2015 is underway and promises to be a busy year for the SEAoT Houston/Gulf Coast Chapter. As host chapter for the SEAoT State Conference this year, there are plenty of volunteer roles that will need to be filled. Mark your calendars for October 22-23, 2015 and plan on attending – and please consider helping out with the numerous tasks required to make the event a success.
Also, the 84th Texas Legislature is underway and we are keeping tabs on several items of interest to structural engineers, including licensure issues. Coming to the meetings is the best way to stay on top of these and other topics.
We kicked off the year with our January 22 meeting. We were pleased to be joined by a large group from the Texas A&M Student Chapter. The meeting sponsor was Walker Restoration Consultants and its parent company Walker Parking Consultants.
Our Chapter president Al Bustamante now heads the Houston Walker Restoration team and provided a brief summary of Walker Restoration’s service options, including assessment and investigation of existing structures, repair design, and asset management.
Al was joined by James Brooks, PE, LEED AP of Walker Parking Consultants, who provided an overview of their services including functional parking studies, parking design, and management systems. You can learn more about Walker Restoration and Walker Parking by visiting walkerrestoration.com and walkerparking.com
Al was also our speaker for the meeting, presenting on the topic of “Tackling Travertine Cladding Repairs”. It was an interesting case study of two local projects; Jones Hall and Capitol One Plaza. An overview of basic material properties, design considerations, and investigative techniques was complemented with insight into the various failure conditions that were encountered, the restoration approach, and implementation of repairs. Thank you, Al, for providing another interesting and informative presentation.
