they discuss with you at parties, right? You can turn that fascination into potential new clients through a blog.
Check out the blog of TMS Architects in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It’s a mix of commentary, news tidbits, photos, and other items related to the New England architecture scene. A similar example comes from HMC Architects , which has several offices in California.
So how do you get started? A little planning helps. First, decide on frequency. The experts say consistency is more important than frequency, but frequency matters, too. “I typically don’t recommend less than once or twice a week because then you become lost in the noise of others who post more frequently,” says social media consultant Jason Falls . “Your content needs to stand out, but if it does, then once a week becomes an event of anticipation for your audience.”
Next, decide what to blog. Your audience is probably already reading the newspaper, so don’t regurgitate what they read there…unless you have your own spin on it. Other ideas include a “behind the scenes” look at your firm (How we designed such-and-such building); commentary about the design community in your city or state; or Q&As with a firm principal, client, or local planning authority.
If your firm specializes in a particular niche, you may want to blog about that. For example, HMN Architects in Overland Park, Kansas, does a lot of healthcare design. Their blog covers issues related to hospital design and major healthcare issues in general.
The ideas are limitless, but whatever topic you blog about, try not to irritate potential clients. If you have strong political views or hate your local NFL franchise, save those thoughts for your personal blog.
Next, think about the tools. WordPress is the most popular tool for creating a blog. It’s simple to launch a blog with WordPress, and the basic package is free. The free features include stats to see how many people are reading, and fun “themes” to make your blog look good.
“WordPress.com is 100 percent free and takes 10 minutes to set up once you pick your theme,” says Jacob Morgan, an expert on social CRM and social customer strategies for Chess Media Group .
There are more sophisticated packages — Falls suggests Compendium if you care about keyword searching — but wordpress is a great place to start.
Finally, consider marketing. Add a link to your blog from your website, note your blog on any other social media sites you use (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.), and include a link to your blog if you comment on other people’s blogs.
For more useful tips, check out this fun blog entry about architect blogs.
Urgent Architecture: The Essential Role of Post-Disaster Design
Did you know that floods, tornadoes, and landslides affect every state in the United States? And that more than 300 major natural catastrophes occur around the world every year? It’s no surprise, then, that architects who deal with the urgent design and construction needs of devastated communities are currently front and center.
The first architects affecting a disaster scene practice what is called urgent architecture–the design of structures that can be used immediately after a disaster. Project Urgent Architecture aims to gather the knowledge of architects and structural engineers who have faced the challenge of designing these structures, and pass that knowledge on to local artisans who can build these structures where they are needed.
“Urgent architecture should not wait until the next disaster strikes to seek solutions to communities’ post-disaster shelter needs,” the organization says.
So what does urgent architecture look like? Imagine a field of high-tech, but rather simple looking, tents.
These structures obviously provide immediate shelter, but perhaps more importantly they provide a sense of security and community to people who have suddenly been forced out of their homes.
The next step is equally important. Once the debris is cleared and the aid workers have left, someone has to rebuild the devastated community. The emerging field called postcatastrophe reconstruction deals with this situation.
Consider the destruction in Haiti after the earthquake in January 2010. Port-au-Prince was a densely populated city before it was nearly wiped out by the earthquake. The housing and other structures would take decades to rebuild under normal conditions, but a group of students from the Schack Institute of Real Estate at New York University who have been studying postcatastrophe construction, is working on speed that up. The students are analyzing the infrastructure, transportation needs, housing and social patterns, and land ownership issues. The students also are assisting a project that trains locals to work in design and construction, and they are working on a 16,000-acre housing project north of Port-au-Prince.
Hopefully post-disaster construction ultimately leads to design that can withstand earthquakes, hurricanes, and other disasters. Consider this fact: The earthquake that killed 316,000 people in Haiti was far less severe than the earthquake that shook populous areas of Chile a few weeks later, but the Chilean earthquake killed only 500 people. The difference? Superior building design and construction.
Amazing Architecture
People seem afraid that this house is about to slide off the hill, but the
architect himself lives there! The “floating house” in the Berkshires, designed by Boston architect Warren Schwartz, offers amazing views of the surrounding woods
Can you imagine the glazing job on this building? The new apartment building in New York by French architect Jean Nouvel features 1,650 different window panels!
