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The Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy sits on the old Voelcker Dairy Farm in north-central San Antonio. The 330-acre natural park is well-known as an urban oasis featuring a nature center, outdoor classrooms, dog parks, play and workout areas, walking, hiking, biking trails, and a managed wildlife habitat. 

A masterplan community called Churchill Estates with moderately priced homes sits adjacent to the park. The property owner’s house was built on a bluff overlooking the park and is not included in the neighborhood homeowner association.

 

The current homeowner spotted a Texas Railing Systems truck at a Home Depot parking lot in Kerrville, about an hour northwest of San Antonio. “He took a picture of our truck door, and two years later, he called for us to provide the railing for his home,” said Wayne Uecker, owner of Texas Railing Systems. 

The Texas Railing Systems crew also completed a tree top skywalk in Hardberger Park as part of a 150-foot land bridge for wildlife crossing over Wurzbach Parkway, connecting the two halves of the original dairy farm land.  

Uecker uses CR Laurence as the framework and Ultra-tec Invisiware® as part of their in-house product designs on most projects. His team installed both for this project. “The ease of use is great because it’s incorporated into our standard fabrications, and we understand the Invisiware system,” said Uecker.

Texas Railing Systems is a leading architectural, contemporary railing specialty company with more than one thousand projects throughout the Texas with long-standing commercial, residential, and manufacturing relationships, including their long-time supplier, Cable Art.    

Much of the country’s workforce is transitioning back to office spaces after more than a year of working from home, and workers’ expectations have changed. In response, business and commercial property owners, designers, and architects are now modifying their approach to better accommodate the preferences of their staff and tenants.

Even well-respected brands like Steelcase are acting on recent studies explaining the shifting outlook of employees. They’re now reimagining their offerings to ensure that companies create spaces where their staff can feel most comfortable and productive.

Here, we’re sharing four office trends that you’ll want to consider.

The Rise of Resimercial

According to the experts at Wayfair, Resimercial workplace design is here to stay. Employees expect a comfortable place to spend their workdays; for employers, creating these hospitable – even fun – spaces help to ensure happy, more engaged workers.

Millennials and Gen Z, now most of the nation’s work population, are leading with a “work any time, any place” mindset and want a workspace they can feel at home. Typical Resimercial contains breakout spaces with a style that involves a mix of textures and silhouettes, house plants, comfortable seating, durable upholstery, and natural fibers.

A Room with a View

Gone are (or should be) the days of working in an office made of four solid walls. Creating additional outdoor spaces, bringing the outside-in by integrating biophilic elements, or emphasizing daylighting by implementing walls made of windows, has the power to transform the work setting by reducing stress and enhancing the mood.

While windows certainly play a central role in helping to lighten up an environment, there are other ways to reimagine a conventional office space, create open areas and improve line of sight. Get inspired by checking out how Ultra-Tec cable railing was used to bring both an aesthetic design and an open, up-to-date feel to office and commercial spaces

Add Texture: Combine the Old with the New 

Incorporating various textures and textiles in the design or accessorizing of an office can add life and a sense of interest to a space. According to Parterre, blending old and new elements – including a mix of different metal finishes – can create an alternative style that delivers a warm feeling to what may have traditionally been a run-of-the-mill atmosphere.

Ultra-tec’s mix of finishes and accessories (including bronze) pair beautifully with wood, stone, and other natural materials that offer a diverse range of design options.

Opt for Sustainability 

The choices you make when planning your space matter to your team. According to Allwork and a survey by Fast Company, sustainability is an important criterion for today’s workforce. The cable railing from Ultra-Tec is environmentally friendly, there is little waste in the product, and it is 65% recyclable. Selecting alternatives that support the environment demonstrates to employees that you’re a company that cares.

Are you considering simple ways to update your commercial building designs in response to these workplace shifts? Contact us to see how our solutions can simplify and enhance your projects. 

