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CONSTRUCTION
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The Industry’s Newspaper Downtown Dallas
www.constructionnews.net H (210) 308-5800 H Volume 14 H Number 9 H SEPTEMBER 2017
Joining forces
Currently celebrating 40
Staffelbach’s Jo Heinz, DLR Group CEO Griff Davenport and Staffelbach’s Andre Staffelbach
Co-founder Victor Jury, Sr. poses in front of Summit Electrical Supply’s first location in Albuquerque in 1977.
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LR Group is ready to go big in the Big D. In August, Dallas-based design firm Staffelbach joined the integrated design firm, enabling it to establish a Dallas base to serve Texas clients, expand its interiors expertise, and reach new clients for its courts, education, healthcare, hospitality, performing arts, retail, sports and workplace studios. Staffelbach’s reputation as a strong interior architecture firm caught the attention of DLR Group, who wanted to expand its range of design services to include full service architecture and engineering as part of an integrated design process. Hall of Fame Swiss-born interior designer Andre Staffelbach FIIDA founded the firm in 1966, and was joined in Dallas 19 years later by Jo Heinz,
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n acre of land in the small rural town of Cross Roads holds many building possibilities, especially if that acre is positioned next to a Walmart in a high-traffic area. One veterinarian saw the possibilities, recognizing 11930 US Hwy 380 as the perfect spot to build Village Veterinary Center, a 4010sf clinic that could serve the pet owners of Cross Roads and surrounding areas. The veterinarian approached Callaway Architecture’s Scott Stone and Kim Ward and Huffman Builders’ Jerry Huffman, Tim Huffman, Joanne Huffman and Gray Harrison with a detailed wish list. The clinic would need four exam rooms, a lab area, space for two treatment tables, surgery and x-ray rooms and an intensive care unit. The facility would also need to include a cat boarding room, dog boarding kennels containing 14 private cages and a bank of smaller cages, a full-service grooming
FIIDA. Together, they grew the firm to include 70 design professionals, including 23 licensed architects and interior designers. DLR Group has made its mark on major Texas cities with substantial design projects, most recently Dallas’ Canopy Hotel by Hilton, which will be complete in November. Operations will be immediately merged with full integration, and the firm will change its name to DLR Group/ Staffelbach effective Oct. 2. Staffelbach joins DLR Group offices in Austin and Houston and maintains a Dallas office led by Heinz. “Everyone in the firm is so excited about it,” Heinz says. “Staffelbach is 51 years old, and DLR Group is also celebratcontinued on Page 19
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n Aug. 15, 1977, Victor Jury Sr., David Meredith and Victor Jury Jr. opened the doors of their first Summit Electric Supply service center. Located in a terra cotta-brown brick building, it was not unlike the color of the surrounding Albuquerque landscape. Inside, five employees were ready to help the customers they hoped would come through the doors. Came they did. The new company finished that first year with nearly a half million in revenue, cleared $2 million and opened a second location by 1979 and moved its headquarters to a new location in 1980. Seven years later, Summit opened its first Texas location in Dallas, originally naming it Sierra Electric Supply before
rechristening it Summit Electric Supply (it has since relocated to Irving). In just a decade, the company had grown to 76 associates in three locations and was pulling in $15.7 million in sales. The move to Texas proved to be a wise choice, and Victor Jury, Sr. relocated to Fort Worth and established a service center there the next year. At his retirement in 1990, Victor Jury Jr. took over as president and CEO, with Meredith retiring in 1999. Summit Electric Supply now employs more than 600 associates in 25 locations in five states, 15 of which are in Texas: Abilene, Austin, Beaumont, Bryan/ College Station, Clute, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, Irving, LaPorte, Midland, San Antonio, Victoria continued on Page 19
Animal instincts
Huffman Builders and Callaway Architecture’s project, Village Veterinary Center in Cross Roads, blends seamlessly into its rural setting thanks to the use of rugged stone and masonry.
area, two play yards, two private doctors’ offices and a clinic manager’s office. The team was eager to tackle the wish list, but the weather had other plans from the beginning. “Weather during pad prep and site utilities was a little bit of a challenge and did cause some delay,” Gray Harrison says. “We pushed as hard as we could go to get dried in as soon as possible so we could focus on the finish out as the weather improved.” Once the rain abated, the team completed the prep and the building started to take shape. To complement the land’s country setting, stone and brick were chosen for the building’s exterior, with cedar beams and a metal roof adding to the rural effect. Because the interiors would need to stand up to the wear and tear of a variety of animals but still appear welcoming to pet owners, Joanne Huffman selected interior design continued on Page 19