Learning From Texas
Español | Translation Sponsored by Nox-Crete Products Group I am sure there are very few instances where California wants to be more like Texas, or vice versa for that matter. However, when it comes to realizing the benefits of a market fully immersed in an industry association, everyone has a lot to learn from Texas. […]
A New Tool For TCA Members
Español | Translation Sponsored by Nox-Crete Products Group Each year, thousands of people look to the Tilt-Up Concrete Association for architects, engineers, contractors and suppliers with expertise in tilt-up construction. To better present our members and their services, and to radically improve the experience of locating a tilt-up professional, the TCA has made significant investments […]
With Thanks
Español | Translation Sponsored by Nox-Crete Products Group At the 2017 Tilt-Up Convention and Expo in Miami I took the opportunity to recognize several individuals who went above and beyond in their service to this organization. Notably missing was our immediate past president, Jeffrey Brown, who for the first time in perhaps a decade, could […]
WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
Español | Translation Sponsored by Nox-Crete Products Group Interstate highway 45 is submerged from the effects of Hurricane Harvey seen during widespread flooding in Houston, Texas, U.S. August 27, 2017. REUTERS/Richard Carson – RC1A2732B020 With more than fifty members in Texas, and the majority of those in Houston, the Tilt-Up Concrete Association (TCA) has those […]
COMPLEXITY WITHOUT COMPLICATION: FINDING EFFECTIVE IDEAS AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE TILT-UP INDUSTRY
Español | Translation Sponsored by Nox-Crete Products Group Complication is a failure to effectively disentangle the complexities of an idea. An iPhone is incredibly complex; using one is simple (for most). Awkward workout contraptions seen on TV infomercials at 3 a.m. are complicated, and that is one of the reasons they are rarely used with […]
You Look Good… For Your Age
Español | Translation Sponsored by Nox-Crete Products Group At the 2014 TCA Convention in San Jose, California, Jeffrey Brown of Powers Brown Architecture presented Small Smart Boxes. The talk featured a series of small corporate build-to-suits that, because they had a small or moderate portion of warehouse, manufacturing, or distribution in their programs, were pre-determined […]
Actual Social Exchange In Real Time And Space
Español | Translation Sponsored by Nox-Crete Products Group In 2010, I wrote an article regarding the construction of a new central public library in my hometown of Cedar Rapids, IA, arguing that the role of the traditional library should be re-examined. I suggested the mission of the facility should be shifted away from the warehousing […]
Resourcefulness
Español | Translation Sponsored by Nox-Crete Products Group As a student at Washington University’s Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Design I was involved in a design-build studio where, over the course of one semester, we designed and constructed a public arts pavilion for Grand Center, an arts and entertainment district in Saint Louis, Missouri. […]
The Value of Wondering
Español | Translation Sponsored by Nox-Crete Products Group As he reflected on his first days as Executive Director of the Tilt-Up Concrete Association (TCA) after taking the helm some twenty-three years ago, Ed Sauter talked about sitting at his desk, dreaming up things to do. “It was an open slate,” he said. “I’d walk in […]
Destroying the Box
WHETHER ARCHITECT, ENGINEER, CONTRACTOR OR DEVELOPER, HELP US DESTROY THE MYTH THAT TILT-UP IS ONLY FOR BOXES. The judging of the 2014 Tilt-Up Award winners is complete and the winners will be unveiled at the fall convention in San Jose. I have been a judge in this event since its inception, first as a TCA […]
What is the Value in Membership?
Why belong to a trade association? What’s in it for me? These are questions often asked by potential members as their membership and participation in the Tilt-Up Concrete Association are solicited. This came to the forefront recently when a non-member firm asked why their name wasn’t mentioned in a feature article. Quite simply, if it […]
Optimism
We are emerging from the worst recession this country has experienced in my lifetime (I’m getting old but wasn’t around for the 1930’s) and construction is approaching levels not seen in at least 5 years. Nearly everyone is optimistic about the future, although I would call it cautious optimism. Operations were cut to the bare […]
