An Important Message to our Blog Subscribers
Dear blog subscriber,
As many of you probably know, Anderson Ashton – Design/Build has embarked on a re-branding campaign that has lead to many exciting new changes for the company. Among these changes are a new logo, a new website, and a new blog location. That’s right; from this point forward all blogs from Anderson Ashton – Design/Build will be created and posted on our new website. Do make this happen, go to the landing/homepage of our new website www.andersonashton.com and find the blog window mid-page on the right-hand side and click on “subscribe to the RSS” and continue to receive our blog postings. moving forward.
Now if you are one of the over 35% of web users browsing via Google Chrome, once you have re-subscribed and try to read our blog via RSS, you will be taken to a page full of unreadable code – don’t worry I have the solution.
Please go to this site https://chrome.google.com/webstore/search/foxish and load their RSS Reader and continue to enjoy reading our company blog. And please also let us know what you think of our new look and new website.
Incorporate “Green” Architecture into Building Construction
By Steven L. Wagner AIA, Anderson Ashton – Design/Build
I recently finished a survey that I was asked to fill out by a local architecture student. I thought I would share one entry that answered the question – How is “Green” architecture incorporated in the process?
“Green” is always a consideration in all our building projects. “Green” is good business when implemented with the intent of efficiency. Efficiency saves money and resources, this is good business and it also happens to be “Green”. This is why we can say that Anderson Ashton has been practicing “Green” design for more than 50 years. We implement building orientation, thoughtful window placement, efficient HVAC equipment, recyclable, resilient and durable building materials, efficient lighting and controls as efficient strategies on all our projects.
REITs pay off for investors – Self Storage Facilities lead the pack
As Americans moved to rentals, self-storage facilities led the pack in 2011 with a 35.2% return
- Identified a municipality you wish to build a Self Storage facility in
- Determine where within that particular municipality you can build a Self Storage facility (ie Zoning)
- Hire a Self Storage professional to do a feasibility study determining if the properly zoned location you have chosen can support a Self Storage facility
- If the feasibility study supports your location, begin the preliminary design and budgeting process then meet with your municipal officials to begin the approval process.
Nonresidential Construction Spending Increases 0.9 Percent in November.
“November’s nonresidential construction performance was solid and the increase in spending encompassed both private and public construction.” —ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu.
Anderson-Ashton has certainly noticed an increase in non-residential construction but mostly in the area of renovations and additions. Still, this would indicate that manufactures in particular are doing pretty well in SE Wisconsin.
This article: Area commercial real estate market improves slowly by Tom Daykin of the Journal Sentinel posted on Jan. 3, 2012 on the JSOnline website may help to explain the upswing in non-residential construction as industrial buildings absorption rate improves.
US Manufacturing: ‘At a moment of Truth’
US Manufacturing: ‘At a Moment of Truth’
By David R. Brousell
Here is yet another excellent piece I found while visiting Manufacturing Executive’s website. This article digs deeper into the current state of the US Manufacturing market. I have pulled out the one paragraph that would appear to drill down to the necessary strategies to move US Manufacturing forward. The trickle down to the rest of our economy if the US Manufacturing market produced 95% of the products US citizens consume would be profound in our opinion.
Four strategies are recommended to push industry to the desired 95% goal. They are: solve the talent problem by attracting the best workers, strengthening industry/education partnerships, and by offering employees a “more collaborative” workplace experience; invest in high-impact clusters of interconnected companies, suppliers, service providers, and associated institutions such as university research labs; build a future with Mexico as an alternative to China and other offshoring sites; and simplify and streamline the tax and regulatory structure in the U.S.
US Manufacturing Skills Shortage At Boiling Point?
Oct 14, 2011 7:12 AM
via Manufacturing Executive
A revealing new report on the growing skills gap in US manufacturing has discovered that American companies cannot fill an estimated 600,000 skilled positions across the nation right now.
Called Boiling Point? The Skills Gap In US Manufacturing, the new survey also found that a substantial 82 percent of manufacturers now have a moderate to severe shortage of available, qualified production workers; 67% have a moderate to severe kills shortage in their overall workforce; 56 percent anticipate these shortages to grow worse over the next three to five years; and 64 percent of respondents say that workforce shortages and skills deficiencies in production roles are having a significant impact on their ability to expand operations or improve productivity.
The new report, conducted by The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte, covers over 1,100 US manufacturing companies. More details to be released next week.
Also see our recent Manufacturing Executive discussion on the US Skills Gap: 40% More Manufacturing Jobs: But Skills Shortage Getting Worse
At the GreenLeaf Inn, Sustainability Starts From Day One
Sustainability at the GreenLeaf Inn will know no bounds. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this picture will constitute one of our briefest Anderson-Ashton blog postings to date.
This photo shows the hydronic heating coils that will be incorporated into the floor slab system of the soon-to-be relocated Studio structure on the GreenLeaf Inn property.
This picture is a tremendous illustration of the level to which the GreenLeaf Inn will be taken too. This is only the beginning as future pictures from this location will show the solar panels to be mounted onto the new “Cool Roof” to be installed onto the “Cottage”.
News from Anderson-Ashton Design|Build via our eNewsletter
The Fall 2011 issue of our eNewsletter
via Constant Contact: http://myemail.constantcontact.com/News-from-Anderson-Ashton-Design-Build.html?soid=1103049216020&aid=HflW63FmFoc.
Our recently released issue of our company eNewsletter continues the theme of Design|Build as the optimum project delivery method. Whether it is an addition, alteration, or new construction, being able to put your faith and trust into one source that will take your project through a not so perfect process, during some not so perfect economic times, through municipalities that have not so friendly restrictions, is what a design|build firm like Anderson-Ashton does best.
“Come-on Man” – Wisconsin Lags behind rest of Nation
As so clearly depicted in these charts published by the Design|Build Institute of America, Wisconsin lags well behind the balance of the Nation when it comes to embracing the Design|Build project delivery method.
Do the design|build general contractors in Wisconsin have only themselves to blame for this? When you compare the advantages of Design|Build over the more traditional Design|Bid|Build delivery method, it amazing to us that our State does not embrace design|build more openly, or at all for that matter. Supporting information found in this blog are clear, the best choice for an on time, under budget, hassle free construction project is Design|Build.
Link to our Design|Build tab at the top of this page to see the supporting literature to back-up this claim.
Anderson-Ashton – Design|Build begins Phase 1 of the GreenLeaf Inn
Phase one of the Green Leaf Inn project located in the Town of Delavan got underway this past month as Anderson-Ashton began work on the aerobic mound system that will accommodate the 19 unit hotel project. With the help of Herr Environmental, this aerobic mound system represents the first of many state of the art systems that will set the Green Leaf Inn apart from all other hotels in the Midwest and perhaps the country.
Phase one will include the installation of the aerobic mound system, site infra-structure necessary to connect the existing 50 Kilowatt wind turbine and other sustainable energy systems to the rest of the campus. Grading work will be done to prepare the building pad and parking areas for phase two which includes the 16 room Inn; and all grading necessary for storm water drainage and water quality will be completed.
The aerial photo above gives the definitive overview of what the Green Leaf Inn will be, which is spectacular!
Here are some additional links to the functioning 50kw wind turbine seen in the aerial photo.
Time Lapse of Wind Turbine installation
