Transcript 0:00 [on-hold music] Talk to me. Information, news, and entertainment on demand. WUSradio.com. 0:10 [upbeat music] Welcome to The Peggy Smedley Show, the voice of IoT in our connected world, with your host, Peggy Smedley. [upbeat music] Hello, listeners, and welcome back to The Peggy Smedley Show. 0:26 My first guest has worked in design, transportation, and public art industry since nineteen seventy-one. 0:34 With an interest in addressing the aesthetic needs of highway infrastructure and urban development projects, he founded his company in nineteen ninety-eight. 0:43 He has worked with more than a quarter of the departments of transportation in the country, as well as with numerous architectural firms, design engineering companies, and developers nationwide. 0:55 Please welcome Steven Weitzman, present CEO of Creative Design Resolutions. Steven, welcome to the show. Hi. Hi, Peggy. Thank you so much. Nice to be here. 1:07 Well, Steven, it's, it's exciting to have you because you know why I'm enjoying this, because we talk about infrastructure, and we talk about so many different ways. 1:15 You know, I, I wanna start off by having you kind of explain a little bit about your company, even before I ask you the, the current state of things. Help us understand what your company is a little bit. 1:28 [clears throat] Well, the, um, as you know, the, um, our infrastructure across America are designed, uh, first and foremost, uh, to be safe and functional, and, uh, they are, uh, designed by the, uh, departments of transportation, uh, or they're outsourced, uh, design engineering firms, and they're very, very good at creating safe and functional bridges. 1:54 The, the, the parts about it now, uh, that are becoming more important, uh, to their constituents, uh, the cities, the stakeholders, and, uh, um, citizens are, uh, the way these large structures look and how they, uh, are programmed. 2:13 Because if you think about it, um, for the last, oh, I don't know, fifty, sixty years, uh, in, uh, in America, we've been designing these large concrete structures that, um, were meant to do what they do but weren't necessarily-- didn't integrate into their environment very well. 2:31 In the past, that wasn't really an issue because they were outside the urban centers. They were, um, you know, in the periphery. But now what's happening is now these projects are getting bigger. 2:43 They're, they're becoming no-- more localized. They're in the, the hearts of the city. They're at the entrance to the states. 2:49 And because of this, they, they have, um, more importance, more prominence because the, they are literally the, uh, figuratively the elephant in the living room. 2:59 Um, uh, these are enormous structures that, um, contextually, at least from our point of view, should tell a story about where they are. 3:11 They, they shou-- they ha-- we have an opportunity to take these and for them to visually speak to the community that they're in, uh, their history, their aspirations for the future, the people, et cetera. 3:25 Because, uh, wh-because why not? If you're going to, uh, cast these concrete structures into forms, um, then why, why not the architecture? Why not the programming? 3:36 Why not the, uh, the way the, um, the public uses these structures? Why can't they, uh, express the, the, uh, the story of where, where you are? Because, um, uh, people take pride in that. 3:51 And there's ways of doing that, uh, very economically because it's-- so a lot of those money's already built into the construction project itself, and that's what our company does. 4:02 We are a, an aesthetic design firm versus an engineering design firm. And that, that makes us unique now. So are you- Mm-hmm. Yeah. 4:10 A-are you basically saying then, so the aesthetic side of things, so because the reason I wanted you to clarify that, because are you saying then we should be talking aesthetics first, or do we need to really be talking safety and functionality first? 4:27 Because it's an interesting conversation because it's the same thing I always talk on this radio show about. We talk about connecting things to the internet, and we never looked at security first. 4:38 We just wanted speed first, get it connected, and nobody even worried about if something was gonna be hacked. So now we're talking about- Right... connecting all these things to the roadways. 4:47 We don't even know what's gonna happen. We just are wanting all these connected cars. 4:51 We don't have a clue people are gonna be running into the [chuckles] each other, autonomous vehicles, well, we say we do, but, I mean, the idea thing is we got all these connected lights, but we have to worry about building it first. 5:03 Yet, are we talking about aesthetics? But although when we build it, we can actually be making safer roads at the same time and eliminating distracted driving. 5:11 So that aesthetics you're talking about has a dual function here. Oh, it, it certainly does, and you, you, you've articulated it perfectly, and, and, and you're absolutely right. 5:23 And, and, uh, to that point, it always will have to be safe first and functional next. And then we talk about aesthetics. Because if it isn't safe, then y-we, then it has failed. 5:38 And if it isn't functional, it has failed. The, the aesthetics come in because... 5:43 Well, if you think about it, uh, Peggy, uh, who would build a fifty million dollar office building and not care what it looks like in an urban center? Nobody. 