“Designers really needed more options and sophisticated acoustical solutions. So she took all of that information and built the company from the ground up.” O’Toole’s approach resonated with the market, and the Dallas-based company grew steadily over the next three decades.

Today, AEC employs nearly 100 people and has expanded its offerings beyond its original focus. “We do a lot more than just acoustical products now,” says Durham. From window treatments and banquettes to upholstered solutions and lighting elements, the team delivers a complete solution.

AEC remains woman-owned, with O’Toole currently at the helm as Chief Executive Officer, a fact that makes the company stand out within the construction industry. “Many women in our industry don’t have the same opportunities that we are afforded here at AEC,” Durham says. “We know that it’s a very male-dominated industry, and that is a big part of the experience for so many females trying to build a successful career in construction. It’s the way it has always been, but thankfully, we are starting to see that change.”

Barbara O’Toole may not have set out to be a trailblazer, but she became one nonetheless. “She didn’t start off thinking that she was going to be a good example for women, of someone breaking barriers and paving their own way, but I think that women do look up to her because she has accomplished so much, myself included,” Durham says. “Without her knowing it, she is helping the women in our industry to know that you can do anything you want to. You just have to work hard and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t.”

When it comes to running the company, however, O’Toole and Durham prefer a different focus. “It’s such a hot topic, women in construction and women in the industry and women in general,” Durham says, “but Barbara would agree with me when I say this—we both prefer to focus on the way it impacts our business, which has more to do with what kind of person you are rather than gender. We care more—have always cared more—about the type of people [who work at AEC]. Are you a good human being? Are you a hard worker? Do you care? Are you creative? Are you self-aware?”

The AEC team works hard to educate the industry in order to bridge the gap between acoustics, construction, and design. “I think what makes us unique is that we try to make what we do accessible to a lot of people,” Durham explains. “We try to be a resource for designers and a resource for general contractors. Anybody who has questions [can] call us. “We really try very hard to make it easy for people to work with us,” she says.

“We try to help them realize that it doesn’t have to be complicated,” she continues. “You can do an acoustical treatment on any project and still achieve a beautiful aesthetic, be within budget, and be super creative.”

The team’s close relationships with other industry insiders helps make this approach possible. “More often than not, architects and designers don’t have a relationship with the trade partners,” says Architectural Sales and Marketing Manager, Stephanie Isaacson. “So for a subcontractor to have direct relationships with designers, where we are making the effort to be a resource for them, I think that’s what makes us unique. Now, when they are thinking about how to construct a complicated design or they need help suggesting alternates that are within the client’s budget, they have access to an experienced trade partner who can answer their questions and get them the help they need quickly.”

“We’re not afraid to help educate people,” Durham adds. “Some people want to hold the knowledge in and not share it, but we’d rather educate you so the next time it’s that much easier to work together.”

While the company completes plenty of standard “plug and play” jobs, it should not come as a surprise that AEC’s approach has led to a lot of unique projects—including ones that fall outside the realm of acoustics. “We get asked to do things like hang 4,000 #2 pencils from a ceiling or create hundreds of paper airplanes with employees’ faces on them,” Durham recalls. These tasks are more complicated than they might appear. Take the out-of-the-box pencil project at Uplift Education, for example. “With hanging pencils, you would think, well, just attach the pencil to the ceiling. What’s so hard about that?” Plenty, as it turned out. The ceiling height was very low, and every pencil had to line up perfectly both horizontally and vertically. “They needed to match all the way through,” she remembers. Achieving this while working within an imperfect ceiling surface meant overcoming several challenges.

The team’s creative solution was to attach an eraser head to the end of each pencil that fit into a specially made, acrylic grid. “We glued those to the end and dropped them through a perforated grid that allowed the pencil to perfectly line up,” Durham explains. “And then if the breeze blew or someone accidentally touched the pencil, it gave enough sway that they wouldn’t break, but then it also allowed it to line right back up with the other pencils. So, a small detail turned into something that really needed to be engineered and thought through.”

