As another year draws to a close and everyone here at NDA gets ready to leave the office for a well deserved break, it leaves us with little more to say, other than:
Technology around the home is moving fast and it's getting faster, so fast in fact that unless you are a super computer it is impossible to keep up with it. Luckily there are companies like Crestron, who employ thousands of super brained engineers to bring all of this technology together in a practical and simple way that makes accessing everything from lighting, music, video, heating, security and even curtains as easy as using an Ipad.
Crestron kindly invited NDA's tutor team along to their brand new showroom in Leeds to demonstrate how their systems work and how they are changing the way people interact with technology in the home, office and beyond.
Crestron develops, manufactures and installs automated control systems, which on the surface may not sound that exciting until you see the beautiful simplicity of them in action and how they are changing, not only the way people use technology, but how technology can be used in buildings and interior design.
Before getting hands on with the gadgets, the nice folk at Crestron gave a short presentation about something they are very passionate about called Integrated Building Technology. Their aim is to educate architects, consultants, electrical engineers and interior designers to understand and promote the benefits of using intelligent, building management systems that will continue to meet the changing needs of people and their surroundings.
"We need to help builders and designers understand how technology is integral to what they do," explains Crestron Lighting Product Manager, Mark tallent. "Right now design teams work in 'silos' isolated from each other; Crestron integrated building technology can bring all the different design disciplines together to realise huge benefits in terms of design, control, efficiency and future proofing."
Integrating technology systems often comes as an afterthought once all the building work has been completed, but it should be considered during the early planning stages of any contemporary project. For example Installing CAT 5 cabling and ports at intelligent points throughout a building means that all kinds of systems can be installed, powered and linked to each other as and when they are required. Crestron can also install 'Infinet EX', which uses a network of nodes to create a lossless wireless 'mesh' that can be accessed throughout a building.
In the home is where Crestron systems really begin to shine, literary. Lighting is very important for creating the ambiance of a space, and with such a huge variety of lighting options at the disposal of interior designers it can be difficult to get right. Crestron offer a variety of cutting edge light solutions and, more interestingly, a very clever way of controlling them, allowing you to choose a variety of different settings for different situations.
Control of every system in the home can be accessed from Crestron's touchpanel or an Ipad, Iphone, or Android device, including; Blueray, Sky HD, music, movies, Internet, heating, lighting etc all at the users finger tips and all out of view because all of the separate pieces of hardware are stored in one place in a rack. When asked if it can even boil the kettle, the answer was simply "yes."
Rob Sullivan, from our industry partners RSAV Solutions organised this visit as part of three trips (Panasonic and Meridion were the previous ones) to help educate Interior Design professionals about AV solutions. RSAV solutions are specialists in planning and installing Crestron products, so if you have any queries about Crestron or just need some general advice about a audio visual solutions for a project you are working on, drop him a line at rob@rsavsolutions.com
The NDA Foundation is delighted to announce a new partnership between the National Design Academy and Boston College for the Diploma level courses.
Both The NDA Foundation and Boston College share the same values and vision and this new relationship will allow us to access funding, helping to reduce the course fees payable by students. It enables us to support students from Diploma to BA (Hons) making vocational education more accessible.
In addition to this, the college has a vision to be a brilliant college that transforms people's lives.
"Boston College has a vast amount of experience and long standing relationships with a variety of partners across the East Midlands and prides itself on being supportive and proactive when it comes to Partnership working."
For further information on Boston College please see their website www.boston.ac.uk
It is our mission to deliver innovative, affordable education to all, and securing this new funding ensures that we can continue to do so.
NEW LOW PRICES!
Prices for our Diploma courses have been reduced to £395 for home study and £600 for in studio courses. These prices are applicable to eligible students who have an English address (including Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Gibraltar), unfortunately anyone residing outside of these regions pays the non-funded price.
Students in receipt of certain benefits may be entitled to free course fees where only the qualification fee of £100 is payable. Please call us on 0115 9123 412 to speak to our enrolment team for further information.
NDA has just returned from two busy days in London at the 'Design your Future' UCAS fair. Aimed at prospective students looking to study Art and Design courses, it gave NDA the opportunity to meet people interested in learning interior design and to talk about all the benefits of distance learning with us.
The show was a very colourful affair, with stands from University's and colleges from all over the country (and further a field; animation in Denmark anyone?) vying for attention with a multitude of freebie pens, badges and bags.
NDA's stand certainly stood out from the others as it was one of only two distance learning colleges at the fair and certainly offered some of the most affordable courses. Despite the fees going up next year attendance was high (over 4000) with many mature students at the show.
Tutors Vicky and Kim held a well attended workshop called Careers in Archtecture and Design that helped demistify the types of work people go into when graduating with an interior design qualification.
If you couldn't make it to either of the UCAS fairs, but want to talk to us about studying at NDA, then simply give us a call on 01159 123412 and ask to speak to tutors Vicky or Kim.
...thanks to Rob Sullivan, Managing Director at RS AV Solutions, who hand delivered a Meridian M80 - the best compact stereo system available in the world!
Pauline Riley and Anthony Rayworth receive the Meridian M80 from Rob Sullivan
It is only on loan, so unfortunately we can't keep it, but it will be at NDA for a while so that students can experience at first hand the clarity of sound produced by this state of the art audio equipment. Words can hardly describe the fantastic auditory pleasure that this little box effortlessly creates, suffice to say that playing your favourite albums on it will bring out a whole new dimension in the recordings that you would never have known was there. You can read all about Meridian on NDA's blog post about our recent visit.
Rob was kind enough to give an impromptu talk for students at the recent Muralto visit, which you can watch here. Rob spoke about how important it is to get audio visual professionals like RS AV solutions involved with the early stages of a project, because installing integrated AV equipment involves lots of cabling, and if brought in too late it could mean having to smash though walls that have already been painted and decorated.
RS AV solutions design and install bespoke automated audio visual systems, working with private clients in home settings, to much larger business projects. If you need advice about a project, get in touch, Rob will be more than happy to help.
It is also worth knowing that Meridian's entry level music system the M80 (pictured) has just had its price slashed down from £1,495 to £999, making high end audio more affordable for your clients.
