_ “It’s about community. We are using the reach of the Internet to connect people and ideas for the greater good.”_

I know it makes for an entertaining TV show.

But Francesco Lazzaro was done with the generic office space.

“I worked for 10 years in an environment almost identical to the TV show The Office,” he said. “It was like living inside a Dilbert cartoon. Then one day, I looked at my 401(k) and thought, ‘Yeah, I’m finished with this.’ There are a million ways to make money, but for me, making a living is about building a life. It’s all about the nature of the work and the quality of the relationships. When that all comes together like it’s happening here, that’s the ultimate goal.”

Here is 1217 Goodale Boulevard, where behind a non-descript, black-and-white storefront sits one of Columbus’ great lesser-known creative media centers, Kinopicz American. Lazzaro helped found the thriving production house in 2009, along with Damian Wohrer. Today, the Grandview outfit is merging commercial and artistic trends on both local and national levels through their strategic partnership with the massive online DIY network Buildipedia, the brainchild of two other central Ohio entrepreneurs, Mark Leatherwood and David Skomorowski.

Not only has Kinopicz advanced the profile of Buildipedia, their largest client, but they’ve been able to do so while hiring more local filmographers, editors and designers – resulting in a unique confluence of big and small ideas. Global topics like interior decorating and construction headline an online community that helps to connect everyone from the homebuilder to the tinkerer. Advanced tutorials on specific materials also make the site an infinitely useful blueprint for today’s DIY project manager – especially in the iPad age.

It’s a potentially overwhelming abundance of information, but Lazzaro says that’s precisely the point. Buildipedia is designed not to be a supplement, but a complete guide.

“Everything on the site is pretty much universal,” Lazzaro said. “We are talking about everything from architecture and design, to residential and commercial construction, how to maintain the built environment, and how to create a better built environment.”

Jeff Wilson, an Ohio native and a veteran of HGTV and other network DIY shows, is part of the site’s national aim with his Everyday DIY video series. Recent installments, such as a feature on the re-branding of Barcelona’s Santa Caterina Market, give an indication of Buildipedia’s intended global relevance.

Lazzaro says creating global relevance on a localized scale is a key component of the group’s mission.

“We want to create a global brand that brings people together on a local level to develop new and innovative sustainable practices. It’s about community. We are using the reach of the Internet to connect people and ideas for the greater good.”

Perhaps no project better represents the bigger picture for Kinopicz and Buildipedia than {Re}Habitat, their new video series, which airs on the site’s Green Channel.

Columbus’ Rachael Ranney leads viewers through swanky home design projects using recycled materials, showing you how to repurpose old pieces without breaking the budget. In one recent episode, she salvaged a chair she found in a Short North alley and designed a new seat and back out of old leather belts gathered from local thrift stores.

The finished project is a hip and functional piece of art/furniture for the approachable price tag of around $80. It’s not only sturdy enough to hold an 800-pound gorilla, but is also a stylish one-of-a-kind home accent.

“I give a lot of credit to local artisans,” she said. “Anything that’s handmade and created with a touch of love has an extra inherent value to it that goes beyond the commercial manufacturing process. You don’t have to be a contractor or an experienced builder to do these projects,” she added. “Sustainability is an idea that includes learning to reuse things you have around you and do it yourself rather than buying something new.”

The well-produced video series is a prime example of the work of the team at Kinopicz and Buildipedia; not only does it feature local talent in front of, as well as behind, the lens, but it’s also a testament to the big work that is done out of the small Goodale space.

The space the two companies share is beautiful: a modern, sleek-lined, yet relaxed atmosphere of open architecture, allowing workers and projects to flow seamlessly from one area to another. There are no cage-like cubicles or grey plastic prisons in this office. It has couches and lounge chairs, and wisps of fabric hanging from floor to ceiling, which serve to define work space, encourage interaction and create an eclectic atmosphere that lives somewhere in the shadow lands between an ad agency, a television studio and a Manhattan-style party loft. The soundstage includes a huge two-wall cyclorama, setup for chroma-key or white backgrounds. The space is equipped with ample power, lighting and grip equipment. Clients include ad agencies, international brands, small businesses and independent producers. Several members of the staff work for both companies, jumping between Buildipedia projects and Kinopicz, and everyone seems fine with blurring the lines. They are co-workers, as well as friends. They utilize traditional marketing and go rogue on the new media frontier. They work for profit and do projects to invest in the greater good. They engage in global corporate business, but do it with a hometown vibe.

“We have a core group of people who had been working together for years before we all came together as Kinopicz and Buildipedia,” Lazzaro said. “We have all worked with each other on other individual projects, but this is the first time we got it this right. The combined work at Kinopicz and Buildipedia has created all sorts of job opportunities and allowed us to bring together a fantastic mix of talent and personality that is instrumental to making this all happen.”

The team that focuses on building a better world has also succeeded in setting another precedent for local business.

“It’s worth the risk to dream big,” Lazzaro said.

For more, visit www.buildipedia.com or www.kinopicz.com.