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CONSTRUCTION
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The Industry’s Newspaper www.constructionnews.net H (210) 308-5800 H Volume 15 H Number 1 H JANUARY 2018
Blessing in disguise
Blown away with color
L-R: Sharon, Henry, Taylor and Kyle Anderson
Tim de Jong standing by one of the many colorful pieces of art in the studio.
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efore getting into construction, Kyle Anderson worked in Houston in the chemical sales industry and instrumentation industry looking for a change where he could build something from the ground up. He had a buddy who was a homebuilder and got a job with a small homebuilder. Anderson fell in love with the process and soon was building homes for himself. But the economic crash of 2008 was a difficult time for the construction industry across the nation. For Anderson, it proved to be a blessing in disguise. With no more work and a spec building business that had fizzled out along with all his custom work, Anderson did what he had to do to survive. He started doing masonry work.
“I finished a job using my friends masons after my mason had left me hanging. He was a spec builder and was still doing some spec work. I asked him if I could do his masonry work and that’s how I got started. In 2010, I started Trinity Masonry.” recalls Anderson. Slowly, the company started out doing residential and eventually evolved into commercial. No longer doing residential work, the company now focuses strictly on commercial. “We prefer the commercial side. You have to wait a little longer to get paid, but the jobs are bigger. We can expand our market doing commercial. We’re able to do work for clients in Austin,
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hey cannot be late. They cannot be a problem. They are usually the last thing that goes into the buildings. They work with the architect, the builders, and the general contractors as seamlessly as possible. Wimberley Glassworks are creators that compliment. For 25 years the company has produced complimentary pieces for clients by following a 2000-year-old method. The history of Glassworks starts with the CEO, Tim de Jong. He became addicted to glassblowing while attending art school. “It was addicting to work with a material that you’ve been told your whole life not to touch. Then all of a sudden it’s moving around like a blob of honey,” he describes. De Jong says histo-
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ry is a big deal, along with mathematics, balance, and nature. Nature inspired many of Glassworks commercial projects. The Granite Park Three job is a canopy of oak trees growing out of the ceiling. They also created a nature inspired piece for Briar Park Green. “They basically said we want a 110-ft long river of glass that flows across the ceiling as a light fixture, “de Jong says. His inspiration was the Blanco River. “It carries you through the office building to the elevators and out to the parking garage in a subtle gentle kind of way.” De Jong has an extraordinary team of 12 that works with him. He says it’s allowed him to get back into the creative end of things. “We custom make absocontinued on Page 14
A scenic community
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or more than 75 years, Ryan Companies US Inc. feels their belief in the value of the buildings they design, develop, manage and construct along with the value they bring to the people who use them has driven them to take a holistic approach to every project, focusing first on the “why” behind a customer’s needs in order to achieve a better outcome in the end. As most professionals in the industry can attest, affordable/workforce housing is currently a hot topic in Austin. Garnering enough support from the nearby communities can be one of the most challenging aspects of the workforce housing project delivery process. In order to generate support amongst the neighbors, Austin Affordable Housing Corporation (AAHC), Ryan Companies and our partners designed the property to be community-inclusive from the very beginning.
Front entrance to The Reserve at Springdale
The principles carried on for three generations by Ryans for integrity, honesty, civic pride and sincere regard for people lead the owners of The Reserve at Springdale to Ryan Companies for the new construction of this 292 unit, multifamily complex. The 329,418 gross sf, 4-building complex was built on 21.045 acres. Leaving a beautiful scenic view at the back of the property for the residents of the complex to enjoy, Ryan Companies only developed 9.1 acres. The buildings are supported by reinforced concrete grade-beams. The soilsupported slab is post-tensioned, monolithic, cast-in-place concrete. Floor assemblies above the first floor in the dwelling unit buildings consist of preengineered wood trusses supported by interior and exterior bearing walls. continued on Page 14