In another unique project, North Texas PGA envisioned hundreds of golf balls with members’ names printed on them, mounted onto a wall. “So, you think, we’ll just attach them to the wall,” Durham says. But, “they also required these to be interchangeable so that names could be added and removed as needed, and we had to engineer a solution for that.” Further complicating the project, every name had to line up perfectly with one another. Mum’s the word on the proprietary solution the team developed, but, “I will tell you that it involved using CNC machines and 3D printing,” Durham shares.

Applying their imaginative and resourceful approach, the team members have created everything from string art to elaborate banquettes to a decorative bull’s head. “We were approached about doing a bronzed bull’s head. As a team, we collaborated on creative solutions and arrived at a faux bronze finish, instead of an actual metal bronze head. One of our talented team members used her artistic skills to help us achieve that.”

This can-do attitude and collaborative approach has made AEC successful far beyond the acoustical market. In fact, the company launched a specialty division in response to being asked to take on tough projects with problems that no one else was willing—or able—to solve. The staff at AEC “have such creative minds and diverse backgrounds that we were continuously stretching the boundaries and trying new things, which is when you start to realize your full capabilities. So we created an entire division for specialty projects,” says Isaacson, because “we became to the go-to contractor when someone asked, ‘who is going to build this or create this?’”

Looking ahead, the team is eager to keep moving along the same creative, problem-solving path that has already brought so much success. “We want to continue to grow and be one of the best specialty subcontractors in [Dallas-Fort Worth],” says Durham. “Yes, we’re a subcontractor, but we want to be more than that. We want to continue to grow and offer custom solutions. Our goal is to diversify even further, into various markets, and be a go-to solution for people. If you ask yourself, ‘Who’s going to do this?’ we want you to immediately think, AEC can do it!”

The post Bridging the Gap Between Acoustics, Construction, and Design<p class="company">AEC</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

For 46 years, BOKA Powell has committed to designing spaces that exhibit exceptional design and function while satisfying the vision of their clients. BOKA Powell’s mission is, “To fulfill the dreams of our clients, employees, collaborators, and communities. We listen intently, design creatively, and celebrate life.” Their mission is directly reflected in their culture and each one of their projects.

Dream fulfillment
Listening is an essential element of the design process for BOKA Powell, as Senior Associate and Senior Interior Project Designer, Melanie Hanna, notes. “As an interior designer, listening and understanding our clients’ needs is the biggest driver for inspiring the stories we tell through design.” What she refers to as storytelling sets a tone for how each space in a building is carefully designed with purpose top of mind. Understanding the client’s brand, their why, how they work, where they work, who they work with, creates a space that tells a story of the client from not only a design, but an operational standpoint as well.

What do they hear their clients saying? “Since the pandemic, we’ve noticed a shift in the workplace to include an abundance of amenities, to not only entice the employee back to the workplace, but to give them a sense of being at home,” notes Principal R. Andrew Bennett. Understanding this shift in work-life balance has been pivotal in BOKA Powell’s continued success, which is why the company is dedicated to designing spaces where life and work can coexist and thrive.

Ability to pivot
It is no secret that the pandemic significantly impacted the corporate workplace, which has been one good reason for BOKA Powell to pivot. Empty buildings are not only impacting clients but also local economies across the United States. “The workplace is struggling in our market. It’s the same in San Francisco, New York, and Denver: really struggling. Empty buildings are affecting restaurants, street life, the energy of the city. It’s a bit better in Texas, but it’s still hard to get large new projects going in the workplace sector, so we’ve been pivoting,” says Bennett, who highlights opportunities in hospitality, multifamily, residential, and conversions.

“We’re seeing a lot of corporate high-rise capital improvement projects right now,” says Hanna. “Building Owners are renovating lobbies to provide end users a fresh first impression and to provide updated amenities. Hospitality has always been at the core of corporate workplace; however, now there is an emphasis on hospitality with the use of higher end finishes, layered materiality and lighting, and addition of private clubs and restaurants for tenants and the community. To better serve their clients, 8080, a BOKA Powell Studio, was formed to cater to luxury hospitality brands, full-service hotels, high-end restaurants, and other hospitality-focused interiors projects regionally and nationwide.

“As a full-service design firm, we provide architecture, interior design, graphics, and myriad creative services. 8080, a BOKA Powell Studio, is a collective of experience-driven curious creators,” says Hanna.

