Merriam-Webster’s defines Innovation as: the act or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or methods. The four examples offered here certainly fit that definition but real innovation involves more than just doing something new, or doing something old in a new way. In a world changing as rapidly as ours does today the struggle to be constantly new can be overwhelming. The real question is whether “New” actually adds value to your efforts instead of simply introducing chaos and confusion. We believe an important part of being innovative is to do things that increase our overall impact and effectiveness and those things are usually a blend of “tried and true” and “truly new”. In 2015 we worked on some new and exciting opportunities that forged into new ground, and we worked on staying true to the core values that are the foundation of every activity in which we engage.
Innovative
thinking
Nashville Urban Design Program Summer 2015
University of Tennessee College of Architecture 2015 Summer Studio
Imagine the opportunity to have an entire class of soon-to-be architects spend an entire summer dreaming about all the ways they could use concrete to create the most sustainably constructed site in one of the nation’s fastest growing cities. This actually happened in Nashville, TN at the site of the Tennessee Concrete Association’s Campus during the summer of 2015. TCA's story begins all the way back in 2008 when the TCA Board of Directors took the bold step of acquiring a blighted urban site with a small block building and nearly 2 acres of land. TCA’s members have transformed that blighted site into a concrete showplace and at the same time the growth of Nashville has transformed our neighborhood into an incredibly hot development mecca where property values are zooming and there are no ugly pieces of real estate. TCA is carefully studying the best way for us to steward this opportunity and a part of our process is to consider various alternatives for more intensive development of our urban site. This study was the perfect chance for us to partner with the UT College of Architecture for their 2015 Summer Studio class. This class is held every year for upper classmen in the architecture program to come to Nashville and work on real world problems and actual building sites to propose creative solutions while learning about the nuts and bolts of real projects.
Gregg Lewis, NRMCA’s Senior Director, Building Innovations traveled to Nashville soon after joining the NRMCA staff. Gregg provided a full day of knowledge and insight to the UT students as they began their summer’s concrete journey.
A big part of the Summer Studio was project review sessions where the students presented their work to a panel of practicing experts in the fields of architecture, engineering and construction.
Five teams prepared final presentations and discussed their work with the local community and each other at the closing reception.
Gregg Lewis, NRMCA’s Senior Director, Building Innovations traveled to Nashville soon after joining the NRMCA staff. Gregg provided a full day of knowledge and insight to the UT students as they began their summer’s concrete journey.
SUSTAINABILITY
PROGRAMS
with JENNIFER WESTERHOLM of URBAN GREEN LABS
TCA is a Silver sponsor of the Urban Green Labs Mobile Lab which will be visiting schools to provide opportunities for school-age children to learn more about sustainable living.
HOMER WOODS DAVENPORT MEMORIAL GROVE
with CHRIS DAVENPORT & ALAN SPARKMAN
Born out of the tragic loss of Chris Davenport’s young son – Homer Woods Davenport – in May of 2014, this project was completed in November of 2015 in memory of Woods. This was truly an industry-wide effort in Tennessee bringing together people from all corners of the concrete industry to assist in creating a unique memorial that will live on for generations. This effort by Tennessee’s concrete industry catches us at our best – a place where our common community supercedes competition and our actions create positive impacts that grow and reverberate for generations yet to come. The video with Chris and the photo gallery tell the story in more detail, while the trees in Rockvale, TN are quietly growing into a living memorial made possible by Tennessee’s concrete family.
Josh Cornwall created this handcrafted bench to be installed at the Woods Memorial Grove. Josh is a fellow CIM alumni with Chris, and a past TCA Board member.
One group of Rockvale Middle School students circle around to learn a bit about trees from Dr. John McFadden, Executive Director of the Tennessee Environmental Council. TCA has partnered with TEC for several years as part of their initiative to plant 1 million trees in Tennessee by the year 2020. Several TCA members have hosted local tree planting events as part of this ongoing program.
Several student groups led by concrete industry adults scurry around the Grove planting trees and placing mulch. With the help of the Tennessee Environmental Council, we plan to make the Grove a Level One Arboretum and students from the Middle School will be involved with the ongoing monitoring of the Grove to maintain this status. The Grove will become a permanent teaching resource for the school as well as a quiet place for the community to take a stroll as the trees mature.
Josh Cornwall created this handcrafted bench to be installed at the Woods Memorial Grove. Josh is a fellow CIM alumni with Chris, and a past TCA Board member.
FINAL INNOVATION EXAMPLE
Our 2015 State Association of the Year Application
There is one final example of innovation that TCA would like to submit for 2015 and you have been using this example to review our application – The website that houses our 2015 State Association of the Year application. What once might have cost thousands of dollars and taken months to execute we were able to do in about a week thanks to the skill and dedication of our newest TCA staff member (hired in late 2015), Ms. Donna Thompson. The tools available to present information in unique and compelling formats like our 2015 SAOY website present new opportunities and new challenges for every industry and every association. Especially for associations, the challenge is shifting from just the process of putting information ‘on the Web’ to the continuous creation of quality content that conveys important information in ways that are quickly accessible, easy to absorb and constantly updated. To compete effectively in a world of instant information, associations have to become masters of digital storytelling while maintaining their role as trusted information curators. TCA is leading the way for our members in this brave new world of continuous information!