5:54 It-- But we've been building highways and bridges for the last, you know, uh, fifty, sixty, seventy years-Um, and, and not caring as much about the aesthetics because really the focus is let's make it, uh, economical, let's make it, uh, uh, safe and functional. 6:14 And that's where we come in. We're actually bilingual. And what I mean by that is we speak aesthetics and we speak engineering. So we take the, the necessities of the engineering requirements of any project. 6:28 We meet with the, um, departments of transportation, we meet with the city, we meet with their stakeholders. 6:35 We create a, uh, a, a conversation with them, so they can help inform how these structures should be addressed, programmed, so as to make them of the place. 6:51 And when you look at that right now, why haven't we done enough when we look at the roadways right now? 6:57 Because we know right now that we can build roads better that would eliminate distracted driving and things like that. Why aren't we doing? Or we can build buildings that are, that are environmentally better. 7:12 We can do things and yet can be aesthetically more pleasing. Why aren't we doing it? Is it cost? Is it-- Is it-- What is it that we're... I mean, what is the hindrance? Why aren't we doing these? 7:23 Because life's-- a life at the end of the day is a life, and there's a lot of cost associated with that. I, I just can't fathom why we're not doing it. Are we saying we can't get the taxpayers willing to do it? 7:36 We can't get, and I always say this, public and private partnerships, we can't get the politicians to get their acts together to come and, and, and unite and do this because we've got one side arguing one point and the other side. 7:48 But I'll bet you if we got our citizens to rally and they cried enough about it, we could change the world. I mean, what is the real problem behind all this? Well, it's, it's actually not that, um, that difficult. 8:02 The, the, uh, and I don't even think it's a, a matter of the, uh, the, the, the states, the citizens, the cities, uh, or, or the engineers not wanting these things. 8:16 Uh, Peggy, keep in mind, it's a different language, if you wanna think of it that way. 8:21 You know, um, i-if you look at bridges that were built up, up to, let's say the, um, uh, before World War II, all the, you know, look at the historic bridges you would see, um, around America that are very ornate and very, um, um, made of the time, Art Deco and, you know, all, all different styles of bridges. 8:40 They were very ornamented at that point. Uh, and, uh, and then we-- right after World War II, we got into an architectural style, Bauhaus, where things became very simple. They were just functional. 8:53 And, and they were inexpensive that way. They were just, you know, very linear in their construction, uh, simple in their, um, in, in that pursuit, and then, and that's how we were doing it. 9:03 But as these, um, uh, the, the success of having these interchanges and so on, which, uh, allowed these cities to expand and more businesses and neighborhoods, uh, to become more viable, well, now these things in, in your backyard. 9:21 And if it's in your backyard or you're driving by it, um, every day, uh, you know, half an hour in each direction, uh, it, it, it becomes a little bit much, especially when it's just a big concrete structure, and it's not really speaking to you at all. 9:36 Versus driving through someplace, if you're visiting, that you've never been to before, and you're passing under a bridge or by a highway wall, and there you see, 9:48 um, uh, cast into that concrete elements that speak to, um, uh, the state, the flora and fauna of the state, the commerce that was there. 9:58 Um, it's, it, the, uh, uh, the, the possibilities are endless, and this is why we have been, uh, I guess, uh, in such demand because w-w- our-- the context, the way these things are programmed are, are defined by, in part, the citizens of the city and, uh, uh, they're in and the departments of transportation we work with. 10:24 And regarding cost, you know, the, the illusion is that these things all have to cost more money. 10:32 But if they are, uh, designed, uh, starting at the D&D or design development, if you get, um, a design, uh, aesthetics design firm like ours, uh, brought in early enough, 10:45 these things can be designed within the construction process itself because some of these are just arbitrary architectural decisions, and I'll give you an example. 10:55 If you're, if you're going to create, um, uh, piers, which are those vertical supports that hold up a bridge, you might have some choices of, of a group of piers that are round column piers or square column piers or something called a hammerhead pier, which is a different shape, or a pier wall, which is a different shape. 11:16 So in other words, every one of these clusters of, of, of columns or different shaped walls, they'll all carry a load. They'll all carry the same load, and they are more or less the same cost. 11:30 But the look of them is different, and that can play into the architectural style of the bridge. 11:36 Because the cost of casting a square yard of concrete, the aggregate costs include, of course, cement, water, stone, a form, and a form liner. 11:51 So that's already in the construction cost already. Now it's a matter of changing the cake mold to be something that is, um, uh, um, contextually of that location. 