Jessica Rosales, Associate/8080 Hospitality Team Lead, states, “8080 is passionate about creating unique luxury and lifestyle spaces.”

Kaky Gown and Dan Doyle, Senior Associates/8080 Hospitality Team Leads, continue, “Our team’s process and drive set us apart from our competitors.”

Projects like the Bowie House Hotel – Auberge Resorts Collection in Fort Worth, Texas; Surf & Sand Resort in Laguna Beach, CA; and Waterloo Park Hotel – Hilton Curio Collection in Austin, Texas demonstrate that BOKA Powell and 8080 are leading the market on exquisite projects across Texas and beyond.

It’s all about relationships
Based in Texas with offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and Denver, Colorado and licensed in 36 states, BOKA Powell’s long-term relationships have taken them across the United States and even around the world. And, while these markets keep the team busy, the sky is the limit thanks to the technology and innovation they bring to every task.

Through the spaces they create, BOKA Powell crafts an unmatched experience for their clients as well as their own employees. Because relationships and partnerships are a core part of their identity, fostering these relationships is paramount. One of the best ways this is reflected is in BOKA Powell’s company culture. “Our best asset is our people,” says Hanna. “Our culture promotes a spirit of collaboration and innovation. If our people are happy and they know that they’re valued and having fun, that’s what it’s all about.” If you take care of your people, they’ll take care of your clients.”

Bennett agrees. “We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we take our work very seriously. We have a lot of fun. The fun takes some of the edge off of doing some serious work and then clients become friends and become repeat clients.”

The best people, a vibrant culture, and an environment where technology, innovation, and creativity meet, have set the stage for projects that push the limits to bring clients’ stories to life and bring life to the spaces they call home. BOKA Powell is committed to being on the forefront of market trends, continuous learning, mentoring, and growth to guarantee they remain a leading player and a trusted partner for their clients—and always, a leader in the design space.

The post From Concept to Creation: Crafting a Client’s Design Vision into Reality<p class="company">BOKA Powell</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

But this company does more than just please aesthetically; it also embraces sustainable practices by understanding that architecture and construction are two fields where eco-friendly methods can make a big difference. By utilizing recycled and environmentally friendly materials instead of traditional building methods that often rely on resource-intensive materials that produce much waste and pollution, sustainable design promotes the use of reclaimed wood, and recycled steel and concrete.

CarbonShack, the sister company of Home Front Build, was founded 20 years ago in support of historic preservation, restoring homes to their previous beauty and glory. During restoration, if the home was being renovated and remodeled and architectural pieces were being removed, Home Front Build would often store them. Over the years, the company built up a collection of old doors, windows, floorboards, and studs from homes that were built 100 or more years ago with lumber that’s no longer available commercially.

“There was a great wealth of the materiality of those elements that we collected, so at a certain point we realized it would be so much better for the environment and economically feasible to re-use those elements in remodeling some of these homes,” says Greg Roth, senior interior designer.

“If a client wanted a new addition put on a home, we were able to use those salvaged studs or doors and windows that were originally harvested from forests over 100 years ago and put those into an older home being remodeled.”

This means the company was not creating new carbon footprints from hauling lumber from afar or having new materials crafted and fabricated, says Roth. “We’re making use of materials that were already in the marketplace and the carbon footprint which had already been established.”

That was the concept behind the question of whether it was possible to build carbon-neutral homes, Roth adds. The company’s first project in 2016 was called Casa Zero, a deep exploration into what it would look like to build a home with zero carbon footprint and use as little new construction material as possible in the building and furnishing while incorporating low-carbon methodologies both in the operational carbon footprint and in the fabrication.

Additionally, Home Front Build has also developed home furnishing lines, including tile, fabrics, and lighting, with all products designed in Los Angeles and produced and fabricated by local artisans wherever possible.

“We strive to source all materials within about a 300-mile radius or so, which includes furniture we have built using urban forest lumber,” Roth says. “We work with a couple of vendors locally who harvest trees that have fallen or need to be taken down within the city of Los Angeles rather than going to a forest outside of the city. We reuse that lumber and craft it into furniture, and also use it in the homes we’re remodeling if people want cabinetry or countertops made from them. So that’s pretty exciting.”

