We have designed and commissioned legislative chambers, conference halls, hearing rooms, master command/control facilities, boardrooms, and broadcast pool facilities for many kinds of deliberative bodies. We have also designed and commissioned broadcast studios (radio, television, and post production), sound stages, recording studios, auditoriums, concert halls, outdoor amphitheaters, and theatres.

The Blind Boys Of Alabama Performing Live In KGNU's Performance Studio

Although we are often hired to do only a single part of the technology design (such as the architectural room acoustics or sound system), it is also not uncommon for us to provide multiple integrated technology solutions to our clients. By designing multiple interactive electronic systems, combined with acoustical designs and architectural support services, we are able to provide a simple, easy to use "total room" for our clients. An integrated environment containing all of the elements necessary for a successful, workable space that meets the requirements for the desired applications.

We have found that as buildings become increasingly "wired" and "smart", and various electronic systems (such as audio, video, projection, control, etc.) move from individual pieces of analog hardware that are hard-wired together, to a new digital /computer based, networked and sometimes wireless integrated building system (for both control of the equipment and the distribution of program content), the need for an "integrated technology architect" able to understand, design, program, and successfully "merge" the many different computer based platforms into a workable user-friendly "environment" has increased.

Typically, acoustical and technical design projects are described in four phases: preliminary research; the actual design set; the installation/commissioning of the design / training of the staff, and ongoing support and service. We refer to this as phases one, two, three, and four of a project.

Although we are usually retained for all four phases of a project, we can perform in a more limited role if desired by the client for budgetary reasons. We disclose our costs up front in our proposal, so there are no surprises later in the project. All of our projects to date have come in on time, and either at or below budget!

We begin by having an initial meeting (either over the phone or in person), to get an idea of what will be involved with your project. We then prepare a written proposal for our services, which we submit to you for acceptance. Once accepted, we begin phase one.

Typically, phase one starts with a site visit at your building, to gather information and to have meetings with you and your staff. We begin all projects by truly listening! Every organization has its own needs, and it’s own ways of working, and we listen to you and your staff to determine how best to match our capabilities to those needs. We are well versed in knowing how to ask the right questions, to help you refine your concepts into a viable scope of work and a firm project definition. We then work with you to outline your goals and requirements for the project, as well as the steps required to achieve those goals. We then prepare a preliminary conceptual design and often include a preliminary budget estimate for the project.

This initial estimate is based on the requirements of the scope of work/project definition document, our preliminary conceptual system design work (and our knowledge gained through other similar projects), and research into actual current equipment and labor costs. We can also tell you how long the project will realistically take to complete. We then prepare a phase one summary report for you that includes this information.

The next step is to meet with you and your staff to discuss this report. We do this to be sure that all bases are covered, that the concepts are defined adequately, and that the budget and timetable is adequate to ensure a successful project from beginning to end. It is important to realize that many times there are misconceptions as to what the total costs will be for a project, or how long it will realistically take. We always attempt to educate the owner as to the true costs involved in order to avoid surprises later on when all the bills come due. At this point, the design can often be modified in scope if required, or designed to be implemented over a multi-year period as budgets allow. We are realistic, and work with you to come up with a plan that is truly do-able, both initially, and over the life of the facility.

Once everyone is in agreement and we have your authorization to begin the actual detailed design work for the project, we begin phase two. In this phase, we work with you (the building owners and our client), your architects, and other specialty-engineering firms (electrical, mechanical, and HVAC) to provide a detailed design for your facility.

We can design proper acoustics for the space, computer model what results are obtainable (and if you desire provide a computer generated audio recording that simulates what it will sound like in the actual room), provide construction details for your architect and engineers, work with your architect and/or interior designer to design workable interior finishes, design in (and achieve) the desired levels of noise isolation & vibration control (between rooms, HVAC, backup generators, etc), achieve RF isolation, and provide all of the infrastructure design and specifications (conduit, power, lighting, data networks, and HVAC) required for both present needs and future expansion.

We also do a detailed design for the sound system, video system, digital control system, digital recording systems, voting tabulation and reporting systems, computer-presentation and multimedia/graphics display systems, security systems, audio/video teleconferencing systems, data networks, internet based multimedia information archive systems, and real time (and/or) on-demand internet streaming solutions for the facility.

We accomplish this by providing a comprehensive written specification for each subsystem used in the room (or for the facility as a whole), a detailed drawing set, and by designing and/or configuring any software that will be used by the various computer based audio, video, control, and recording systems used in your project. We then provide this detailed design to you, along with a final cost and time estimate for the project.

We then review this design with you, obtain your comments, and then do a final version of the design, which can be given out as part of the bid set documents. At this point, phase two is completed, and we are ready to begin phase three, the actual construction and system installation.