12:05 Does that make sense?So really what you're talking about is how do you create the process that is inclusive? I, I think that provides a voice, you know, that you get everyone to agree then on what those columns might be. 12:20 You get your clients, your stakeholders, your constituents- Mm-hmm. The community citizens. I mean, 'cause everybody's got an opinion on everything these days. I mean- Of course. We've seen social media. 12:30 Everybody wants to say something, you know, so nobody can agree on anything, but everybody has got an opinion on everything. So I mean- That's true. How do you get them to dec-decide on what that... 12:40 those four columns you just described, which one's gonna be the right column for that town, that community, and is gonna be aesthetically pleasing to everybody coming in and leaving that community? Yeah. You know, 12:57 it, it, it's a good question, and it's, it's funny because the engineer, uh, the DOTs I work with and the engineers of record that they engage always look at these community meetings, um, w-with a little apprehension because, as they have said to me in the past, "Well, well, good luck, Steven. 13:16 You know, it's, it's like herding cats. You know, everyone has an opinion," like you said. And, and I said, "Well, but, you know, actually herding cats is, is easy." 13:27 And they looked at me kind of si-- you know, sideways, and they said, "Well, what do you mean herding cats is easy?" I say, "The-- Herding cats is easy. 13:35 The way you get, um, cats to follow you is you give them what they want." 13:41 The, the trick is to find out what they want, and that is not as difficult as you think because really what it, it, it, um, involves is that conversation, is being able to sit or stand in front of a group and say, 13:59 "Tell me, what it is-- how do you see yourself? How do you see your community? What's important to you? Is it your past? Is it what you're doing now? Is it what you aspire for? Is, is, is it your commerce? 14:12 Is it the natural environment? You're very proud of that river that goes through your city. What is it that speaks to you? 14:19 And, and if you don't want to tell me or you're too shy, and I'll try to draw them out, well, then you'll just have... you'll leave it up to us, and we'll make some aesthetic decisions on our own and present them to you. 14:33 And, and that-- And we might get lucky and, and get something exactly what you want. But I will assure you it will be exactly or close to what you want if you inform us by just talking with us." 14:47 And we have always been able to do that. We have never not been able to give the client what they wanted because the clients are involved in the process, and so is the DOT. 14:57 And in fact, the DOT and their engineering firms, of course, have per se because they know what is buildable, what they want to do, but so it's a collaborative, uh, um, a process thing. 15:11 But Steven, help me understand this because you have to know. Sure. 15:15 The needs and the desires of the DOT sometimes clash or differ from what the desires are from, let's say, city officials or let's say the community's needs or wants aesthetically. Right. 15:30 Or even what have to be just realistically for the ability, let's just say, for getting traffic around, you know, that ability- Right. 15:38 For what they have to do, and sometimes those are projects and those needs differ from what the client might be. The client is your DOT, but yet you have the project is the needs are different in some ways. Sure. 15:50 And there's got to be some yin-yang kind of thing going on there. I mean, that has to happen, right? Oh, ab-- there's no question. Uh, well, um, I can give you a couple of examples. Uh, so for example, let's say the-- 16:06 before we even have a community, uh, outreach meeting, um, there might be a possibility. 16:12 Let's say the, the Department of Transportation has heard from the city that they want this bridge to be a signature bridge because it's right at the entrance to their city. 16:22 So, you know, sometimes you have the opportunity to use LED lights and that kind of thing to, to program this particular bridge to make it look more, um, attractive, to be seen at a, at a distance as well as, as close up or maybe it has a pedestrian facility they like. 16:39 But they inform us they don't want to have LED lights because they don't want to have to deal with the maintenance. They don't want to have to deal with the maintenance. 16:49 Now, if the city wants to maintain them, they can at their expense, but, but the DOT doesn't want to, and they already suspect that perhaps that might just be too much of a maintenance, uh, issue going forward. 17:03 "So Steven, let's shy away from LED lights for that reason." 17:08 So in the presentation, although we have done projects that have LED lights and, and they work very well and they're lovely, if that comes up in a conversation, I will just merely say that. 17:17 I will say, "The DOT, I think, would probably, um, like to shy away from that because of maintenance and the expense and, uh, for them or for you. 17:26 But there are other ways to make this attractive," and then we move on to those other ways, you see. Um, we did a project in, uh, Tucson, Arizona, uh, in, in, uh, in a, um, a bridge over a wash. 17:41 It was, uh, about seven hundred feet long. There were communities within this, uh, high desert area, and they really liked to see the stars at night, these communities. 17:52 They said, "We don't want any lights on this bridge whatsoever, but we want it to be a signature bridge." It's called the La Cholla Bridge 'cause, uh, it's on La Cholla Boulevard. 