Sustainability in building materials

In today’s environment, building a sustainable structure is no longer a nice to have; it is a basic need. Sustainability is measured through various rating systems subscribed to by architects, designers, building owners, and benefiting occupants and the environment. While there are several green building rating systems, the industry most widely used is the LEED® green building program (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design™) program developed by the U.S. Green Building Council® (USGBC®).
USGBC-LEED

The LEED rating system offers tools to measure a buildings’ performance. Credits are acquired to achieve points toward a level of building certification: certified (40-49), silver (50-59), gold (60-79), and platinum (80+).

Materials and Resources Credit

Most building materials, like stainless steel cables and fittings, fall within the Materials and Resources credit. Materials are measured based on where they come from and their makeup and disposal. LEED gives points for green, renewable, recycled, and natural materials specified in a building.

Stainless Steel Bridge

It’s important to note that virtually all new stainless steel materials contain post-consumer content, defined as waste material that is no longer usable for its intended purpose.

Ultra-tec® cable railing products are made of recycled materials, helping our customers qualify for LEED credits in:

  • LEED for New Construction – Material & Resources Credit 4.1 and 4.2
  • LEED for Commercial Interior – Material & Resources Credit 4.1 and 4.2
  • LEED for Schools – Material & Resources Credit 4.1 and 4.2

All stainless-steel products produced and supplied by Ultra-tec in our U.S. facility contain a minimum pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled content of 65 percent, with a minimum post-consumer recycled content of 25 percent. All other steel products produced and supplied by Ultra-tec contain a minimum post-consumer recycled content of 25 percent.

Stainless steel is recyclable, durable and economical

Stainless steel is one of the most environmentally friendly metals used in construction. If chosen correctly, stainless steel will last the life of the project. Ninety-two percent of the stainless steel used in architecture, building, and construction applications is recaptured and recycled to produce more steel products at the end-of-life.

Along with its corrosion-resistant properties, stainless steel is highly durable. Stainless steel is composed of corrosion-resistant alloys, offering a long life and an attractive lifecycle cost-benefit versus low-cost alternative materials.

Stainless steel has been used in a variety of interior and exterior building applications contributing to LEED points for the service life of more than 50-years, making it an ideal material to specify for the long-term. 

What is stainless steel?

Stainless steel is from the iron-based alloy family. It contains, on average, 12 percent chromium, which is the chemical element that produces an anti-corrosive, invisible thin layer of oxide, better known as the passive layer, and is the protective property. A corrosion-resistant layer naturally forms when chromium reacts with sufficient oxygen (via air and water). If this layer is damaged or removed during fabrication or polishing, it will self-repair immediately as long as the surface is clean. Although more resistant to corrosion than other carbon and alloy steels, stainless steel describes the metal’s rust-resistant properties. However, it does not mean it is entirely stain-resistant in certain conditions. So, it is essential to follow a preventative maintenance program to keep the desired look.

Corrosive environments

The most common situations —those that contain salts — such as swimming pools and ocean, seawater and ice melting agents, will actively attack stainless steel. Heat and humidity also increase the corrosive activity of chlorine and bromine salts.

Other chemical reactions that may cause deterioration include carbon picked up from bending or fabricating tools, finishing equipment, or steel covered workbenches. The fumes from the muriatic acid solution used by contractors or masons on masonry can attack stainless steel.

When considering the material’s mechanical finish —satin or mirror—corrosion-causing agents will collect within the fine lines of a satin finish instead of a smooth surface of a mirror finish.

There are varying levels and types of corrosion, and it is advisable to seek additional technical reading on the subject if corrosion is a concern.

Preventative maintenance

Stainless Steel and Corrosive Environments products

Keep your stainless-steel cable railing looking as new as the day of installation with regularly scheduled maintenance and cleaning. Remove any noticeable discoloration and stains using a two-part method designed to clean and protect. We recommend E-Z Clean, a high-performance formula that is easy to apply and is long-lasting.

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