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By Alan Joch

Architects say their most forward-thinking clients want to blend hardware and software into the overall design for operational efficiency, and to reduce the expense of future upgrades and retrofits. To merge form and function successfully, architects and communications consultants must forge close working relationships, which can be tricky given that both groups often have strong opinions, and sometime large egos, about their respective work. “It’s sometimes very difficult for an architect to give up his aesthetic wishes for the sake of acoustical or video performance,” says Frank McCann, president and C.E.O. of McCann Systems, an A/V and telecommunications consultant based in Edison, New Jersey.

The challenge of finding a consultant with up-to-date credentials is compounded by the the pace of innovation coupled with a lack of standards for implementation. Communications technology evolves so quickly that few guidelines or case histories of similar projects exist. Often, clients know they want to use new technologies to meet their program objectives—but they rely heavily on their design teams to present them with options for the best way to arrange, install, and use the equipment. Architects and communications consultants must be able to articulate clear design solutions to make the most of the client’s investment in technology.

Thinking ahead

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As buildings incorporate videoconferencing and other communications techniques that require sending a lot of data over the wires in real time, designers must consider adding ancillary spaces to accommodate the variety of equipment needed. Depending on the project’s size, a building may need a full-blown multimedia control room where technicians can monitor equipment and adjust camera angles and sound levels. Architects may also include several smaller communications rooms throughout a building during programming—an expansion of the old telephone closets—to house racks of servers and communications hardware.

Accommodating these needs takes forethought. “Architects get us involved early on,” says Mike Ritchken, principal of the New York consulting firm DataVox Technologies. “We feed them the spatial requirements for a data center and individual technology rooms on individual floors. You don’t want to have to come back later to figure out how to stuff 10 pounds of material into a 5-pound bag.”

To avoid shoehorning, Highland Associates collaborated with McCann on Chase Manhattan Bank’s ChemNetwork in central New Jersey, where the company consolidated three disparate data centers into a single, 55,000-square-foot space. The renovated building includes a 15,000-square-foot financial command center and a special “war room” in one corner of the building for important meetings and data gathering and analysis. A model of high-tech appointments, one room includes a massive video wall that displays data from Chase Manhattan’s processing centers in New York City, as well as weather reports and news broadcasts. The video wall consists of a series of large, cube-shaped video systems fronted by display screens. The cubes work together as pieces of a mosaic to produce a single large image. “Architects are always concerned about what takes up space,” says Leitch. “The cubes take up extra space because you need areas behind them for air circulation and servicing. You can’t just plop them against a wall.”

Other consultants on this project were also asked to accommodate its video and data systems. Highland asked for specs earlier than usual from its electrical engineers and HVAC consultants, so they could ensure that the video system had sufficient electrical power and that the air-conditioning system could provide adequate cooling. The project team could ill-afford to underdesign these support systems, because the failure of a company’s data center can be disastrous and costly.