Interior Design Announces 2009 Hall of Fame Inductees
Interior Design
The Hall of Fame, established in 1985, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the growth and prominence of the design industry. The 2009 inductees are Tony Chi of tonychi and associates; Vladimir Kagan of Vladimir Kagan Design Group; Nick Luzietti of VOA Associates; Leo Marmol and Ron Radziner of Marmol Radziner + Associates; and, recipient of this year's special award, Gensler. The honorees will be inducted at a special gala celebrating Interior Design magazine's 25th anniversary.More

AIA reports minimal improvement in firm billings
AIA
Despite a high level of inquiries in recent months, architecture firms are not showing any trending toward an increase in billings. Business conditions remain quite poor for many firms, with increasing numbers indicating nonexistent project backlogs and insufficient billable hours for current staff. Business conditions remain weak in all regions of the country. Firms with a commercial/industrial and institutional specialization continue to report the weakest business conditions. Firms with a residential specialization reported their highest score in more than two and a half years in September, as the demand for housing finally seems to be rebounding.More

Creating the "Wow" experience, even without the luxury
Hospitality Net
The hospitality business is all about the Consumer Experience, which today has been devalued across the board due to the sagging economy. In the past year, hotel staff has been slashed, amenities diminished, product hardly maintained, and quality standards not upheld. The W Hotel is taking a different route: The employees are the theatrical troupe, there to inspire, to entertain and transport their Guests. Housekeepers are "Stylists'; the Lobby is the "Living Room." The script: the W's Secret Seven Ways to create a positive Guest Experience.More

Interior designer to the rescue
The New York Times
In this story, the interior designer wears the white hat. Andrea Sperling, a photographer and single mother who lives in Gramercy Park, N.Y., responded to a posting on the New York Times Web site offering to match individuals on a tight budget with a professional interior designer who could help make the most of their dollar. Designer Ron Marvin, who appears on the HGTV show "Small Space, Big Style," agreed to help, and the Times covered the project from consultation to completion.More

Home price decline nears bottom, but volatility expected
Nation's Building News
The decline in national home prices should hit a bottom next year, but many markets could still experience huge volatility as the housing industry seeks to emerge from its worst downturn since the Great Depression, according to economists appearing last week at the NAHB Fall Construction Forecast Conference. Home prices have declined 31.6 percent from their peak and are expected to fall another 4.1 percent through May 2011, followed by a price rebound of 7.8 percent over the next two years.More

Organization launches $4 billion green initiative for affordable housing
Commercial Property Executive
The green movement in commercial real estate has caught on like wildfire and even with the recession having left most clutching their pocketbooks, it continues to spread. Now Columbia, Md.-based Enterprise Community Investment Inc. plans to take the trend to new heights with the kicking off its $4 billion Green Communities initiative, which is designed to propel the greening of affordable housing development across the country. More

Evidence-based approach benefits all aspects of health care design
The Fast Company
Ergonomist Rob Tannen, who writes a blog for Fast Company called "Designing for Humans," makes the case for applying an evidence-based approach to healthcare products as well as spaces to improve patient outcomes. Roz Cama, FASID, author of Evidence-Based Health Care Design, comments.More

Compact high-end appliances appeal to luxury condo market
Multi-Housing News
Brand consciousness, striking looks, open designs and space-efficiency are top trends in high end condo kitchen designs, according to Zach Elkin, director, luxury division (builders, contractors and designers group), at Thermador. Developers of luxury multifamily for-sale housing are looking to create kitchens that "immediately" communicate quality and elegance, notes. "The scale of the kitchen in condominiums is usually smaller, which makes appliances that deliver high-performance in a compact package very attractive," says Elkin.More

Design Council Slide Collection now online
VADS
More than 13,000 images from the Design Council Slide Collection, housed at Manchester Metropolitan University, are now viewable online. The majority of images show products of various kinds (including tableware, furniture, lighting, toys, domestic appliances, textiles, wallpapers, office equipment, engineering components and machinery), but other areas of design such as architecture, town planning, interior design, graphic design and corporate identity are also included. Recently added is an online resource guide which aims to indicate the strengths of the collection, enabling users to exploit it more fully as a resource for learning and research.More

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Interior designers vie for sustainability title
Design Training
Green building and sustainability are the current vogue of the design industry and the basis for a recent interior design competition sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council, the Network of the Hospitality Industry and the American Society of Interior Designers.More