San Franciscos ROBOTSPEAK Announces Special Goal For Modular Synth Building Workshops


San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) June 15, 2012

ROBOTSPEAK, the premier San Francisco music production school for electronic music, is beginning build sessions that concentrate on the construction of a historically accurate modular synthesizer from the early 1970s. This month’s module is the classic 1973 Serge Multimode Filter, a powerful and very flexible synthesizer module originally created by Serge Alexandrovich Tcherepnin during the 1970s.

As the summer progresses, we’ll be focusing on these elegant and unique Serge designs, both from the standpoint of circuitry and user interface, Steve Taormina of ROBOTSPEAK said. Upcoming builds will focus on several other unique Serge modules that together comprise a compact modular system. By fall 2012, we anticipate having several of these ‘replica’ CGS Serge Modular Systems nearing completion and being used in our modular analog synthesis theory classes that occur every few months.

The 1973 Serge Multimode Filter, which is the focus during June, has a very bright, somewhat acoustic sound quality. It features a range switch that kicks it into subharmonic mode for filtering low-frequency oscillations (LFOs), controlling voltages, etc.

Although the circuit can be built into most modular formats or a stand-alone box, the music production school has chosen to honor its heritage with a limited run of Serge-style face panels done with 1973-inspired panel graphics and banana-jack patching.

ROBOTSPEAK’s modular synth build sessions are conducted with a guest lecturer and utilize open class formats that encourage participants to work socially and co-operatively.

Joining a ROBOTSPEAK modular build session will not only provide you with a useful self-built tool to enhance your music making but will also allow you to become aware of the experience of creative and enjoyable problem-solving completed within a team, Taormina said. Each session will be overseen and advised by a different synth designer/builder, who will offer their expertise and time to bring back the communal modular synth building mind set from the past.

The workshops cost around $ 175 per session and the PCB and most of the supplies are included to build one module. Depending on what the workshop is building, the cost of materials and details may change. Be sure to check the blog for current information at http://www.coa-modular.com/workshops/.

We will build one every month, Taormina said. This is more than a product-based workshop. We want to build a monthly group where we can hang out and solder, and learn and share do it yourself (SDIY). Whatever system you have, we can help get your module regulated and paneled up. If you want to start a system, we can help get a case and power supply unit (psu) sorted.

Participants will be able to take their module home.

For the most current information about the workshops, visit ROBOTSPEAKs Facebook page.

To reserve a spot or for more information about any of ROBOTSPEAKs products or services, call 415-230-0840, or view the music production specialist on the Web at http://www.robotspeak.com or on Facebook. ROBOTSPEAK is located at 589 1/2 Haight St. in San Francisco and is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from noon to 6 p.m., and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. ROBOTSPEAK is also available by appointment.

About ROBOTSPEAK

ROBOTSPEAK is a school located in San Francisco that specializes in teaching basic to advance electronic music and DJ classes, such as handling different DJ equipment to learning music production. Its classes are designed to empower the home and project-studio musician with real-world skills, enabling them to make better music now with gear and musical instruments they actually own.







Breakthrough in Green Alternative Building Methods, Treehouses and Eco Modular Homes in Costa Rica, Built from Teak, Bamboo, Car Axles, Tires and Recyclable Materials

Puerto Jimenez, Peninsula de Osa, Costa Rica, Central America (PRWEB) July 25, 2012

Lapa’s Nest Treehouse uses only recycled car axles and wood pins for support. 58′ up in the air, no bolts or steel and engineered to ride it out in the canopy during the big 7.5 quake. 6 story tree house does not touch or harm the tree in any way. Prefabricated with Teak, bamboo, natural felled trees and recyclables. Lapa’s Nest is surrounded by nature, exotic birds and monkeys, 100% environmentally friendly sleeping 8 guests in 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and try the famous glass bottom shower.

