Project Spotlight: Oasis, Texas

This destination mixed-use development of more than 30 shops and two restaurants shares the same property as the Oasis restaurant and sits on a cliff 450 feet above Lake Travis. The multiple-phase project includes 40,000 sf of office space, a 25,000 sf retail complex and a four-story parking garage. One of the goals of the project was to create a European village market. In order to achieve this, local artisans and craftspeople were chosen to respond to the climate and character of the site with local building materials and found objects.

The development includes two restaurants. Uncle Billy’s Brew & Que is built with rough and reclaimed wood and decorative pressed tin; the brewery and restaurant are distinctly Texas rustic and have a comfortable down-home feeling of traditional barbeque joints. Large garage doors open to the spectacular views of Lake Travis at sunset. The two-story restaurant has generous seating areas, three bars, a private dining room on the lower level with additional seating and an expansive outdoor bar and live music venue on the upper level. Both levels are designed to showcase the largest allowable in-house brewery that operates on both floors of the restaurant.

Soleil, the second restaurant, draws inspiration from the colors for which this location on Lake Austin is best-known – The deep rich blues of the clear lake and the fiery orange and red hues of the setting sun and then sets them against a back drop of weathered and worn muted wood. Generously sized balconies accommodate outdoor seating with excellent views of the sunset while the open perimeter doors invite cool breezes to flow into the core of the restaurant.

Architect
Dick Clark Architecture

Contractor
Harvey Cleary

MEP Engineer – Site Work and Infrastructure
Jose I. Guerra

Structural Engineer
Structures

If you are interested in submitting a recently completed project for inclusion in the SMPS Austin Newsletter, please contact Helga Diaz.

SMPS Oasis, Texas Tour

To view more pictures click here.

May Luncheon: Northern Exposure – Uncovering Booming Development

The new census results confirmed that three cities to the north of Austin: Hutto, Leander and Cedar Park are growing at a red, hot pace. What do these communities do different, why is the economic downturn not affecting them as much, and what are their plans for the future? Listen to the economic development directors for these three thriving communities as they share their distinct plans for attracting new businesses, community growth and safety, and upcoming projects. Find out how the highways 130 and 183 are pushing this growth, why the rail line is making a difference, and what to expect in the next decade.

Panel:
Phil Brewer, Cedar Park Economic Development
Scott Martinez, Hutto Economic Development
Kirk Clennan, Leander Economic Development

Moderator: Charley Ayres, Temple Economic Development

THE DISCOUNTED PRICE ENDS AFTER WEDNESDAY,

May 4th!!

When: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Where: University of Texas Club - President's Room
2108 E. Robert Dedman Drive, Austin, TX 78712

Attire: Business Attire

Event Registration Fee:
Member: $35.00 for a limited time ($45.00 original price)
Non-Member: $45.00 for a limited time ($55.00 original price)

RSVP by Monday, May 9, 2011

April Luncheon: City of Austin Emerging Developments Refresher

As the Austin AEC industry emerges from the recent downturn and the real estate market stabilizes, many entities are looking to take advantage of available design and construction talent as well as the depressed commodity market. As such we welcome Fred Evins, an architect from the COA Economic Development/Planning team. He will cover (re-)emerging development, the City’s discussions with other agencies, and the City’s recent bond package.

SPEAKER
Fred Evins, Architect - City of Austin Economic Development/Planning Team

THE DISCOUNTED PRICE ENDS AFTER WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6TH!!

When: Tuesday, April 12, 2011 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Where: University of Texas Club - President's Room 2108 E. Robert Dedman Drive, Austin, TX 78712

Attire: Business Attire

Event Registration Fee:
Member: $35.00 for a limited time ($45.00 original price)
Non-Member: $45.00 for a limited time ($55.00 original price)

RSVP by Monday, April 11, 2011

Resource Review: Social Media all-in-one place, your desktop.

Tweeting, updating your status, sharing a great article, uploading images, it can all be a bit overwhelming, but more and more unavoidable, especially when your profession includes any aspect of marketing or business development.

One of the biggest reasons for avoiding the world of twittering and liking is the time commitment it takes to stay on top of it all. When SMPS Austin decided to take on Twitter, I knew I needed to find something that would make it easy for me to manage my various social media pursuits without distracting me from my daily email responding, meeting attending, qualification writing day job. After some searching I came across Seesmic Desktop 2 (SD2), a "go-to" desktop application.

The application allows for all-in-one access to a variety of popular social media services, including the usual suspects Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, but the plug-in marketplace also includes entertainment, news, business and shopping apps. The RSS Feed Reader has helped me stay up-to-date on my favorite blogs including those covering the State Legislature. SD2 allows you to customize what services you would like updated on your home screen and whether you want updates to be integrated into one feed or kept separated.

