Craig DiLouie

There has been a recent moderation in the downturn in design services billings, but the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Architecture Billings Index (ABI) reveals that an economic recovery has stalled. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate 9- to 12-month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. [...]

Venetian lighting company Studio Italia Design commissioned self-taught artist, Denis Santachiara to create Magnetita, a contemporary, fully adjustable LED table light. The product features an advanced balancing system in which magnets maintain the luminaire’s equilibrium for precise movement. I checked on Studio Italia Design USA and the product wasn’t listed there as of June 17. [...]

The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) has announced that the 28th Annual Street and Area Lighting Conference–the only conference of its kind–will be held September 13-16, 2009 at Loews Philadelphia Hotel in Philadelphia, PA. The day prior to the conference sessions (Sunday) is devoted to outdoor lighting courses: introductory, intermediate, computer-aided exterior lighting [...]

Good news and bad news in June from NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI). The EBCI rating for current North American conditions retreated slightly in June, but the EBCI for future conditions (six months ahead) climbed to its highest level in nearly four years. The current conditions EBCI slid 6.6 points to 41.3, remaining below [...]

Hat tip to Michael Mandel, Business Week Magazine’s award-winning chief economist, who published the below excerpts from GE CEO Jeff Immelt’s Detroit speech on June 19. Check out Mandel’s economics blog here; it’s always worth a read. What do you think? Do you agree with Immelt? “Throughout my career, America has seen so much economic [...]

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Writing for the February 2009 issue of Electrical Contractor Magazine, I make the case that lighting quality should be an equal partner to energy savings in an upgrade of an existing building. In fact, doing so can can result in a larger project and more work for the contractor. The article includes references to the [...]

I’m pleased to unveil my new website here. My old website did its job for eight years. It was time for a major update. I hope you’ll give it a quick visit and let me know what you think!

Check it out here.