18:03 La Cholla is our cactus and that kind of thing. So we were able to, because we were brought on early enough, we were able to actually, uh, um, affect the architectural style of the bridgeAs well as the programming of it. 18:16 So the shape of the bridge, the shape of the railing, uh, the, uh, textures on the inside, where the hike bike path was that looked like cactus and all of that. 18:26 We happened to use, uh, lights and so on, taking, uh, our guidance from the colors and the flora and fauna of that area. 18:38 Um, and that-- all of that information was derived from the, the citizens, the public, and approved by the DOT. And that project, in the first six months, won five awards. 18:52 And, and, and I say that not, uh, pridefully for myself, but just the, the process itself is really root at this point. 19:02 Uh, and, and if we follow this, it never goes over budget and, and it, it, uh, never delays the project. And, and everyone is satisfied because they take ownership to it because they were involved. 19:12 Respectfully help me understand this, Steven. Not to interrupt, I apologize. Sure. But help me understand how... 19:18 what's the process that I know you said early on, but is there a way that you can help me understand how do you help these companies look at their, let's say, their makes their highways or their bridges aesthetically appropriate? 19:33 Let's even like the timeliness in their designs. I know you said being there early on and speaks to the communities they're in just by talking to the people, because everybody's got a difference. 19:44 I mean, even when you're decorating a home, everybody's got an opinion on what that home would be. 19:47 But when you have a lot of different personalities and a lot of different views, trying to get, you said herding cats, but getting everyone to see, but how does it last the test of time? 19:58 I mean, also the technologies, the ability, you know, we've already seen our infrastructure has got a D+ by the ASCE, right? That we don't have them. 20:08 How do you help them now look at the right technology so that it can help look going forward that we're using the right technologies and, and can manage it going forward? 20:18 Maybe in the past we didn't, but how do you help these companies and communities looking at the right technologies from an engineering perspective so that we have its safety kind of things that we want, that it's not a crumbling bridge, that we can monitor. 20:33 Are there things now that you bring to the table that says, "Look, it's not only aesthetically, we're looking at a safety." Because those two things, as you said, have to be brought together. 20:41 But because sometimes putting safety in there doesn't necessarily make it aesthetically pleasing, and there are some things... or can you do that? 20:49 But how do you get those things to come together so that the communities-- I mean, are there-- is there a checklist that you always say, "Okay, these are the ten things we have to go through," or there is a checklist that we make everyone have to look at and say, "Y'all have to kinda come together on these." 21:06 There's some things we routinely go after. Is there something-- It's just not saying, "Okay, I gotta get y'all to agree," but are there some routine that you make them go through? Exercise, I guess. 21:17 [laughs] It's, it's, it's a, it's a process, but it's a very simple process. I mean, uh, it, it, uh, in, in this case, uh, when we have these community meetings, 21:28 we are, we are addressing, um, as I, as I, uh, started the conversation, what is important to you? How do you see your community? 21:37 For example, uh, your, you know, the, the commerce that began your community, you know, a hundred years ago, uh, what you're... 21:44 the high-tech, uh, uh, uh, commerce that you're doing now or in the future, you know, whatever those things are. And we make a survey. 21:52 And that survey, uh, we leave with them, uh, in addition to, uh, any comments that they have, uh, uh, offered, uh, at the meeting. 22:01 And then these things are vetted by, um, uh, and se-- uh, and, and, uh, collected by the Department of Transportation and ourselves as the citizens fill it in over those, you know, few weeks after the meeting. 22:15 And that becomes our guide, you see, because the-- you will-- you'd be surprised that there is, there is consensus. 22:21 You're not gonna send out fifty or receive fifty or a hundred or a hundred and fifty surveys with a hundred and fifty different answers. You, you, you won't, because we never have. Because there is a commonality. 22:36 You know that in your city and everyone's city, there's a pride, uh, of place. And that's what we're trying to do because like you, we're storytellers. That's what we do. 22:48 We come in, and we tell the story of the place, not defined by us, defined by the people that live there. But all these things are done through the Department of Transportation, best methods, normal processes. 23:02 Nothing that we do is different than any aspect of the normal engineering, uh, process of creating roadway and bridge projects. 23:13 Now, the, uh, te-- as far as technology goes, well, I mean, we're, we're working on projects right now where, you know, our, our, um... 23:21 there's a project right now where our, uh, light standards on the bridge are, are solar and wind generated. We, we've been, um, um, playing with, uh... there's one, um, 23:31 Department of Transportation we've been working with where we want to start including piezoelectricity. That means creating electricity by the vibrations that, that happen on bridges. 