The application also allows you to choose whether you would like to use pop-up notifications to alert you when there are new posts. These popup windows are like Outlook’s email notifications and although at times a bit annoying, they do serve their purpose by keeping you engaged, while you work.

Another nice thing about SD2 is the ability to update all your own social networks at once or separately. It is as easy as clicking which service to “post from” and what type of update you are posting, whether a link, image or simple text. SD2 will even let you know how many remaining characters you have left.

Seesmic Desktop 2 is a handy resource in today’s social media world and has become part of my morning routine; coffee, voicemail, Outlook, Seesmic Desktop 2.  Will it be part of yours?

Helga Diaz
Structures

Member Spotlight: Diane Shelton

Diane Shelton
DPR Construction

What was your first job?
My first job was at Miller’s Outpost at the El Cerrito Plaza when I was 16. I told everyone they looked great in jeans and they believed me. The interview process included a lie detector test where we were hooked up to machines that measured our heart rate and pulse. It showed I lied about my name but told the truth for all other questions. A career in marketing was born!

You’re currently a marketing manager for DPR Construction. What in your professional background prepared you for this lofty position in the AEC industry?
Pretty much everything I’ve done since the Miller’s Outpost sales gig. ‘Marketing’ encompasses so many skill sets I’ve found that nothing I’ve taken the time to learn has gone to waste, and there’s still so much out there to learn. I worked in radio for many years and those skills have come in handy with video work DPR has done, and now with podcasts. Old-school news writing and editing skills learned in school, I use these every day. I’ve done tech writing for power grid management software, public information for schools, general PR, news…these jobs all prepared me in one way or another.

How has the industry (marketing) changed since the start of your career?
Personal computers were invented, as were the World Wide Web, cell phones, laser printers, graphic design software, Word, Excel….most of the tools we use on a daily basis. How has it NOT changed? Personal relationships are still the most important marketing tool in the shed, and I don’t think that will ever change.

Any words of wisdom for the youngsters?
Take time to master the basics of the art of marketing – relationships, business strategy, persuasive writing, design consistency – and you’ll be set (or so I hear). The medium will continue to change throughout your career. Today it’s printed proposals, tomorrow it may laser beams. Lunch with your SMPS pals is not goofing off, it’s professional development. Trust me.

It’s a nice spring day in Austin. What would you rather be doing right now?
Riding my bike.

What book is on your nightstand?
All The King’s Men, last week’s New York Times Magazine (re-designed! I’m freaking out!), Mary Karr’s newest book, and (no kidding) The Idiot’s Guide to Great Abs, which I use as a coaster for my coffee cup.

What did you listen to on the radio on your way in to work today?
I listened to a This American Life podcast on the secret recipe for Coca-Cola. Usually it’s all NPR, all the time.

If you could have dinner with anyone – history to current – who would you choose?
Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Brownstein. The conversation would be awesome.

What’s your favorite Austin activity?
Breakfast tacos.

What has been your most interesting vacation?
The past 11 years I’ve spent in Texas.

SMPS Southern Regional Conference Recap by Katie Karris, LEED AP

The 2011 Southern Regional Conference was a great way to cap off my first year as an official SMPS member. Like any business-minded individual in a down economy, I was skeptical whether or not this conference would be worth the expense and time away from work. Towards the end of last year I was still undecided on whether or not to attend, when I unexpectedly won a complimentary registration to the conference at our December SMPS Luncheon. Given this opportunity, I happily accepted and headed off to Houston in February.

During two days worth of sessions, I attended topics ranging from high-impact interview presentations to killer networking. One of my favorite sessions was “Social Media Success” by Peter Wyro. Peter’s presentation went far beyond the typical social media discussion – including specific tools such as Gravatar – a globally recognized avatar that appears beside your name when you do things like comment on a blog post. Peter also talked about the challenges and benefits of developing a social media policy within your firm, and offered a copy of his standard social media policy for any interested attendees. But beyond the specific topics covered in these sessions, what had a lasting impact on me were the personal stories each speaker shared. In the midst of his presentation on Right Brain/Left Brain thinkers, I was inspired by architect Craig Galati’s anecdote on how his firm made a conscious decision to move away from a “we do everything” approach to focus on the sociology behind architectural design and selectively pursue projects they actually care about. Likewise, I found it interesting that marketing guru Scott Butcher has very successfully created engineering work for his firm based on his photography skills and extensive community involvement.

Since it was my first time to attend this conference I can’t speak comparatively between this year or any other, but I can say that I left the event with a better understanding of critical topics, strengthened relationships within my network, new contacts within the industry, and a renewed sense of excitement for the year ahead.

Katie Harris, LEED AP
Encotech Engineering Consultants