IRVINE, CA-KTGY Group Inc, Architecture & Planning, has created two technology innovations to help facilitate projects for developers and expanding retailers. The firm's Mobile Design Studio and proprietary Site Survey App for the iPad bring the design studio to the client and help streamline development projects.

According to Craig T. Chinn, KTGY's associate principal, “Our development of the Mobile Design Studio and proprietary Site Survey App has provided retailers with unique tools in their quest to speed to market. We knew that the deep recession had put a pinch on everyone's budgets and maximizing speed to market was on every retailer's and developer's mind, so we came up with the idea of a Mobile Design Studio, a design lab on wheels that would allow us to deliver local architectural and planning services to clients anywhere in the world—onsite. We also came up with the idea for a Site Survey App, specifically made for the iPad to assist with online surveys from small tenant-improvement projects to large-scale mall renovations.”

The studio allows KTGY to meet with the client, do a survey using the Site Survey App and then create a design while on site. “We knew that being able to draw what the clients wanted, while right in front of them, was a tremendous advantage and critical time-saver,” said Chinn in a prepared statement. “Plus, the Site Survey App allows us to take photos, create a photo index on the plans, input info/data and send it to the office network to create a complete survey package. Use of the Mobile Design Studio and the Site Survey App has allowed clients to tackle large, complex projects in the shortest amount of time quickly and efficiently.”

KTGY has worked with large mall owners to provide design and architectural services for renovating and repositioning mall properties. In the last 12 months, the firm has completed 14 major mall renovations and repositioning projects including Northridge Fashion Center in Northridge, CA; Medford Mall in Medford, OR; and Pierre Bossier Mall in Bossier City, LA. The firm is currently working on the design of five major mall-renovation projects and 10 mini-renovation projects across the country.

As GlobeSt.com reported in April, so much emphasis is placed on high-tech products in green development, such as solar-energy systems, that it's easy to forget the low-tech options that can take designers and developers far. “We need to be aware of the latest products and technology that can help us create affordable, sustainable communities,” said Manny Gonzalez, a principal with KTGY Group Inc., in a prepared statement. “But just as import are the 'low-tech' opportunities like using 2x6-ft studs at 24-in. centers and installing electrical outlets that stop 'vampire' charging.”