HLZAE Wins at the 2019 SMPS New York Liberty Awards

We are excited to announce that Howard L. Zimmerman Architects & Engineers, P.C. (HLZAE) was awarded the 2019 Video Award of Excellence by the Society of Marketing Professional Services. “The Evolution of Facade Ordinances” video created by HLZA served as a companion piece during the AIA panel discussion led by our very own Howard L. Zimmerman at the 2018 AIA Conference. The award was a result of countless hours of planning, strategy and production with a group of talented professionals, both internal and external to HLZAE.

Executive Director Andrew Zimmerman was one of the creators of this project and received the award on behalf of HLZAE and said,” We were really excited for the opportunity to present at the AIA Conference, in NYC- in our own backyard! We wanted to leave an impression on our audience about the importance of façade ordinances for the safety of our public. It was such a great experience to create this video through the collaboration of such a great team made up of both HLZAE members and the creative team at The929 Media. We hope this is the first of many videos to come out of our office.”

The video serves as a companion piece for an AIA panel
discussion led by Howard L. Zimmerman at the 2018 AIA Conference in New York.
It was designed to provide an overview of the evolution of façade legislation
over time, place this issue in the larger context of urban safety, and further
position our firm as an expert in identifying the kind of façade conditions
that lead to failure.

The evolution of Façade Ordinance in New York City video
combines research and enticing graphics to provide educational material
regarding what can we seen as an obscure topic. Using carefully designed
graphic elements, professional photography and animation, our video conveys the
importance of façade ordinances and safety in an urban environment.

Understanding that the AIA Conference audience is typically national, we set out to create a video that would be informative to architects across the country, to those who practice in cities with similar architectural, historical, and geographical conditions as New York but without such legislation. We also made a connection between construction method and facade failures, emphasizing the roles of material degradation and weather in building integrity. Our video succeeded in introducing a national audience to a topic that is specific to New York and other major cities where the legislation exists.

Finally, through our firms experience with facades and our
relationship with regulators and the industry, our firm is already considered a
thought leader in this matter. The video cements this position and strengthens
our core message.

We determined that a documentary-style video format
containing engaging content and clean graphics would be a great match to our
audience, topic, and message. Working with a video consultant, we developed a
script and graphic language, and shared the video on social media channels and
our website.

Acknowledgements: 929Media; Learned Media; Alexei Tajzler; Andrew Halpin; Andrew Zimmerman; Anthony Malara; Ashley Griffith; Bryan Scott; Charles Bransby-Zachary; David Pereza; Daniel Burlew; Flora Kwitman; Jane Felsen Gertler; Joseph Nevins; Joan Berkowitz; Margaret Hovorka; Moondeep Pradhananga; Philip Wong; Stephanie Bush; Susana Holguin-Veras; Adobe Stock; DBOX; Macklowe Properties & CIM Group; Shutterstock; Audiojungle; ABC 7 News; Videohive; New York Times; Wikimedia Commons.