It’s not built yet, but Frank Gehry’s latest design–a “wrinkly” building–is naturally already drawing controversy. The 11-story design is for the University of Technology Sydney business school in Sydney, Australia. Groundbreaking is scheduled for 2012 and completion in 2014.
This new Toren condo building in Brooklyn is selling amazingly well, real estate folks say. Designed by SOM, the building is aiming for LEED Gold designation. Among its green attributes is five on-site co-generators.
Being Green
Marmoleum Click flooring so called because the squares “click” together without the need for adhesives, is made from natural ingredients including linseed oil, wood flour, and pine rosins.
Bamdeck decking from Cali Bamboo is a combo of 30 percent recycled bamboo fibers and 70 percent recycled plastic. The result is a composite with twice the density, strength, and durability of other composites.
Team Massachusetts, from two local universities, is competing in the Solar Decathlon, a project that helps students learn about green construction and other environmental architecture issues.
Ever notice how much smoke puffs out of your lawnmower? Imagine how much less you’d pollute if you only had to mow once per month. That’s the promise of Pearl’s Premium Ultra Low Maintenance Lawn Seed . And it’s drought tolerant, so rarely needs to be watered, and requires no fertilizer.
Drexel University’s new science building features a “biowall” that filters the building’s air. The wall is a vertical garden in the middle of the building that absorbs pollutants.
Perfect Plans Makes Wide-Format Color Docs Easy at No Extra Cost
You design in color because it’s easier to show details that way. You can PDF or DWF that design to some extent, but eventually someone will need a hard copy. Hmm, what happens to the color? You can try to use different line weights, patterns, and other tricks, but in the end the monochrome hardcopy doesn’t match your design.
The solution? Perfect Plans from AIR Graphics! Perfect Plans are full-color versions of your color files, printed quickly, easily, and at the same cost as monochrome prints. Coordination drawings, as-built drawings, marked-up drawings for site use…the possibilities are endless.
A recent study by Océ revealed that construction drawings in color can reduce errors and, consequently, construction failure costs. Don’t you want that advantage?
Perfect Plans are available at full or half scale, with no loss of fidelity, line quality, or readability. What you see on your screen is what you get. Best of all, the addition of color doesn’t affect cost!
Click here for details. http://www.airgraphics.com/construction-documents/perfect-plan
News You Can Use
The City of Boston is soliciting bids for architectural work on storefronts in 20 neighborhoods. The two-year contract is worth $580,000, and bidding ends March 28. Learn more http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2011/03/boston-solicites-bids-for-main-streets.html
The AIA named 104 new fellows. Here’s the list and details <http://www.residentialarchitect.com/architects/aia-announces-2011-fellows.aspx>
The archives of Kallmann, McKinnell & Wood Architects has been donated to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The firm, which designed Boston’s city hall in 1962, won Boston’s Harleston Parker Award a record six times. Details http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/museum-architects-collection.html
$30 million development coming to Boston Seaport District. Liberty Wharf will include five restaurants. Details http://www.necn.com/03/02/11/Boston-Harbor-Renaissance/landing_business.html?blockID=431685&feedID=4209
Williamstown elementary school design advances. Details http://www.masslive.com/metrowest/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-30/1298103617105301.xml&coll=1
Awards
The Boston Society of Architects gave four “Unbuilt” architecture awards: http://www.archdaily.com/71383/2010-unbuilt-awards-boston-society-of-architects/
Boston Architectural College honors Stephen Sousa with 2010 Alumni in Practice Awards http://www.wickedlocal.com/brookline/news/business/x750985538/Stephen-Sousa-receives-college-s-architecture-award#axzz1GVPx9yPV
ECO Friendly banner stands
October 29, 2010 by admin · 2 Comments
Environmentally sound banner stands!
Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on earth and one
of our most renewable and sustainable natural resources.
It is actually a grass, not a tree – no forests are destroyed to
produce bamboo products. The environmental impact is kept
at a minimum. The material gives a very elegant impression
and is extremely durable – comparable to hardwood. Choose
bamboo at your next presentation and signal your commitment
to sustainability!
Easy to transport and set up. Comes in two sizes 24″ x 60″ and 32″ x 86″.
