BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (October 13, 2008) Whirlpool Corporations dedicated program for building and design professionals, The Inside Advantage(TM), announces that Andrea Hutchins, AIA, and Dan Page-Wood, Associate AIA, have earned Associate Kitchen & Bath Designer (AKBD) credentials from the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). With the accomplishments of Hutchins and Page-Wood, Whirlpool Corporation is the only appliance manufacturer with an on-staff NKBA certified design and marketing team. Our close involvement with the NKBA helps us better meet the needs of the design community. Andrea and Dans accomplishments help further this involvement, said Mark Johnson, FAIA, CKD, architect and senior manager of architecture and design marketing at Whirlpool Corporation. As part of our Architecture & Design Marketing Group, their accomplishments continue to translate into meaningful assistance for designers and architects. Hutchins latest project is developing a new NKBA course on sustainable products and finishes used in the Sustainable Kitchen by Whirlpool Corporation. The course will include all major components for the kitchen and how they qualify for national green home certification programs, including ENERGY STAR(R)home and LEED(R)for Homes. The course is also slated to meet the 2009 AIA Sustainable Design (SD) course requirement. Page-Wood is currently developing Whirlpool Corporations next collection of Google(R)SketchUp(TM)3-D appliance models for the Google(R)3D Warehouse Web site that will include point values for national green building programs.Google SketchUp is a powerful, yet easy-to-learn, software developed to provide quick and easy 3-D forms for conceptual stages of design. The Google 3D Warehouse is a repository of 3-D building objects that expedites the design process. As part of The Inside Advantage(TM), the Architecture & Design Marketing Group creates educational, informational, and experiential resources and events to engage design professionals and build on their knowledge of Whirlpool Corporations portfolio of brands. Recent industry firsts developed by the group include the first home plan book/CD/Web site of green home designs for the housing industry in collaboration with Alan Mascord Design Associates, the first Podcast series for architects and designers to receive continuing education (CE) credit, and the first branded appliance collections for Google(R)SketchUp(TM), AutoCAD(R), 20/20 Fusion and Chief Architect(R)CAD software users within Googles 3D Warehouse. For information on Whirlpool Corporation and its offerings for architects and designers, please visit insideadvantage.com/digitalgreen or call 1-800-253-3977. Whirlpool Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of approximately $19 billion, more than 73,000 employees, and approximately 70 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. The company markets Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Gladiator and other major brand names to consumers in nearly every country around the world.
