CIM projects focus on concrete innovations

The students from the Concrete Industry Management program at Middle Tennessee State University – a business intensive program that awards students with four-year bachelor’s degrees in concrete industry management – have announced five research projects that are designed to benefit the industry and provide valuable experience for the students.

The following projects are currently underway at MTSU:

• A collaborative project with five other labs across the United States to determine the best way to consolidate and cast cylindrical specimens for pervious cement
• Comparison of new fiber with existing market fibers to determine viability of the fiber to prevent plastic shrinkage cracking
• Investigation of a new liquid admixture that could be used to enhance workability, set time and cement replacement for pervious concrete mixes
• Review of the pull-out strength of rebar in high-strength lightweight concrete with local precast plants and Stalite Inc.

Two industry literature searches: 1. compilation of all pervious concrete research that has been done to date and 2. compilation of all papers that reference the comparison of fiber reinforced concrete vs. welded wire fabric and how well it performs.

For these projects, the faculty at MTSU serves as mentors and trains the students to use equipment they might not have used before. MTSU also has a CIM 4200 course that focuses on student research, writing technical reports and developing research presentations.

Construction begins on church addition, renovation

Johnson & Galyon of Knoxville, Tenn., has been selected to begin construction in the Spring 2009 on an $8 million addition and renovation project at Tellico Village Community Church in Loudon, Tenn.

This project expansion, designed by Neal Prince Architects from Greenville, S.C., will include construction of a new 820-seat sanctuary, an expanded chancel area, a new choir rehearsal room, significantly larger fellowship areas and additional parking.

A second phase of the project will remodel the current sanctuary into a 200-seat chapel and create new administrative offices.

Johnson & Galyon has also begun construction of the new $20 million Transit Center located near downtown Knoxville. The project is being built as a LEED certified building, one of the first for the Knoxville PBA.

In addition, the contractor recently completed the second phase of a projected four or five phase construction process at Neyland Stadium at the University of Tennessee. The second phase of the project, at a cost of approximately $20 million, included the addition of the Lettermen’s Room for UT’s men and women athletes at the north end zone, a redesigned locker room and a new media center at the same end.

New red brick walls line the field and its entrances. Also included in construction were new restrooms and concession areas on the West Concourse and widening of same concourse area.

Street Dixon Rick Architecture wins national award

Nashville-based Street Dixon Rick Architecture received top honors in the small firm category at the 31st Annual National Marketing Communications Awards Society gala held in Denver.

More than 350 entries from the U.S., Canada and Australia competed in 18 categories. The Society for Marketing Professional Services has more than 6,800 members.

For its holiday card category entry, the architecture firm won first place for small firms, i.e. those with fewer than 200 employees. Street Dixon Rick employs 14 people. Crispin Mathias+Fisher and Sarah Dexheimer accepted the awards for the firm. Carly Wansing also contributed to the design.

Middle Tennessee ASPE installs officers

The Middle Tennessee Chapter of the American Society of Professional Estimators recently installed its board for 2008-2009.

Officers are as follows: President Ricky Sanford with The Rogers Group Inc.; First Vice President Wesley Hunt with Rose Integrated Services; Second Vice President Terry Coggins with The Rogers Group Inc.; Third Vice President Mark Bischoff with Hardcastle Construction Co.; Secretary Greg Draper with A-Plus Reprographics; Treasurer Sherry Arledge with J E Crain & Son Inc.; Past President Marty Morris with Doster Construction; and Director at Large Keith Durbin with Southeast Electric Inc.

TDOT unveils highway workers memorial

On Sept. 24, Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely and family members of highway workers killed in the line of duty unveiled a large black granite monument at the I-40 Welcome Center in Smith County in honor of all the TDOT employees who lost their lives while building the state’s transportation system.

The names on the list begin in 1948 when worker fatalities were first documented.

“We are grateful for the service and dedication of these 106 state employees who made the ultimate sacrifice for the good of our state,” says Gov. Phil Bredesen. “This memorial serves as a permanent testament to their contributions to the state transportation system and is a reminder of the dangers all highway workers face each time they step onto the job.”

The unveiling was attended by several family members of employees killed in the line of duty, including current TDOT employee Jimmy McNeece, whose 22-year old son Jay was killed while working as part of a survey crew near Springfield, Tenn.

Martha Fish spoke to the crowd about her brother, Robert Fish, who was killed while picking up tire scraps on State Route 100 in Whiteville. Both men had taken all necessary safety precautions when they were hit and killed by a motorist.

Following the unveiling of the new memorial, TDOT Maintenance Director Greg Duncan read the names of all 106 TDOT employees memorialized on the stone. A plaque documenting the date of the official unveiling ceremony will be placed into the foot of the memorial to commemorate today’s event.

Lewis Group Architects designs first new Knox County school in 30 years

Lewis Group Architects of Knoxville, Tenn., was recently awarded a contract to design Hardin Valley Academy, the first new high school in Knox County in nearly 30 years. Located on 55 acres in the rapidly growing Hardin Valley community, the school was designed to meet Knox county School program requirements and standards.

The site consists of approximately 800 parking spaces for students and staff. A new football stadium with seating for 3,500 people is the focal point of the athletics complex that also includes baseball and softball facilities. Practice fields and an all-sports field house is also planned.

In addition to supporting a student population of 2,100, the school system has been studying alternatives for primary and secondary education curriculum and the effects of small learning environments on improved test scores; therefore, flexibility and expandability were critical in the design process.

Design Firm chosen to develop lab space at UT-Baptist Research Park

Memphis Bioworks Foundation has hired architectural services firm Perkins+Will of Dallas to design the 40,000-sq-ft, FDA/GLP focused vivarium and 200,000-sq-ft laboratory space building in the UT-Baptist Research Park in Memphis.

More than 22 national architectural firms vied for the opportunity to work on the UT-Baptist Research Park.

Perkins+Will was chosen after a thorough selection process. In the last 10 years, Perkins+Will has led 300 laboratory projects, including BSL-4 biocontainment labs; NASA testing labs; engineering and teaching labs; research parks; and bio-medical labs for more than 75 percent of the top 50 medical schools in the United States.

Perkins+Will has contracted to partner with local firm Self Tucker Architects of Memphis. STA is a Mid-South focused practice with experience in health care, commercial, educational and civic architecture.

In addition, Perkins+Will is partnering with SSR Ellers of Memphis, an engineering design and facility consulting firm that offers structural, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, civil and commissioning.

The UT-Baptist Research Park will have nearly 1.3 million sq ft of space on a 10-acre campus. It is at the center of the re-development of the Memphis Medical Center complex that will also include housing, retail and an abundant green space area.

A Regional Biocontainment Lab and a College of Pharmacy are currently under construction. The research park will be completed in six phases over a 10-year period, allowing flexibility to meet current and future bioscience needs.

Walbridge opens Chattanooga office

Walbridge, a Detroit-based multi-national full-service constructor, has opened a new division of the Walbridge SE regional office in Chattanooga, Tenn. Walbridge SE serves the southeastern part of the U.S., headquartered in Charlotte, N. C.

The announcement was made by Walbridge SE General Manager Steve Helms.

“The new Chattanooga office has been established to enhance our growth efforts in the industrial and manufacturing markets in Tennessee,” says Helms.

Helm has lived in eastern Tennessee for more than 20 years working in construction and engineering management.

The Chattanooga office is located at The Pointe Corporate Centre, 1208 Premier Drive, Suite 140, just off I-75 and nearby the city’s Enterprise South Industrial Park, site of the future Volkswagen Assembly Plant.