HGTV, Bloomberg, Survivor VIP and Lloyd Kahn featured our Swiss Family Robinson style treehouse. Made completely from Asian Teak and from the fastest growing plant in the world, Bamboo, Asian and Columbian varieties are stronger than steel, great for posts, floor supports, roof trusses, walls, beams, furniture and cabinetry. Bug resistant and termite free, bamboo is self-sustaining and doesn’t require pesticides to grow. Bamboo sequesters 3 times more carbon than trees creating more oxygen and is the World’s most viable construction material. Sustainably architecture in tropical Central America is critical to conservation and preservation.

Eco friendly house plans consider watersheds, rivers and mangrove estuaries first before breaking ground. Political leaders in Central America should consider Teak, bamboo and precast concrete as a primary source for constructing public and private developments. Teak and bamboo contributes to affordable and sustainable green building. Build carbon neutral, build with a small footprint and build now. Keep the chainsaws out of the rainforest,and help preserve biodiversity. Offering sustainable architectural consultation in Central America since 2001.







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Ramtech Joins Hensel Phelps to Add New 4-Story Modular Building Barracks at Fort Sam Houston


Mansfield, TX (PRWEB) July 09, 2012

Ramtech Building Systems of Mansfield, Texas has announced that the company has secured a $ 9.7 million contract to provide the modular buildings for the fifth and final phase for the MILCON Unaccompanied Enlisted Personnel Housing (UEPH) Advanced Individual Training (AIT) Barracks to be used by the U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. The permanent modular construction project is part of a multiple task order under an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract previously awarded to the Southwest Division of Hensel Phelps Construction Co. in Austin, Texas. The Jacobs Engineering Group is under contract for architectural and engineering services for the project, while Ramtech will act as a strategic subcontractor by fabricating and installing the 152 individual modular floor sections that will be assembled to create the four-story, 272 room structure. Totaling 116,480 square feet, the manufacturing phase is slated to begin in September with a scheduled completion of December 2013.

Faced with the challenge of acquiring permanent facilities faster, better, cheaper, and greener, in 2005 the Army Corps of Engineers embarked on a master planning program to change the way it executed MILCON and BCA programs. Frustrated at not getting quality facilities in the timeframe it needed them, the Corps established a continuous building program that emphasized the standardization of facilities and processes while expanding the use of prefabricated buildings through the use of permanent modular construction. Ramtech has worked as a subcontractor to Hensel Phelps on several previous high-profile projects, including the construction and fabrication of 24 single and two-story administrative modules for the U.S. Army at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas and the manufacturing and construction of temporary modular barracks facilities for the Army’s 4th infantry division at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas. According to Gary White, Ramtech’s vice president sales and estimating, “we have built a great working relationship with Hensel Phelps from our previous projects together, and they recognize our ability to generate the speed and cost savings that modular construction can provide on a project of this size.”

Because the AIT barracks facility houses U.S. combat troops, the structure will be built to meet the Armys rigid Anti-Terrorism Force Protection (AT/FP) construction standards and progressive collapse requirements for buildings three stories and above. All of the modular floor sections are designed and built as a six-sided unitized box acting as a rigid cube when stacked together with the other sections. The permanent modular building will also meet the requirements of LEED Silver Certification by including waterless urinals, energy star roofing material, recycling of waste materials to achieve a 50% diversion of waste normally sent to land-fills, and utilization of construction materials with a 20% recycled content. Heating and cooling will be provided through a chilled water assist hydronic heat pump system with each unit serving one dorm room. Ramtech will be responsible for the plumbing and electrical connections as well as some of the interior finish-out including the ceramic tile installation. In addition to the sleeping areas, the building will also house a computer learning center, training area, and laundry facilities.

