If you’re involved in school construction, you may want to sign up for a web broadcast on March 7, 2 p.m. sponsored by Environmental Design + Construction magazine and the Green Design Solutions conference, featuring Rod Wille, Senior Vice President and Manager of Sustainable Construction for Turner Construction, a leading builder of traditional and sustainable projects. The webinar “The Dollars and Sense of Green Schools: Perception & Reality” will discuss common perceptions about the costs and benefits of building Green, and offer facts from national studies, project case studies and the company’s own experience that to support or disprove those perceptions

The Labor-Management Council of Greater Kansas City gave a “Survival of the Fittest” party and 4,000 construction workers came - nearly 20% of all unionized construction workers in the region. Walton Construction, which has an office in St. Louis, was a sponsor. The workers jammed the Overland Park Convention Center to hear author Mark Breslin’s analysis of the industry and to learn about the future of the organized construction industry in the Kansas City region. Read more on the Labor Management Council’s new blog.

The University of Missouri is hosting a January 12, 2007 forum for Missouri-based engineers and architects engaged in design and construction services. Attendees will learn about the University’s selection process and recent changes to their design and construction program.

The meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Reynolds Alumni Center on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus. The agenda includes a Q & A and lunch. Be sure to RSVP by December 22, 2006, and only one representative per firm can attend. Contact Toni Henley at Facilities Planning & Development, henleyt@umsystem.edu, or call 573.882.7989.

St. Louis architect Andrew Raimist will present “Harris Armstrong: Midwest Modernist” on Friday, December 1, 12 noon at Webster University.

Harris Armstrong (1899-1973) was a St. Louis-based modernist architect. According to Raimist, his work “exemplifies the best achievements of modern architecture: the use of natural materials, honesty of structural expression, an open relationship to a magnificent landscape, and attention to detail resulting in a coherent artistic statement.”

If you plan to attend, be sure to RSVP as seating is limited. Send an email with number and names of people planning to attend to Raimist@RaimistArchitecture.com or call 314.984.8201. You’ll be given the specific building and auditorium upon receipt of your RSVP.

If you are unable to make the lecture, but interested in Armstrong’s work, visit Andrew’s blog Architectural Ruminations.