In keeping with that mandate, when the city recently required a street widened in front of the project property that necessitated the felling of an old sugar pine, Home Front Build had it milled and made into furniture.

“Another thing I’m very excited about is our fabrics. We work with hemp as a main fiber content as the textile is less water-intensive in its growth, production, and fabrication than any other commercially available fiber,” says Roth.

“People are excited when they can use organic cotton,” he adds, “which is great, but cotton uses a tremendous amount of water in growing, harvesting, and processing, while hemp uses a fraction of that.”

Hemp, he adds, is also very versatile, naturally resistant to mildew, UV, and bacteria, and can be woven into a tremendous variety of textures. “We print our bespoke designs on hemp which we sell through the showroom we have here at the office.”

However, Home Front Build is not only focused on sustainability. Aesthetically, its brands take a lot of inspiration from the natural world, such as fabric prints of microscopic imagery of mycelium, the network of tentacles and roots of fungi that runs through the soil of the forest and connects the different plants.

“We’re big on using nature as inspiration for aesthetic design choices,” Roth says. “Not only is some of this imagery incredibly beautiful, it’s a way of bringing nature into the home and further reinforcing and reminding consumers and homeowners that we’re all connected to nature. We’re big advocates of keeping that in mind as a way of inspiring collective responsibility and action.”

Another nod to the company’s commitment to sustainability is its use of reclaimed sea plastics in its furniture designs by way of Los Angeles-based ByFusion Global Inc., which salvages plastics from the land and the ocean that are then shredded and compressed into dense blocks.

“They’re construction-grade, and can be used in any sort of structure,” Roth explains. “They’re solid, structurally sound, and beautiful. The company does some good in the world by taking waste out of the oceans and land and putting it into something useful. We thought, what if we developed another use for that and design some furniture?”

Home Front Build worked with ByFusion and a local fabricator to come up with a line of chairs and tables and is developing other pieces as well.

“We maintain that sort of simple integrity of the building block, and the seats have an optional cushion on them,” he says. “They’re suitable for indoors and outdoors and they’re very sturdy and quite heavy… they certainly have presence, and from our perspective, they’re like art pieces. They’re quite modern in that sensibility, plus they do good for the world. So we love that.”

The industry at large, he notes, is a tremendous producer of waste and pollution, so there’s a lot of opportunity as a company to make a difference in the world in terms of global warming, pollution, and consumption and waste.

“Because we have that responsibility and opportunity, we take it very seriously, and we want to be thought leaders and industry leaders,” Roth says. “We want to encourage and inspire consumers to be responsible shepherds of the environment, even in their decisions about their home design and interior design.”

The goal, he continues, is to bring the sensibility to home design and interior design that doing good can look good—and that everybody should consider it.

“That doesn’t mean everybody must do everything sustainable in their home,” he says. “That’s a big ask. Certainly, if you’re up for it, do it. But even for something like recovering a chair or stool, why not choose a fabric that doesn’t harm the environment? Even that small decision has an impact, so we’re looking for opportunities for people to take on those responsibilities and the role of helping out the Earth. We’re providing a lot of opportunities for that.”

And people are interested. The topic of sustainability isn’t going away and comes up regularly in panel discussions and online articles.

“I think consumers are interested in knowing how they can make decisions that are healthy for them, their families, and the planet,” says Roth. “Does that mean everybody’s running toward it with open arms? Not necessarily. There are some costs and learning curves involved.”

There is also some pushback, as there often is with any technology that’s new and generally requires extra cost, so people are often reluctant to openly embrace it. “When we find people willing to take the risks and who are open to being pushed a little bit, then it makes a lot of sense, and people come around,” Roth says.

He adds that Home Front Build is also an advocate of electric induction ranges and cooktops in homes rather than gas and fossil fuel.

“Gas-burning stoves are a tremendous polluter inside the home,” Roth says. “There’s a very clean way of cooking that’s better for the environment, and there’s a range of opportunity for consumers.”

While the gas industry has done a tremendously good job, he adds, of “romanticizing the blue flame of gas”—making it harder to leave that and jump onto the electric induction cooktop bandwagon—people are coming around and communities and regulations are shifting in that direction as well.