By this point in the process, the decision is usually made as to whether the project will be awarded to a contractor via the bid process, or by a negotiated contract. With either a bid/award process or a negotiated contract, we can help you with the contract, set up benchmarks and process checks, performance bond requirements, and holdbacks for incomplete work and/or delays by your contractors. We can also provide you with a list of quality contractors on a local, regional, or national basis, depending on the size and scope of the project.

If a decision is made to use a bid/award contract, we can assist you with the bid package and vendor requirements, assist you in bid reviews and contractor selection, and in the final contract award.

Once the project is awarded to a contractor(s), we require (in most cases) that the contractor carefully review the bid set, and we then answer any questions or requests for clarification that they may have. The contractor(s) then produce detailed shop drawings, to show how they intend to implement the intent of the design set. We carefully review these contractor shop drawings, notating and commenting on any problems we see, and sometimes requiring re-submittals with changes prior to beginning construction. Although this step may be skipped in fast track or low budget projects, we believe it provides a valuable safeguard that can find problems before they are installed at the contractors (and or owner’s) expense. This can help prevent delays in the project as well.

Once the submittal drawings are approved, the contractor begins work. Infrastructure changes to the facility are begun first (conduit, electrical, HVAC, etc.), as they normally must be installed prior to the electronic systems installation. The electronic systems (low voltage) contractors can be ordering equipment and scheduling their crews at this time, and begin construction of any equipment racks they will install on site, and commence with initial (non-infrastructure dependant) on-site work. Equipment racks are usually built and prewired in the contractor's shop, then delivered and installed on site, in order to achieve higher quality. Once the infrastructure work is completed and inspected, the installation of the electronic systems on site commences.

Deliberative Designs normally performs at least two site visits/work inspections during the installation process. During the site visits, we carefully inspect every part of the installation, providing a list of problems we see that require changes, and assisting the contractor to meet the design objectives. We also require all contractors to keep us informed of their progress on an on-going basis, and check their progress against our project timeline and project cost tracking system. If anything looks to be out of line, we can help to identify and solve small problems before they become big ones, and/or help expedite matters to help get the project back on track. We also (usually) spend a good deal of time answering contractor questions, or dealing with complications discovered on site.

Often, this involves producing additional detailed drawings, and/or reviewing their proposed implementation of modified designs (due to field conditions) via additional submittals. In this way, quality is built into the system at every step.

During the construction process, we also write and/or configure the various software packages that will be used by the computer based electronic systems being installed. We also often provide system "check out" software to the contractor (in addition to the completed system software that will eventually run the systems), to assist them in testing their work incrementally as they progress on the installation. This is far superior to completing the entire system and then testing it, which can result in modifications and/or rework/rewiring if mistakes are made in the installation process (which can result in subsequent delays in completion of the project). Although we usually catch any problems during the site visits, in large systems and even smaller ones, some wiring mistakes are inevitable. Another reason for doing this is that the final system calibration and adjustment can involve the setting of literally thousands of individual controls within the various pieces of software. This is time consuming and often requires specialized test equipment, and unless done properly, the system will not work as designed. It makes no sense for the contractor to have to do this during the installation process, as they often don’t have the experience, test tools, or time to do this during construction. Normally, this is done after the system has been installed and thoroughly checked out, in what we call the "commissioning" part of phase three. We normally perform this service with the contractor once their work is completed, due to the highly involved nature of this process, our familiarity with the overall project, our experience in doing this, and our advanced test equipment. This usually occurs after the contractor finishes the construction/installation of the low voltage systems, and then notifies us that they are ready for acceptance testing and commissioning of the systems.

During the acceptance testing process, we inspect all aspects of the work, and then test every function to ensure that everything is installed and is working properly. We do this with the contractor. It is inevitable that a few minor problems are found in this process.

We list these problems in a "punch list" which we give to our client and the contractor, detailing the problem, and recommending a corrective action. The contractor then performs these repairs, and we retest the system.

Once everything is working as designed, we then perform the system adjustment and fine-tuning. This involves setting all of the various controls in the electronic systems to achieve the desired results. This is done by using advanced computer based acoustical testing equipment (as the interaction of the physical space and acoustics effect the audio system settings) and by careful critical listening. This careful "balancing" first by measurement, and then by ear is a critical step. A good analogy to this would be a piano, which must be carefully tuned in order to make music enjoyable! We then note the settings (both on paper and in computer files) of all controls, so they can be recalled later if necessary.

Once the system is working and "tuned", we inspect the contractors final documentation, noting changes or mistakes. The contractor then prepares detailed "as-built" shop drawings, which we then review, and note for changes. Once this process is completed, we accept the system on your behalf, releasing the contractor (except for their contracted warranty period), and authorize your payment to them. We often prepare a summary report and project accounting for you, to help your accounting department in settling any contracts. Obviously, if holdbacks are necessary, we advise you on this also.

We then train your staff, showing them how to use the systems in their day to day activities in an understandable manner. If you have technical media or IT staff, we train them to the level of their abilities, in order for them to be able to maintain the systems, or make minor modifications as needs change within your organization.