On the Scene: Texas &amp; Louisiana Industry Events for Spring 2017

On the Scene: Texas & Louisiana Industry Events for Spring 2017

VLK Architects participated at the 9th Annual IIDA Product Runway fashion show. It is an avant-garde couture fashion design competition that features the work of local interior designers, architecture professionals and interior design students who create handmade garments out of standard architectural finish materials such as glass, tile, carpet and plastic laminate.

*PHOTO COURTESY OF VLK ARCHITECTS*

Webber LCC — Dignitaries and stakeholders broke ground March 31 on the expansion of U.S. Highway 281 between Loop 1604 and the Bexar-Comal county line in northern San Antonio.

*PHOTO BY MARI PILLAR, WEBBER LLC*

Safety Week 2017, May 1-5, was celebrated at jobsites across the country, followed on May 8-12 by the 4th Annual National Safety Stand-Down for Fall Safety.

*PHOTO COURTESY OF SKILES GROUP*

VLK Architects participated at the 9th Annual IIDA Product Runway fashion show. It is an avant-garde couture fashion design competition that features the work of local interior designers, architecture professionals and interior design students who create handmade garments out of standard architectural finish materials such as glass, tile, carpet and plastic laminate. The April 28 event benefited the Houston Furniture Bank and Texas Association for Interior Design.

The VLK Product Runway team included Erin Rose (pictured at left), Chris Lyner, Krista Thomas, Michelle Elbers, Scott Dailey (at right) and Sydney Alford. Each competing team was assigned one hard material and one soft material that had to make up 80% of the final garment. Working with this year’s theme, “Cover to Cover,” VLK chose Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead” as inspiration and used materials from Mohawk Carpet and Staron Solid Surface. The cage of the outfit was made out of Staron Solid Surface and required a special saw to cut the pieces, which had to be custom heated and molded at a factory. In the end, the completed outfit was made up of more than 95% of the assigned material. VLK’s dress took three months and 70-plus hours of designing and hand sewing.

Dignitaries and stakeholders broke ground March 31 on the expansion of U.S. Highway 281 between Loop 1604 and the Bexar-Comal county line in northern San Antonio. The $374.3-million project will be constructed in two phases. Webber LCC was selected by the Texas Dept. of Transportation (TxDOT) as the general contractor. Pictured, from left: Richard Perez, president and CEO of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce; Tim Creson, president and CEO of Webber; Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff; Texas State Senator Donna Campbell; Texas Transportation Commissioner J. Bruce Bugg Jr.; Texas Gov. Greg Abbott; Lyle Larson, state representative; James M. Bass, TxDOT executive director; San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor; Hope Andrade, chair of VIA Metropolitan Transit; and Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolff.

Safety Week 2017, May 1-5, was celebrated at jobsites across the country, followed on May 8-12 by the 4th Annual National Safety Stand-Down for Fall Safety. Some highlights from across the region include: Texas-based Skiles Group provided safety training on the three most common types of falls: from ladders, from scaffolds and from elevated surfaces, the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry. Pictured left is the stand-down on the Texas Rangers MLB Urban Youth Academy Phase II project, under construction in Dallas.

Meanwhile, Sundt Construction’s Kjirsten Olson (pictured below) demonstrated a fall protection system at the VIA Stone Oak Park & Ride jobsite in San Antonio during Sundt’s Safety Week events.