Space planning for video teleconferencing facilities. (Energy Resources & Management).

Companies and building owners alike have come to recognize the value of video teleconferencing facilities. This trend has only been accelerated by the high cost of business travel and the unease generated by Sept 11.

When it is well executed, video teleconferencing duplicates the psychological advantages of face-to-face contact. It also enables participants to collaborate on documents, including detailed spreadsheets, manipulating data as if they were both working on the same computer.

If it is to be effective, a video teleconferencing facility should be a dedicated space. Although a multipurpose conference, board, and video teleconferencing set-up might seem ideal from a budget perspective, it is extremely difficult to meet the conflicting goals and standards of these types of meeting spaces in a single facility.

The is more to effective video teleconferencing than installing a few cameras and monitors. Here is what to consider when planning anew facility.

The most important step in planning a video teleconferencing facility is to start early in the schematic design phase to select the best location. Make sure the audiovisual and acoustical consultants work closely with the architect during the initial stages of room design.

In locating a space for a video teleconferencing facility, the most important consideration is the ambient noise level. Plan a space located at the building's interior. A room with no exterior windows avoids the intrusion of outside sounds. However, avoid shoehoming rooms beside machine rooms, air handling units, the elevator bank, or noisy public spaces.

Practically speaking, the degree of choice may depend on the location and footprint of the building. A tall, narrow, urban office building may offer only two options: A room with windows on the exterior or a room at the core, beside the elevator bank or utility shafts. A suburban building with a larger footprint may offer more choices. With creativity and early planning, a good location can be developed in any building.

In any case, ensure the space will not exceed a noise criteria rating of 35 decibels. This means particular attention must be paid to design and selection of the air handling system, it must be a high volume, low velocity system. There are other acoustical considerations, as well. This is why it is essential to include an acoustical consultant on the planning and design team.

Determine how many people will participate in a typical videoconference; ideally, there will be a maximum of 10 to 12 people. When there are more than 12, camera angles are awkward and images are too small to maintain effective eye contact. A room measuring 10-foot by 10-foot will accommodate a maximum of four persons; a 15-foot by 15-foot room will accommodate five to six. A 20-foot by 20-foot room will accommodate up to eight primary participants, room for aback row or "peanut gallery".

A square room is ideal because it allows seating to avoid camera refocusing or the need for multiple cameras, both of which complicate the process and detract from the natural, face-to-face effect that is the goal.

Another important consideration is the relationship between room size and video display screen size and type. As room size increases, so should the video display screen. The smallest rooms can use 27-inch video monitors. Larger rooms (20-foot by 20-foot) will require large video displays -- up to 50 inches for standard display screens or 60 inches for flat screen plasma displays.

Beyond the 20-foot square room, larger, rear projection video screens should be used to make the images larger. The rule of thumb is to measure the distance of the farthest viewer from the screen and divide by eight to determine the minimum screen height. This result, multiplied by 1.666, yields the screen diagonal dimension. Front projection screens should not be used because room lights that must be bright for video cameras to work properly will wash out the projected video image.

Proper lighting for video teleconferencing is 70-foot candles measured vertically. Light should also be directed away from video screen to avoid glare. In addition, proper color temperature is important: Fluorescent lighting at 3,500 degrees Kelvin is ideal. Color choices and finishes also impact the effectiveness of video data transmission, and they often are the opposite of those an interior designer would choose for a face-to-face conference or board room.

Try to avoid dark. lustrous paneling and furniture, as well as strong, dark wall patterns. Avoid hanging paintings on the walls. Instead, select solid colors in light blues, grays, or beige tones for wall finishes to ensure the most effective transmission of video data.

Similarly, select a table surface in a light color, with a non-glare surface; this will reflect some of the light to the underside of facial features, avoiding facial shadows. After all, if people believe they look unattractive in a video conference, they will avoid it When one considers the requirements for room size, configuration, finishes and furnishings, it is easy to see why it is difficult to design a "one size fits all" approach for effective meetings.

In new buildings, designing the electromechanical system to ensure "clean" power is not an issue--it is already a consideration when engineering today's high-tech telecommunications/data systems. A video teleconferencing facility does not make unique demands on the system. Work with the AV consultant to determine the proper quantity and type of network connections required for video conferencing one analog line and 3 or 4 ISDN lines are typical and, perhaps, a LAN connection

The investment in developing a new video teleconferencing facility is becoming an increasingly attractive alternative to frequent business travel. Early planning and teamwork among the architect/engineer, audiovisual, and acoustical consultants are essential to ensure the new space meets criteria for noise level, acoustical control, design and furnishings, equipment, power, and data transmission utilities. A well-designed and equipped video teleconferencing facility will be easy to use, natural and -- most important -- cost-effective in meeting the company' business goals.