Natural resistance to embracing new technology among consumers and contractors is just one of the challenges Home Front Build has been up against. But Roth adds that there’s now a groundswell in the home construction and interior design industry toward sustainability and responsibility, and the stewardship of the Earth and its resources.

“Given global warming and the intensification of the effects of the changing climate, I don’t feel like these movements are going away,” he says. “There’s an opportunity for people to shift their thinking about the way homes are built and the way we use homes and the material finishes we choose for them. Whether you’re in California, Canada, or Europe, the world is changing. Global warming is happening and it’s 100 percent affecting the way we live in our homes.”

Whether it means improving insulation or putting in double-glazed windows, there are ways to address this in design and construction that require attention. “It’s a challenge we all need to step up to.”

Home Front Build continues to step up by promoting the importance of sustainability, recently hosting a panel event at its showroom and co-hosting two other events at the Pacific Design Center that focused on how the industry can address waste, and what designers, architects, fabricators, builders, and suppliers can do to make the world and their industries better for everybody.

“We look at this process holistically; it’s not simply, ‘we’re going to put steel into this house,’ but rather, ‘what is the full life or the carbon footprint of the cycle of that steel or wood or glass?’” Roth says. “We work to minimize the carbon footprint, but we take it a step further.”

Home Front Build also provides consumers or homeowners with every service needed, from initial concept and working with the city for permitting and architectural drawings to interior design, installation, landscaping, and providing and designing products they need as well.

“We’re carrying over that notion of sustainability by offering all we can in our services and consultation on sustainable use of the home and the footprint of the home, and the architectural and interior design products for the home,” says Roth.

The company also provides a tool with a calculator that anyone can use to input information on their building and establish both their current and projected carbon footprints.

“We’re trying to offer not just the services, not just the product, but also the information,” Roth says. “I think that sets us apart from a lot of other design and design-build firms. We’re looking at it holistically. We’re engaging and we’re striving to educate.”

The post Past Perfected<p class="company">CarbonShack</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

Crafting complete elevator cabs and custom elevator interiors—whether for a new construction project or a renovation—Eklund’s has developed a unique, wide range of elevator cab solutions to meet performance and budget requirements, and, most strikingly, aesthetic considerations.

The company was founded by James (Jim) Eklund in Grapevine, Texas in 1983. Eklund had spent his entire career in the elevator cab and entry industry before starting the company. Embracing his belief that all products could be improved, Eklund’s has since emerged as the market leader for customized elevator cabs.

A family business to this day, Eklund’s daughter Beth Cunningham joined the expanding business in 1984 as Vice President of Sales and is President today, while Beth’s son and nephew, Heath Cunningham and Joseph Eklund, both hold executive positions.

With a corporate office in Dallas-Fort Worth and a manufacturing facility in Maryland, Eklund’s has brought its expertise to unique elevator cab solutions that satisfy all client needs.

“The Eklunds identified a gap in custom elevator cabs, so Jim started the company with the priority of making a superior elevator cab product and tailor-made cab interiors,” explains Shelby Tidmore, Marketing Coordinator.

Jim Eklund’s specialization—and genius—was in turning elevator interiors into practical, aesthetically beautiful, and safe realities by collaborating with architects, elevator consultants, elevator contractors, general contractors, and building owners.

Today, Eklund’s design, production, and installation of unique elevator cabs and interiors are all included in its comprehensive elevator cab solutions, complete with innovative engineering and design concepts, strict safety compliance, and a wide range of material options. Projects range from remodeling current cabs to building custom glass observation cabs and elaborate interiors for new structures. The company’s clients stretch from coast to coast, but wherever they are, they can experiment with cab layouts and finishes via the company’s virtual design tool, the StreamLine Cab Design Studio.

This tool dramatically shortens the design cycle, speeds up manufacturing, and reduces costs for customers. Eklund’s expert designers employ cutting-edge manufacturing processes with durable, functional materials that adhere to the strictest codes, safety, and quality standards.

With Business Development Representatives working throughout the country, Eklund’s has continued to expand its customer base and grow its staff, manufacturing capacity, and capabilities since its founding in 1983. The company’s projects span hospitality, medical/health care, commercial offices, government/justice, multi-unit residential, airports, civic/cultural, education (colleges and universities), entertainment, and retail, all the while maintaining its strong family dynamic.

