The Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta welcomes Serge Belair to the position of executive chef on February 1, 2017. The appointment, announced by venue General Manager Lisanne Lewis, brings one of the rising chefs into the job after Chef Serge received the award of Edmonton’s top 40 under 50 in 2015. He is no stranger to the venue, however, after working his way up the ranks since joining in 2005.

“Chef Serge has been a rising star that has proven he has the skillset and leadership to take over the culinary operations of Edmonton’s convention centre. His appointment ensures there is a smooth transition and the quality and consistency of meals served at the Shaw Conference Centre continues to be exceptional,” Lewis said.

He will replace the retiring Simon Smotkowicz, who departs the facility after 28 years to embark on a new chapter in his career. The footsteps that Belair replaces are huge as his predecessor has won numerous medals as a part of Canada’s Olympic Culinary team and has mentored many young chefs throughout the years.

Lewis acknowledged the outgoing chef and his work, noting that he “leaves behind a dedicated team and strong brand.”

Chef Serge’s impressive resume includes studying at Commission scolaire la Vallee de la Lievre and practical experience at Hotel Clarion Gatineau’s Restaurant La Pergola from 1999 to 2005. His rise within Shaw Conference Centre included stints as chef de partie in 2005, sous chef in 2007 and senior sous chef in 2011.

Photo by Curtis Comeau

SEATTLE, November 15, 2016 — LMN Architects, a multidisciplinary design firm with a reputation for distinctive, community-focused projects of all scales, announce the selection of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts as a recipient of the 2016 Global Award for Excellence from the Urban Land Institute (ULI).

Designed by LMN Architects in partnership with executive architects Marmon Mok Architecture, the $150 million expansion and renovation project embraces the multi-faceted cultural identity of the city with a distinctive tapestry of form, materiality, light, and landscape. The project was one of eleven real estate development projects from around the globe to have been selected as winners in the ULI 2016 Global Awards for Excellence program, widely recognized as one of the industry’s most prestigious awards programs. This year’s winners—representing projects in Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America—were honored recently at the ULI Fall Meeting in Dallas.

The jury noted that, “The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts brings a world-class, dynamic performance venue and gathering place to San Antonio, while creating a vibrant connection between the city’s main cultural venue and the famed River Walk.”

The program, established in 1979, recognizes real estate projects that achieve a high standard of excellence in design, construction, economics, planning, and management. Open to the entire industry (not just ULI members), the awards program is viewed as the centerpiece of ULI’s efforts to identify and promote best practices in all types of real estate development. “Cities are about people—the way people interact, get around, and go about their daily routines. Great cities are made of great places that make the urban experience easy and enjoyable,” said awards jury chairman Steve Navarro, executive vice president, CBRE l the Furman Co. in Greenville, South Carolina. “These projects reflect the highest standards of design, construction, economics, planning, and management. But most important: they are improving people’s quality of life.”

“The Global Awards for Excellence showcase efforts that have both succeeded in pushing ingenuity and exemplifying best practices in land use across the globe,” said Patrick L. Phillips, ULI global chief executive officer. “This year’s winners have demonstrated a committed contribution to responsible real estate development and a dedication to building thriving, livable communities.”

Completed in 2014, the facility offers a rich diversity of architectural experience, capable of continuous transformation in response to programmatic and environmental influences. While retaining the Municipal Auditorium’s treasured historic façade, the Tobin Center weaves a new 183,000-square-foot facility into its framework of public space—including a 1,768-seat main performance hall and 231-seat flat floor studio theater. The complexity of the facility reconfiguration called for a grand, unifying design gesture to integrate new and old architectural components. The solution—a porous, shimmering metallic veil—creates a sculptural, environmentally responsive expression that celebrates the cultural life of contemporary San Antonio. The veil begins low at the River Walk, and rises through irregular sheer planes to form an unmistakable new architectural presence in the San Antonio skyline.

“We drew inspiration for the architectural form and detailing from the Spanish Colonial style of the original 1926 Municipal Auditorium, as well as San Antonio’s rich vernacular of color, pattern, and public celebrations,” said Mark Reddington, FAIA, lead designer and partner at LMN Architects.

Goals for the expansion and renovation were threefold: to create a large, flexible, multi-use performance space with acoustics comparable to the world’s finest concert halls; to restore the iconic historic building for future generations; and to create a vibrant connection between the city’s main cultural venue and the River Walk. The completed project combines the historic preservation of one of San Antonio’s most beloved architectural icons with the most flexible multi-purpose performance hall in the United States.

In a statement, George Shaw, FAIA, partner in charge for the project said, “LMN is humbled and honored by this important recognition for the Tobin Center. To have played a role in helping to positively shape the urban culture and civic vitality of San Antonio is incredibly rewarding. We share this honor with our passionately dedicated client group and design team.”

The project is also the recipient of a 2016 Honor Award and a Mayor’s Choice Award from the San Antonio Chapter of the AIA, a 2016 AIA Washington Council Civic Design Awards, Award of Merit, and a 2012 Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Award.

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Schuler Shook announces the opening of its San Francisco Bay office and addition to its California team. The office is the natural product of Schuler Shook’s active presence and ongoing work in California and will help provide local expertise to our clients in the region.

Schuler Shook’s new office comprises a group of highly experienced and respected designers, including Heather McAvoy, ASTC, Principal; Harold “Chip” Ulich, ASTC, Project Theatre Consultant; and Kent Conrad, ASTC, Project Theatre Consultant.

Recent and current projects in the office include Stanford Memorial Auditorium and Pigott Theater Renovation, Madera Unified School District Theater, Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, Crested Butte Center for the Arts, and River Spirit Casino.

