The Buildy nominations are in. Nominated by their peers, the finalists in each of the four categories for the 2005 Buildy Awards have been chosen. Designed to increase awareness of the benefits of whole building integration and honor successful implementation strategies, the Buildy Awards Program celebrates the North American organizations and individuals who best support the vision of networked buildings.

The winners of the 2005 Buildy Awards will be selected by the BuilConn attendees during the Building Systems Expo on March 23 and announced at the BuilConn Awards Gala, March 24, in Dallas. Ballots can be cast during either the afternoon or evening Expo sessions. The finalists in the Best Integration and Best Building categories will have the opportunity to promote their project to Buildy voters during the Wednesday afternoon CaseStudies@BuilConn track. In separate sessions, Buildy voters can evaluate and compare Best Integration and Best Building finalists to make an informed decision before casting their ballot. For the Buildy finalists, these sessions provide additional exposure and an opportunity to showcase their achievements with networked building systems.

Within the four award categories -- Vision, Best Integration Project, Best Product, and Best Building -- the finalists are an interesting mix representing all facets of the integration process.

The Vision award will be presented to the industry professional that best demonstrates a vision of whole building integration and interoperability through advocacy, promotion, educational, and training endeavors. The finalists in this category are:

Ken and Jane Sinclair, editor and publisher of AutomatedBuildings.com
Richard Newberry, president and CEO of KMC Controls, Inc.
Tom Lohner, vice president of Teng Solutions
John Petze, president and CEO of Tridium
Tracy Markie, president of Engenuity Systems
Mark A. Noyes, president and CEO of WebGen Systems
Awarded to a systems integrator, the recipient of the Best Integration Project award demonstrates the ability to efficiently integrate a wide array of building systems together and successfully enable operation over a corporate IT infrastructure. Representing North Americas integrators in this category are:

TEC Systems for the Madison Avenue and 42nd Street Building, Manhattan, NY
Trane for the Allen County Public Library Expansion and Renovation, Fort Wayne, IN
MacDonald-Miller for the Tacoma Financial Center, Tacoma, WA
Control Solutions for the Elgin Community College, Chicago
Johnson Controls San Diego Branch Office for the Camp Pendleton Project in San Diego

Honoring a manufacturer whose new product or service overcame a significant challenge, enhanced, or simplified the integration process, the finalists for Best New Product are:

Circon's Access Control System
Richards-Zeta's Omega Web-Based Graphical User Interface
Tridium's Niagara Appliance
Ember's Line of Zigbee-Ready Processors
Cyrus Technologies' Hosted Controls Web-Based Graphical User Interface

The Best Building award is presented to the building owner or consultant with the most progressive building technology supporting the vision of whole building integration. The finalists for Best Building are:

Teng Solutions and Program Manager Lori Amos for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta
Siemens Building Technologies and Alegent Health for the Lakeside Hospital in Omaha, NE
Facility Manager Jones Lang LaSalle and Integrator ControlNET for the Whirlpool Corporation, Benton Harbor, MI
TD Industries for The Container Store Headquarters and Regional Distribution Warehouse, Coppell, TX

The third annual event will be held in Dallas, March 21-24, 2005 at the Adam's Mark Hotel Dallas. For further information, please visit www.builconn.com.