Reshaping the Construction Industry

As Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, rolled out his top priorities for lawmakers in Austin earlier this year, one of the things he sought to highlight is the importance of a skilled workforce and the fact that a four-year degree is not a necessity for every single student. Abbott is a big believer in higher education, make no mistake. In fact, one of his emergency items includes recruitment of more Nobel Laureates and their equivalents to Texas.But his message on the issue is nuanced. Some students need a four-year degree or more and others can get exactly what they need in a two-year program equipping them with the skills employers demand.In his State of the State Address in February, Gov. Abbott said the path to success is not the same for all students.   

ABC Houston has opened their new facility to meet the expanding needs of the commercial and industrial construction industry in the area.  The newly renovated building houses state of the art meeting rooms, training rooms, offices, and reception and break areas.  Read interviews from two ABC members who were there.

Last week, the New York Times posted an incredible time-lapse video of the industrial growth of New York City from the view of the newly opened Freedom Tower. The panoramic video will play on the five One World Observatory elevators, which is set to open the end of May this year.There was some debate between Legends Hospitality, the operators of the observatory, and Port Authority and Durst Organization, the developers of the tower, on whether or not to show the rise and fall of the Twin Towers, primarily the North Tower.   

I learned several things early in my scouting days. One was that if I focused sunlight through a magnifying lens, I could start a fire, melt plastic or burn my name into a 2x4. Another thing that I learned was how to build a reflecting oven to cook a meal when we were camping out. Never did I think that I would be reading a paper about the ways that building designs could do the same things.We have written about the Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas that was reflecting sunlight and melting plastic cups and the plastic parts of Jaguars parked nearby. We have heard about the reflected sunlight from the Museum Tower in Dallas streaming into the nearby Nasher Museum and endangering priceless art. I have found a great paper written by Vicente Montes-Amores and published by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) that speaks to the issues involved and ways to avoid the potential financial liabilities for making mistakes. For those of you who are developing, designing and building towers these days, it is a good read. For those of you who live in or near those “death ray” towers, you will be interested in why your azaleas are being fried.