Chip Ulich has been a theatre consultant at Schuler Shook for ten years, planning and designing theatres for scores of clients. He is currently the Project Theatre Consultant for Crested Butte Center for the Arts in Colorado and Oklahoma State University McKnight Center for the Performing Arts. Chip is also the Vice President of the American Society of Theatre Consultants and has served in that capacity since 2015.

Joining Chip in the firm’s new San Francisco Bay office are Heather McAvoy, ASTC, and Kent Conrad, ASTC.

As a Principal at Schuler Shook, Heather is in charge of the office, applying her 30 years of experience in theatre consulting with another firm. She is a recognized leader in theatre planning and consulting, emphasizing collaboration and creativity in her approach to each project. She is also active in the industry as a Board member of the American Society of Theatre Consultants. Her theatre projects include the recently opened Roble Gym Complex Renovation at Stanford University, Thomas Theatre at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, CA.

Heather says, “Joining Schuler Shook is a great opportunity for me to bring more resources to my clients. I enjoy the collaborative environment at Schuler Shook, and I’m looking forward to this next chapter, working with my clients to solve their theatre needs.”

Kent Conrad’s background in theatre and performing arts is deep. He has served as production manager for the Arizona Theatre Company, American Theatre Company in Aspen and the UCLA department of Theater, Film and TV. For Walt Disney Entertainment, he consulted on two venues for Tokyo DisneySea theme park and was technical director for the initial shows. He is a scenic and lighting designer and brings those sensibilities into the theatre planning process. His theatre projects include Bakersfield College Performing Arts Center and Amphitheatre, Riverside City College Concert Hall, and Craterian Theatre at the Collier Center for the Performing Arts in Medford, OR.

Firm Partner Todd Hensley, ASTC, comments, “We’re excited to have Heather and Kent joining Chip in our California office. All three are great people to work with, very collaborative and collegial team members. Heather and Kent each bring incredible theatre planning experience and systems design expertise to our practice.”

Schuler Shook’s San Francisco Bay office is the firm’s fifth, joining their offices in Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, and Melbourne, Australia. Firm Partner Jack Hagler, ASTC, says, “This is an exciting time of growth that builds on our years of work in California, the Pacific Northwest and the region as a whole. The new office will allow us to support projects more robustly, as well as help us maintain the level of close client involvement and collaboration that we are known for.”

Get to know Heather, Chip and Kent.

It is deja vu all over again.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Have we not met before?

Like a bounced check, I have returned.

Call it whatever tired cliché you wish, but for me I will just say that it is good to be home once again as the senior editor of Facility Manager magazine. As your venues and your businesses are your babies, I always considered the caretaking of Facility Manager to be my baby when I worked at IAVM from 2000-2013.

I wanted to use this space to say thank you to everyone for your kind words of welcome. I have missed you but have been fortunate to have stayed connected to the industry through the kindness of Linda Deckard, who gave me the opportunity to write for her outstanding magazine for the last few years. Linda is a friend and I look forward to remaining in touch with her as we both serve this wonderful and unique industry.

You may have received an email from IAVM (What! An email from IAVM!) asking for you to place me on your media list and to help us with your contributions for an upcoming cover feature in the January 2017 Facility Manager, but I will be redundant in this space and again urge you to share your news with us so that we in return can share with the industry.

I thank so many of you for helping me navigate through the most difficult period of my life last year when my beautiful wife, Tanya, passed away at age 48 during a day surgery procedure. This was unexpected by me but was God’s plan. As I read recently in a devotional book, how can you lose someone when you know where they are at? I take that comfort in knowing where Tanya is and that one day I will be with her once more. But your prayers, calls, and emails really helped pull me through this void in my life, and I am forever grateful. This is just what this beautiful industry and its people do.

It is a new day at IAVM and a new day with Facility Manager, one that I am incredibly excited about. I look forward to the fun journey with you!

I recently returned from IAVM’s International Convention Center Conference (ICCC) in Pasadena. It was a great event, and I learned a lot from both the speakers and from the colleagues who I got to meet for the first time or get to know a little bit better. The convention center industry is vibrant and fun to be a part of!

Here are a few of my big take-aways from the event.

The Guest Experience is Driving Tech

The convention center industry as a whole is looking to advance, and new technology is an important part of that. I had many great conversations about technology, and a common theme was that convention center professionals feel that it’s critical for the industry to look forward. There were some great examples. For example, who from the event could forget how Event Presence used its proprietary LIVEBOTs to bring Jeffrey Tambor, John Quiñones, Larry King and Bob Walker to ICCC virtually?

Tapin2’s SmartVenueTM, a mobile ordering platform that makes it easy for guests, handles business on both sides. Or, as the company puts it, “drives concessions, merchandise, memorabilia and experience revenue.”

There’s the magic word: experience. Every piece of technology must improve the guest experience. All of the new technologies are centered around the guest experience during the conference or trade show, and also giving convention centers the opportunity to use technology as a selling point for meeting planners.  

Safety and Security Are Major Tech Considerations

Convention center safety and security departments are leveraging new technology that can easily be applied to provide a safer environment and improve real-time situational awareness. I heard from several people who stated that a major challenge for the convention center industry is the multiple safety and security systems with little integration or consistency.

Space Management Tech is a Game Changer

Meeting space management technology is an exciting area, and key to using spaces in new and different, more efficient ways. Aside from being able to better manage the traditional meeting spaces, non-traditional spaces – like hallway lobbies – are being used more and more for impromptu meetings, cocktail receptions, meeting breaks, etc. The event teams at convention centers can leverage technology to make the most of these spaces – and meet the needs of meeting planners – in a more efficient manner that’s also fun and different for the guests.

Thanks to IAVM for another great event!

To view the original story, visit Concept3D.