MCAA - 2005 Masonry Convention

Side Story:
Masonry: It Makes a Village

	Project Name: Chicago Benches Team #1: Bricklayers and Allied Craftsworkers Local #1 and the National Association for Women in Masonry Won: Best Use of Glass Block award; Third place (tie)
	Project Name: Porch Swing Team #2: Snyder Masonry and Architectural Nexus Won: Second place (tie)
	Project Name: Tugboat Team #3: R&D Masonry and RMC Architects Won: First place
	Project Name: Archway to the Village Team #4: Restore Masonry and Guajardo REC Architects, LLC Won: People's Choice award; Second place (tie)
	Project Name: La-Z-Arch (Brick Hammock) Team #5: Koch Masonry, Davenport Masonry and Yamasaki Associates Won: Third place (tie)

During the three days of the MCAA Masonry Showcase tradeshow, attendees from MCAA and the Construction Specifiers Institute (CSI) were able to behold the wonderful spectacle that is known as the "Masonry: It Makes a Village" design-build competition.

For those of you who are new to this concept, Village is a competition challenging teams of two masons and two architects to build a structure with 756 bricks, 30 concrete masonry units, glass blocks and stone. This competition stretches the imagination — for both participants and onlookers — and lends itself to some ingenious, thought-provoking and revolutionary masonry creations. While you'll never know what to expect, one thing's for sure: after viewing a Village competition, you'll never look at masonry the same way again!

This is the first year that Village was an event at the Masonry Showcase and, with the co-location of the CONSTRUCT AMERICA^TM show and CSI members in attendance, the timing couldn't have been better. MCAA was hoping to catch the eyes of CSI members wandering the exhibit hall, but the end result was beyond their expectations. Specifiers, architects and other construction professionals stopped, stared, pointed and pondered the amazing masonry creations before their eyes, at times literally bringing traffic to a halt in the aisles. These CSI attendees will surely go home with a new perspective when it comes to masonry and the remarkable feats that the masons, architects and materials can accomplish together.

While the organizers, masons and architects made this year's national Village competition spectacular, a special thanks to the sponsors who made the event possible: the Brick Industry Association, Building Stone Institute, California Conference of Mason Contractor Association, EZ Grout Corporation, Glen-Gery Brick, Halquist Stone, Illinois Brick, Mason Contractors Association of Greater Chicago, Northfield Block Company, Pittsburgh Corning, Portland Cement Association, Quikrete, Tamlyn & Sons Building Materials and Trenwyth.

So now's your cue to start gearing up for next year's national competition. Don't miss the action, the artistry and the challenge that await you at the Masonry Showcase 2006 Village competition in Las Vegas!

Specifiers, architects and other construction professionals stopped, stared, pointed and pondered the amazing masonry creations before their eyes.