Very affordable as well. The complete package for custom printed banner and stand are $149.95 for the smaller and only $189.95 for the larger.
Once you have your Bamboo X-Stands ordering replacement graphics is easy and inexpensive!
Creative Capital: Designed in Boston
October 18, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Design Museum Boston is pleased to announce the opening of Creative
Capital: Designed in Boston, the inaugural exhibit of the newly formed Design Museum Boston. Opening on October 28, 2010 in Boston’s City Hall and running for 12 months, Creative Capital celebrates the contributions of some of Boston’s best designers.
Read more here : Creative Capital
Mini X Banner Display
September 3, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Introducing the new Mini X Banner Display
AIR Graphics has introduced the new Mini X Banner display to the New England marketplace. This new banner combines the sleek look of a ultra modern design with the ultra easy banner replacement.
This Mini X Banner display comes with the frame, a color graphics banner with grommets and a zipper case all for $24.95. You can order replacement graphics for $9.95.
Imagine the possibilities of this eye catching design in your business. Do you offer monthly specials? instore promotions? unique opportunities? The Mini X Banner display sets the standard for the ease of marketing. Simply change out the graphic in seconds and your new marketing promotion is ON !
The Mini X Banner display’s easy interchange of graphics allows the marketing department to determine the promotions, have graphics created and with a schedule of release dates each location can replace the graphics.
AIR Graphics will print the graphics from your uploaded file and ship to your locations to make it effortless.
Networking Event is Well Attended.
April 5, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Used Equipment Available
HP DJ 1050C plus
$1,000.00
- Model No. C6074B
- Serial No. SG25313117
- 128 MB installed Ram, (maximum).
- Excellent Running Condition
- Number of Plots (from Service Print) = 1279
- Nearly NEW!!!
KIP 1020 Black & White Plotter “Great Half Size Printer”
$950.00
- Sheet fed, half size printer.
- Will print up to 18 x 24.
- Perfect for the right user.
Going Green … Since 1994
January 28, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
AIR Graphics’ commitment to Green Initiatives began many years ago. We had never heard of the term but instead practiced common sense recycling, full use of technology and looked for new ways to simply make less waste.
Below is a PDF with some news clippings about our Green Initiatives. Left click to view, right click to download.
Are you Swimming in Old Drawings?
January 20, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
The rare book industry is in a interesting position right now. All rare books are going to continue to increase in value. It seems that if things keep going the way they are, there will be a finite number of books printed…and then no more. Everything will be either digital or digitized. So hold on to your first editions. They may be the rare family heirloom that your grandchildren cherish.
Architectural and engineering drawings are destined for the same fate. Either they will be scanned and organized in a manner that will make them easy to retrieve, or they will be lost forever. Now there are drawings that should be saved in their original hard copy form. Some are great works of art. The problem is that, in most cases, they are buried in a back room with thousands of other drawings from the pre-CAD era.
Setting the “drawing as art” discussion aside, all those documents do have intrinsic value and need to be captured. In the past, such a project was far too expensive and time consuming, often involving expensive software that had to be mastered and an in-house database that had to be managed.
AIR Graphics has a solution. Large format scanning is what we do…we have more equipment and technical expertise than any software company does. Your massive sea of drawings is brought under control, duplicates are removed and the cleaned up, documents are scanned and posted to a database. Now, when a drawing is needed, you can find it easily, view it quickly, download a copy with ease and the archive is not compromised.
The AIR Graphics Scanning and Archiving Service provides:
Mitigate Risk
- Reduce the exposure and manage risk of document loss
- Reduce the exposure to litigation and legal ramifications
Organization
- Documents are organized
- Documents are always where you expect them to be
Budgeting
- No billing surprises, easily budgeted
- You are notified of all prices in advance
Saves Time
- In accessing the documents and getting them printed
Viewing
- Documents can be viewed from your workstations (if all you need to do is zero in on a detail)
- Your consultants can be invited to view your archived documents from their workstations
Printing
- Print thumbnails from your workstation
- Print to large format printers.
- Order high resolution prints from AIR Graphics at your workstation
Productivity
- Archive complete document records for future (renovation work; design details, procurement, etc.)