23:43 Uh, um, imagine how much wind is created by the cars going by. You, you see, there's so much energy, so many ways of, of capturing energy. 23:55 Now, this technology, I, I don't think is advanced enough yet, but you can see the potential. The rest of it is engineering, and, and that is something that is-- I leave to the engineers. 24:07 The engineer's, uh, wheelhouse is to create functional, safe, um, um, uh, ingress and egress or, or roadways, uh, uh, for their citizens and communities.Our job is to take them and make them architecturally and programmably of the place, creating community spaces, uh, places of respite, uh, places to tell a story, whether you see it from a distance or you see it, uh, from a half a mile away, or you're right on top of it or right underneath it. 24:41 So where do you think what's needed to move us forward? 24:44 Because we talk about we have this failing infrastructure in general, and if we can get people on the same page, why haven't we moved forward up to this point, both es-aesthetically that we have as well as the ability to design these or rebuild our infrastructure? 25:03 Well, I, I think it's, it's conversations like you, you and I are having right now. 25:08 I mean, I [laughs] just a-as an example, my, uh, just this month alone, I'm presenting to North, uh, Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, the state of Washington, um, Florida, um, and, uh, one other... 25:25 Oh, um, um, uh, Akron, uh, in Akron, Ohio. So w-w-- the way we get the information to those decision makers is by merely showing them what is possible, what is being done for these last decades. 25:42 This is not pie in the sky. This is not a, a new, um, uh, uh, um, uh, a, a new wheel to, to test drive. 25:52 This is actually something that's been going on for decades, and it works very well, and it's just informing those people that actually don't know how to get from here to there. How do you incorporate aesthetics? 26:06 How do you incorporate the... This is the question: How does a DOT incorporate a design firm li- uh, an aesthetic design firm like ours different than they would an engineering design firm? 26:19 They're set up to engage engineering professional service companies like, uh, uh, engineering firms to do this kind of work, but, but an aesthetic design firm like ours, they don't always actually have a protocol. 26:35 Stephen, we're out of time. Yes. But our listeners can go find you at creativedesignresolutions.com. Thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it. It was m-my pleasure. Thank you. Bye-bye. 26:45 All right, listeners, stick around. We've got more to come right here on The Peggy Smedley Show. Remember, with great technology comes great responsibility. We'll be right back. 26:53 [upbeat music] Signal to noise, an electronic term with new relevance on the internet. 27:03 Connected World Media cuts through the noise of data overload and finds you the signal of important information, information that will keep you current and aware of context in the Internet of Things. 27:14 Peggy Smedley shares her insights on The Peggy Smedley Show and in Connected World magazine, all online at connectedworld.com. Stay current and competitive at connectedworld.com. 27:28 [upbeat music] Thank you for listening to WS Radio. Improve your business and your life with useful information from experts and thought leaders. WS Radio is radio with ROI. 27:42 [upbeat music] With great technology comes great responsibility. Follow Internet of Things tech expert and futurist Peggy Smedley, repeatedly ranked as a top IoT and M2M influencer. 27:56 Go to peggy_smedley on Twitter for her take on the latest tech news and lively interviews with other industry insiders on her weekly radio show. Visit twitter.com and search for peggy_smedley to follow her today. 28:11 [upbeat music] Video consumption is on the rise, so to reach this audience, Constructek Magazine created Constructek TV. 28:23 Constructek TV helps construction professionals leverage emerging solutions to better their business. Tune in to constructek.tv to catch the latest show on the first and third Tuesday of each month. 28:34 Like, view, and subscribe to constructek.tv. Bringing dynamic video to construction. 28:41 [upbeat music] Did you know the majority of radio listeners are between the ages of thirty-five and fifty-four, have a household income of more than one hundred thousand dollars, are classified as executives or professionals, and share the show they listen to? 28:56 Become part of The Peggy Smedley Show to reach listeners looking for information on connected devices through cost-effective radio commercials or segment sponsorships. 29:04 Contact us at six three three nine three three zero eight four four for more information, or visit peggysmedleyshow.com. [upbeat music] Small businesses are the lifeblood of America's economy. 29:16 Every Thursday, SBA Radio interviews industry professionals and is dedicated to provide small businesses with timely insights and innovations. Visit www.sbaradio.us for details. 29:28 [upbeat music] Education, industry experts, back to the basics. Is your company using the Internet of Things to its fullest potential? 29:34 Enlist the Peggy Smedley Institute and its team of experts to create a customized plan for how to apply the IoT to your specific needs. 29:43 Learn everything you need to know to achieve tangible business outcomes in today's digital economy. Contact us at six three zero nine three three zero eight four four. 29:52 That's six three zero nine three three zero eight four four, or visit learnatIoT.com.
