ACE Awards Entries Sought/ASPE's Denver Chapter Elects Officers/Pipefitters JATC Honors Graduating Apprentices

The deadline to submit entries for the Associated General Contractors of Colorado's 2005 ACE Awards program is Sept. 12.

AGC Issues ACE Call for Entries

The Associated General Contractors of Colorado is accepting entries for the 2005 ACE Awards program, which recognizes member projects for construction excellence.

Awards will be given this year in 15 categories, including Contribution to the Community, Meeting the Challenge of a Difficult Job, Design-Build and Project of the Year.

Entries must be received at the AGC of Colorado's office - 1114 W. 7th Ave., Suite 200, Denver, 80204 - by 5 p.m. on Sept. 12. Each entry must be accompanied by an official entry form, three-page project description, slides and/or CD, and the $225 entry fee.

The awards will be presented at the AGC of Colorado ACE Awards banquet on Nov. 4. Winners and their projects will also be featured in a special ACE Awards edition of Colorado Construction magazine and in The Daily Journal.

For more information, contact AGC of Colorado at 303-388-2422 or go to the Web site at www.agccolorado.org.

CU-Boulder Team Wins Award for Rwanda Work

The University of Colorado at Boulder's chapter of Engineers Without Borders has been awarded the international Mondialogo Engineering Award for its long-term, sustainable engineering project in Muramba, Rwanda.

The CU team will share the prize - worth approximately $18,000 - with its partners, including the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the universities of Ruhengeri and Butare in Rwanda.

The team began its work in March 2004. The group has since returned to Muramba three times to repair and improve the 75-year-old, gravity-fed water system and its leaky taps; build two new rainwater catchment systems; and install solar-powered lighting in a clinic and a school.

On the latest trip, May 10 to May 25, the team restarted a sand filtration system in the village that hadn't been operational since 1989. Future visits will focus on water quality with the improvement of sand filtration and the introduction of solar cookers and ultraviolet filtration.

ASPE Denver Chapter Elects 2005-06 Officers and Directors

Denver Chapter No. 5 of the American Society of Professional Estimators has elected the following people as officers and directors for 2005-2006:

• President - Chris Morton, CPE, Howell Construction
• 1st Vice President - Ralph Kasper, CPE, Adolfson & Peterson
• 2nd Vice President - Heather Boulanger, Desert Plains Construction
• Secretary - Randy Weber, CPE, Pasterkamp Heating & Air Conditioning
• Treasurer - Kirk Lundquist, Heggem-Lundquist Paint Co.
• Directors - Steve Bradford, Sprehe Construction; Newt Klusmire, CPE, Swinerton Builders; Marc Langlee, Team Panels International; and Ryan Weyer, Adolfson & Peterson.

For more information about the association, contact Morton at 303-899-4784 or aspechapter5@comcast.net.

Denver Pipefitters JATC Honors 2005 Apprentices

The Denver Pipefitters Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee honored the new 2005 journeymen of Pipefitters Local Union 208.

The 26 graduating apprentices were Brian Anderson, Jose Archuleta, Devin Barber, Daniel Bradford, David Cruikshank, Mary Doherty, Ivan Garcia, Daniel Guidry, Donald Gustafson, Robert Harling, Vincent Haylett, Gary Knight, Tim Liffick.

Also Douglas Livingstone, James Lonergan, Joseph Martinez, Tom Mayor Jr., Mark Nelson, David Nirgenau, Joshua Overstreet, Bryan Reed, Brian Sanchez, Breck Schneider, Carl Solano, Robert Steams Jr. and Christopher Owens.

Several apprentices were recognized for additional accomplishments: Anderson and Lonergan, outstanding attendance; Cruikshank, Doherty, Gustafson, Reed and Schneider, excellent attendance; and Harling, Nelson and Overstreet, perfect attendance.

Two apprentices were honored for the highest completion test scores: Schneider, service; and Overstreet, construction.

AIA Introduces First-Ever Home Design Trends Survey

The results of the American Institute of Architects' first-ever home design trends survey highlight an increasing demand for greater accessibility and single-floor design that promotes easier mobility within the home.

Fueled by a strong housing market, architecture firms working in the residential sector have reported favorable business conditions, with 44 percent of respondents indicating that overall billings increased by more than five percent in the first quarter of 2005 while only 10 percent reported declines in billings from the fourth quarter of 2004.

Key residential design trends include:

• Accessibility - 62 percent of firms reported that homes are becoming more accessible with features such as wider hallways, fewer steps and the growing popularity of single-floor design;
• Informal space - 66 percent reported that informal space is increasing, along with a trend toward an open space layout in the home;
• Home size - 40 percent reported that the square footage of homes is still increasing while only 13 percent reported declines;
• Home layout - 49 percent reported that finished basements and attics are increasing in popularity, as owners of older homes are looking to increase their living space;
• Outdoors - 48 percent reported upscale landscaping is on the increase, as is the popularity of outdoor living space with features such as decks, porches and patios; and
• Amenities - 30 percent reported an increase in demand for other outdoor amenities, including swimming pools, tennis courts and gazebos.

Firms in all regions reported positive business conditions, with those in the South experiencing the greatest gains and those in the Midwest lagging behind other regions.

ABC Recognizes Member Firms for Safety Excellence

The Associated Builders and Contractor recognized several Colorado contractors for excellence in the area of safety. The awards were presente

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