CEDIA recently launched a new development course for architects and building designers…
Most industries have an industry association, and ours is CEDIA (Consumer Electronic Design & Integration Association), an association covering the custom installation aspects of what we do (multi-room audio, dedicated home theatres, home automation etc.).
CEDIA new development course is primarily designed to educate them on what is available for their clients and, more importantly, who they need to talk to address their client’s requirements. As an added bonus, architects who complete this course receive a CPD (Continuing Professional Development) point.
According to Paul Skelton, CEDIA’s Regional Development Consultant for Australia & New Zealand, “Members of the design and build community are more frequently than ever being asked about smart home technology. Fundamentally, this new CPD presentation has been designed to educate architects, and building designers insofar as smart home technology is concerned. It covers exactly what you can automate in a home, including blinds, lighting, entertainment, HVAC and security, why and when you need an integrator and how you work with an integrator.”
Technology in the home has grown from a luxury 20 years ago to an essential commodity today. There is probably a no better example of this than the home network – without doubt the fastest growing avenue of Len Wallis Audio’s business. Networks that coped perfectly well with email and music streaming in the past no longer cut it when you add additional requirements such as security, high-definition video streaming and the myriad of appliances that now reside on the network
What is essential for us is that this course was not designed to teach architects or building engineers how the technologies work but to educate them on the possibilities and, more importantly, on who they should be talking to when the need arises. I cannot overemphasise the importance of the last point. On too many occasions, we find that if a designer is unfamiliar or daunted by technology, they tend to dismiss it. Worse still is passing the technology implementation onto someone not entirely across it, with the inevitable results.
Len Wallis Audio is a founding member of CEDIA in Australia, and we have a trained CPD staff member on board. Our Senior Systems Integrator, Christian Lambros also actively participates in volunteer work with the organization, sitting on 2 CEDIA boards, one of which is preparing a new CPD course that is aimed at builders specifically.