About Ramtech Building Systems

Since 1982 Mansfield, Texas-based Ramtech Building Systems has been providing innovative permanent modular buildings for government agencies, healthcare providers, Fortune 500 companies, and educational institutions throughout the Southern United States. As a design-build construction company, Ramtech offers full in-house design, a manufacturer direct product, and complete site construction services all within a single-source solution. By emphasizing a value engineering approach, Ramtech has successfully completed over 3,000 prefabricated buildings for diverse projects of all sizes. For more information, visit the company’s website at http://www.ramtechgroup.com.







Fortressing Against the Upcoming Hurricane Season: Building a Modular Home on Cape Cod


Westport, MA (PRWEB) June 18, 2012

During hurricane season, vacation homes along the shore can take a terrible beating from wind and waves. In recent years, the government agency FEMA has determined how we must engineer our homes in each area of the country to ensure quality standards. FEMA has also divided the U.S. shore regions into zones that include especially stringent requirements for home construction. FEMA regulations always supersede local zoning.

But one particular new home, whose construction was initiated this spring, is in whats called the North Zone, the worst wind zone in the Northeast. This area blankets the entire lower arm of Cape Cod because storms here can be very severe with wind loads of 120mph, or more. The Perfect Storm is a perfect example, but not the only example of the battering these stretches of beach have endured. The law requires that structural framing of shore house in this zone must be engineered to resist winds of this magnitude. The owner of this particular property, a doctor with a family including several young children, chose to go with a Modular Architect just to be sure his home was as strong as possible. Modular designs are thought to be stronger than traditionally built homes because modular construction has redundancy in the framing where the sections fit together. One of these fits is called the marriage wall, which is a sheer wall that inherently resists sideways forces of wind.

The chosen architect, Douglas Cutler A.I.A., founder of Modular Architecture in Wilton, CT, also engineered and designed this vacation home with impact resistant windows to keep the residents safe from shattering glass in the event that they were unable to evacuate before a storm. If the home is, hopefully, unoccupied, these windows will also protect the furnishings from wind and water damage.

Waves and Flooding

The government, in an effort to gain support for the new construction rules, has studied paths of hurricanes and determined minimum floor levels above high tide lines. They also determined how strong foundations must be in order resist wave action. When the doctor of the Cape Cod Modular decided to replace the existing bungalow on his property, the replacement floor had to be built 10 feet higher than the previous floor. The higher the floor, the less waves can chew away at it.

The foundation, too, is literally a pillar of strength. Douglas Cutler designed a series of 18 concrete piers, each one 12 feet high that come vertically out of the ground. The pillars are about 18 inches square, poured with 500 lb. reinforced concrete and adhered to the grade beam horizontal which lies 3.6 feet below the finished grade. The home is then placed above these pillars. This is code for the pillar depth and height in this area and even though there may be local regulations limiting the height of home. Once again, FEMA regulations always supersede local zoning for safety purposes.

Calm Weather Advantages of Modular

The doctors family wanted a vacation home with spectacular views. Douglas Cutler designed them a modular home that turns tradition on its head sleeping rooms on the bottom, living area on the top so that the family can take advantage of the breathtaking views from about 30 feet off the ground. On a clear day they will be able to see Marthas Vineyard and Cuttyhunk.

This Cape Cod home, set earlier this Spring, should be completed by midsummer 2012 right in time for hurricane season. The furniture will be moved in and the lobsters will be served, dripping with butter on one of the beautiful decks. There are carports beneath the piers, 4 bedrooms with 3 baths, decks and an open floor plan on the top. The lot is small, 1/4 acre or less which makes it ideal for building a modular home.

The differences between building a modular home and traditional stick-built construction can be confusing, but just remember that custom modular is simply a hybrid form of construction, says Douglas Cutler. The foundation is built conventionally but the rest is built in a factory except for the detailing In order to meet code and get the safest home available, designed to resist the main natural forces that exist, the architect must always lead in the planning. When is comes to strength, beauty and the latest amenities, home buyers and builders will have a super advantage if they call their modular architect first.

Learn more about Douglas Cutler Architects and their award winning modular designs at http://www.modulararchitecture.com