Page 59 - January 2006

INCE/USA. Dr. Davies is Professor at the Ray W. Herrick Laboratories, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. She served as Technical Program Co-chair for the joint 150th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and NOISE-CON 2005 held in Minneapolis, MN, in October 2005.
National Council of Acoustical Consultants names three new Honorary Members
The National Council of Acoustical Consultants (NCAC) presented “Honorary Membership” citations to three of its members—M. David Egan, Professor Emeritus at Clemson University; Minoru Nagata, executive advisor of Nagata Acoustics, Inc.; and George Paul Wilson of Wilson, Ihrig & Associates. All three are Fellows of the Acoustical Society of America.
Shen Milsom & Wilke Wins Top Honor for Crown Fountain Design
Shen Milsom & Wilke’s work at Chicago’s Crown Fountain won “Best Overall” in the third-annual ARCHI- TECH AV Awards 2005, sponsored joint- ly by the International Communications Industries Association and ARCHI- TECH Magazine. The competition hon- ors the “creative and effective” integration of technology into design projects. A six- person panel chose the winner from more than 50 international entrants represent- ing commercial, institutional and govern- mental building design.
Crown Fountain features two 50- foot-tall, water-spurting glass-block tow- ers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool. Behind the glass block, 24-by-49- foot LED video walls display changing digital images of Chicagoans. Located in the new Millennium Park near the Chicago lakefront, this attention-grab-
bing fountain mixes video technology and water in a new way: water was never funneled through a video wall before.
Working with Kreuck & Sexton Architects, Shen Milsom & Wilke designed the two video walls in the facing towers and a remotely operated show control system that synchronizes the images, water flow, and lighting color and intensity. All of these follow a carefully orchestrated script according to time of day, week, or month. The 1,000 video images, filmed by the Art Institute of Chicago, are placed so that a “gargoyle” in each tower, made from eight 1-inch tubes that are injected through the LED struc- ture and the glass brick, is aligned with the mouth of the person in the display. At the end of each person’s stint on screen, they purse their lips and the water sprays through the gargoyle. The image then disappears, water cascades down all the sides of the towers, and a new image appears.
A technology room, located under- ground, directly beneath the fountain, includes high-definition video servers that run the show above, synchronizing images, water flow, and lighting color and intensity. The show is fully automated. The quarter-inch deep pool of water between the towers reflects and amplifies the images.
Shen Milsom & Wilke [www.smwinc.com], an international technology consulting practice founded in 1986, offers comprehensive services in the areas of multimedia, telecommunica- tions, building security, and acoustics.
The firm has a staff of more than 140 professionals, several of whom are mem- bers of the Acoustical Society of America, and offices in New York, Princeton, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Houston, Denver, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Dubai, Hong Kong, and London.
Engineers Week 2006
Engineers Week, a consortium of more than 100 professional and techni- cal societies and major U.S. corpora- tions, is slated for February 19–25, 2006. The program aims to ensure a diverse and well-educated future engi- neering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engi- neering and technology careers among young students and by promoting pre- college literacy in math and science.
Crown Fountain (Photo: Steve Hall © Hedrich Blessing, Courtesy Shen Milsom and Wilke)
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