Years ago, the biggest question about a new piece of furniture was “Where in the room should it go?”

Increasingly, the biggest question is “How do I put it together?”

Ready-to-assemble, or RTA, furniture has become a fact of life. It is less expensive to buy and, because it can be shipped flat, less expensive to deliver. The trade-off for the low price used to be furniture that looked like you put it together yourself. Read more…

Website Pros, Inc. , a leading provider of Web services and online marketing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses, announces the release of NetObjects Fusion 10. This update of Website Pros website-building software provides all the necessary tools to build, publish, and maintain professional websites. The revised software continues the momentum generated by NetObjects Fusion 9, which received Computer Buyer Magazine’s “5-out-of-5-Star Rating - Value for the Money” award, among other accolades.

From personal homepages to complex website structures, NetObjects Fusion 10 enables users to quickly and efficiently become an Internet presence. NetObjects Fusion 10 requires no programming or HTML experience, and is designed to grow with the user as website needs and knowledge increase. Read more…

Autodesk, Inc. today announced that CO Architects has received the first Autodesk Revit BIM Experience Award. This new award honors firms for their innovation and excellence in implementing the Autodesk Revit platform for building information modeling (BIM) to create quality, complex designs and collaborate across the building design disciplines.

CO Architects, a nationally recognized expert in academic, research, healthcare planning and design, is based in Los Angeles. The firm is known for its collaborative approach to determining the strategic needs of each project and the company strives to leverage the latest technology and take advantage of the most current trends to design graceful buildings that fulfill technical and functional expectations. Early on, the firm realized that BIM was the direction the industry was headed. CO chose the Autodesk Revit platform for BIM because they felt it was the most established and reliable solution on the market and because of its ability to continually integrate the various project stakeholders. CVIS, the local Autodesk reseller and Autodesk Consulting, Autodesk’s professional services group, provided training and implementation services to facilitate CO Architects move to BIM. Read more…

Baker Barrios Architects Inc. has completed design plans for Kuhn Cos.’ new Dolive building in downtown Orlando.

The $45 million commercial building at Washington Street and Orange Avenue will feature 224,000 square feet of office space, 17,500 square feet of retail space and an eight-floor parking garage.

Baker Barrios is handling comprehensive architectural services, interior design and construction administration. Read more…

JSY Systems Leads Consortium to Provide Integrated Solution to Public Works Department With Autodesk Revit Platform for BIM and Autodesk Civil 3D

Autodesk, Inc. today announced that JSY Systems, a leading systems integration company based in Brunei has signed an agreement with the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Ministry of Development of the Sultanate of Brunei for The Project Management, Design, Supply, Delivery, Installation, Integration, Development, Testing, Training, Commissioning and Maintenance of an Integrated Document Production System (IDPS) for the Public Works Department (PWD). Expected to be completed by September 2007, the IDPS solution will standardize all public building design, construction and management processes, enabling Brunei to increase delivery speed, decrease costs, increase productivity and enhance the overall quality of public building construction across the country. Read more…

The cumulative effects of the regional construction boom, pegged at $1 trillion, have boosted interest in allied sectors as a host of interior designers, landscaping professionals, architects, design consultants, chefs and lifestyle participate in the Dubai Ideal Home Show. The expo is scheduled to be held at Airport Expo Dubai from Nov 30 to Dec 3, 2006.

“The roll-on effect of the regional construction boom on related industries including interior and exterior design, kitchen, table and dining products, home technology, arts and crafts for the home, and garden & outdoor living that seek to capitalize on this development has been immense,” said Christopher Hudson, Exhibition Director, Messe Frankfurt, organisers of the show.
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Consider the plants and trees of your prospective home in terms of what the property can do for you.

While many home buyers have house inspections, even the savviest often overlook the benefit of assessing the landscape. Ground isn’t always as malleable as you might think. There are some elements that can be more difficult to change on a property than in the house, such as which way the water flows and the steepness of your slopes. Read more…

Swedish furniture giant IKEA is making the final touch-ups before its second store in Singapore opens this Thursday.

Those who say bigger is not always better may change their minds after visiting the new IKEA store, the size of three football fields, at Tampines North Drive 2.

Staff are busy with final preparations to receive the 30,000-strong crowd expected on opening day. Read more…

Furniture Fair plans to open its largest area store in Cold Spring, bringing commerce to a shopping center that’s been missing an anchor since K-Mart closed at the same location several years ago.

“It is the largest Furniture Fair yet,” said Ed Hartman, director of marketing for Furniture Fair.

The building is 95,000 square feet.

The company decided to locate in Cold Spring because it’s a fast growing area with attractive demographics, Hartman said. Read more…

The Philippines’ fifth participation in Index Dubai, an annual trade expo in the Middle East for the furniture and interior design industry, generated a total of US$6.67 million in export sales, a 39 per cent increase from last year’s business deal of US$4.8 million, according to the Centre for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM).

The exhibition attracted thousands of trade visitors representing various sectors from interior design, furniture manufacturing, architecture, hotel/restaurant, government agencies and retail malls around the globe. 1,650 exhibitors from 57 countries participated in the show.
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