The Sound Of Success
This Audio Guru To The Stars Is Now Resonating With Luxury Homeowners
Marching to the beat of his own drum, David Frangioni discovered technology could make sweet music.
Frangioni, who played drums from the age of 6 and attended the New England Conservatory of Music on scholarship, saw his life change with the marriage of electronic music and computers in the mid-1980s. He became a pioneer in digital audio and video technology and eventually founded Audio One, an award-winning firm dedicated to luxury home electronics design.
“When you took the musical background that I have, and you took the electronics, the possibilities seemed endless to me, which was very exciting,” says Frangioni. “I found I had a natural instinct for it. I dove into it head first.”
Frangioni has received more than 65 gold and platinum albums as a technical consultant, engineer and/or programmer, and in 1995 he engineered and co-produced the first ever 5.1 digital surround sound mix on CD. Since 1989, Frangioni has served as chief technologist for Aerosmith. Soon thereafter, as electronics became more accessible and easier to use in everyday living, he founded Audio One.
“A lot of my clients had home studios and wanted to expand their capabilities, so it was a good match,” says Frangioni, who has worked with the likes of Ringo Starr, Elton John, Chick Corea, the Stones, American Idol’s David Cook, and Ozzy Osbourne. “I have to sell what I love. It starts with passion and then, hopefully, it turns into a business.”
“The incredible thing about being in technology is there is something new to learn every day. I’m passionate about what it is that I do; what it is that I love. And as lucky as I’ve been, I believe that none of it has been by accident. Yes, there’s good fortune and luck, but you have to create it.”
—Ken Weingartner
Chat Live Online With A Realtor
John Daugherty, Realtors, is taking its customers’ Web site experience to a whole new level with the addition of live chat. Now, anyone visiting the John Daugherty site can chat with a real estate agent online if they have any home buying questions or if they need help in selling their home.
“Implementing live chat on our Web site provides potential home buyers and sellers an alternative way to communicate with us,” said Darren Moore, Web marketing/IT manager at John Daugherty, Realtors. “In today’s fast moving world of technology, the real estate industry has been revolutionized and our multi-generational clients need options to communicate the way they prefer. With 87 percent of home buyers starting their search on the Internet, live chat was a natural progression for us. Our Web site is continuously evolving with the goal of making it as easy as possible for customers who are searching for homes and market information.”
Live chat allows Web site visitors to connect instantly to a real estate agent at John Daugherty and have their questions answered instantly from the hours 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
John Daugherty has been servicing the Houston Real Estate market since 1967. Today the firm is comprised of more than 160 real estate professionals and more than 85 administrative staff members.
—Mark Moffa
Left image, Darren Moore; right, John Daugherty.
Ground Breakers
Walker Zanger, billed as the world’s most comprehensive stone and tile company, received a first place 2009 Prism Award for its thoughtful and extensive use of natural stone for the 25 Bond Street Project in Manhattan, N.Y. The Prism Award, presented by Coverings—the leading trade event for natural stone, ceramic tile, flooring and related products—celebrates creativity and achievement in the use of natural stone. The winning project is in the NoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. The building’s façade consists of Benjamin Gold from Israel and Egyptian Oro Tocano granite. The award was presented to Jonathan Zanger, Walker Zanger president. He was joined by his parents, Hanna and Leon Zanger, Walker Zanger chairman and CEO, as well as members of the Walker Zanger team, including: Pat Petrocelli, vice president and chief operating officer; Mike Bastone, vice president of sales; and Tristan McManaman, marketing director.
—Mark Moffa
Design Innovation
The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum will give its Architecture Design Award this fall to New York City-based SHoP Architects as part of its 10th annual National Design Awards program. SHoP Architects is a
60-person practice founded by its five principals in 1996 (they are, as pictured left to right: William Sharples, Coren Sharples, Gregg Pasquarelli, Kimberly Holden, and Christopher Sharples). SHoP has been a leader in the transformation of intricate theoretical design into easily understood construction models by rethinking architectural practice. This think tank has pushed the designer’s realm past form-making and into software design, branding, real estate development, construction and the co-development of new sustainable technologies. Recently completed projects include Garden Street Lofts in Hoboken, N.J., Hangil Book House in Seoul, South Korea, The Porter House in New York and SanLiTun in Beijing. Award recipients will be honored at a gala dinner Oct. 22 at Cipriani in New York.
—Mark Moffa
Above photo, the founding members of SHoP.
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