Celebrations for the impressive 40^th anniversary included a company picnic for the team. “We’ve done great business in the past couple of years; we appreciate the team, and have an upcoming employee and customer appreciation party,” shares Tidmore.

Eklund’s business model—which embraces designing tailor-made cabs ranging from basic garage cabs up to observation passenger cabs overlooking downtown Dallas, and a large corporate office building in Chicago, a huge project that Eklund’s is particularly proud of—starts with initially meeting with a client and understanding their vision for what they want, says Tidmore.

Eklund’s StreamLine Cab Design Studio lets clients visit the website and “play around” with different materials and finishes to make their own cab. From there, Eklund’s can create something fully tailor-made, providing an inspired answer to the customer’s needs.

“The sky is pretty much the limit,” she says. “We can go anywhere, from using Italian stone to laminate and vinyl—all different sorts of elements.”

Other notable projects include corporate offices, buildings, and hotels all over the country. “We’ve done a lot of notable buildings, and although a lot of people I meet don’t think about cab interiors or the process, everyone realizes that there’s a special company that makes them,” Tidmore says—proof that although elevators are usually considered simply functional, they can be so much more when designed by the right company.

“You don’t think about it until you’re in a really nice one,” she says. “We do anything from office buildings to hotels, sports stadiums, and college campuses. Anything you can think of, we can tailor-make. And it’s a very niche industry; there are few companies or organizations that do what we do and I’d say we’re arguably one of the best artists doing it because we’ve been around for so long and have so much industry knowledge.”

A major Chicago-based corporate office building, for instance, one of Eklund’s biggest and most unusual projects, featured numerous units and took five years to construct. And Eklund’s not only designs the cabs, but takes care of installation as well, through sister company BCE Specialities.

“We can do the design—we work with architects a lot—and then we also do the installation,” Tidmore says. “We have a sister company called BCE Specialties, which Beth is also President of, and we work closely with the elevator companies that do the mechanics to install the cabs ourselves. We handle it from design conception to installation.”

While work often comes by word-of-mouth for Eklund’s, the company bids on jobs as well. “Projects also come from other elevator companies who have used our services in the past and refer us to potential clients,” Tidmore notes.

Being a full-service business helps the company elevate itself above the competition. “What sets us apart is our industry experience and knowledge and then how we install the cabs. Not a lot of companies do installation,” says Tidmore. “It is what makes our business unique… We have a quicker turnaround time on projects and manage it from the design to completion, getting to be with the customer every step of the way.”

Challenges have included, of course, the ongoing pandemic and the numerous difficulties, such as supply chain constraints, it has created over the past few years, but Eklund’s has persevered. “It’s good to be back in an office setting again and having that company culture back,” shares Tidmore. “I felt like it was hindered during COVID.”

Despite supply chain disruptions, Eklund’s determination and commitment have enabled the team to maintain timely delivery and keep up the momentum. This, in turn, has led to a variety of notable accomplishments.

“All of our jobs are an accomplishment,” says Tidmore. “Being part of a big project definitely is. Two large office projects in downtown Chicago—about 100 cabs total—is one of our accomplishments in the past year.”

Tidmore is also particularly proud and pleased to be a part of not only a family-owned and family-run business but one that is headed by a woman.

“It’s inspiring working for a woman-owned business in 2023,” she says. “Being a fresh graduate from college and having good woman leadership sets a standard in a male-dominated industry. I think that also sets us apart. I wouldn’t say it’s easier, but it’s more comfortable for me to have the camaraderie of a woman owning your business and being able to highlight that,” she says. “It makes me as a young professional more comfortable being in such a male-dominated industry.”

It’s been encouraging for Tidmore to start out working for a company that prioritizes family values, care for employees, and the importance of encouraging young employees to not only do their best but also to make their way in the construction world.

Not only is she enjoying her work at Eklund’s and learning from the mentorship of President Beth Cunningham; it’s something she can see herself doing for years to come. “I’d love to make a career of being here and being in this industry,” she says. “It gives me as a young professional something to be proud of and look forward to as well.”

The post Superior Products for Elevated Success<p class="company">Eklund’s</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.