Innovation

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Tipping the Scales on Carbon: Concrete Strategies Building Smarter

At Clayco, we know the art and science of building is always evolving. We believe there’s always better way to build, you just have to challenge yourself to figure it out. That mindset doesn’t stop at the skyline—it runs all the way down to the concrete we stand on. In our latest field test, our teams at Clayco and Concrete Strategies set out to answer a simple but important question: Can we reimagine the materials we use every day without slowing down the work?

June 23, 2025

From Cardboard to Culture: Shigeru Ban’s Enduring Legacy

Shigeru Ban is one of those visionaries whose work serves as a powerful reminder that architecture isn’t just about constructing buildings but also about making a lasting impact on the world.

April 2, 2025

Idaho Falls Airport Expansion

Building the Future of Travel with Idaho Falls Airport Expansion

Our Clayco team prides itself on shaping spaces that enhance communities and connect people – which is why we’re excited to be part of the Idaho Falls Regional Airport Terminal Expansion.

December 4, 2024

Talking Booming Construction + Infrastructure on Yahoo Finance

I’m glad I had the opportunity to speak with Julie Hyman on Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid about the thriving construction industry, evolving AI infrastructure, and the future of America.

September 13, 2024

Electric Adventure: How Rivian is Redefining the Future of EVs

Rivian is making the “impossible” an everyday achievement! The company stands at the forefront of the EV industry and is working to implement sustainable manufacturing methods to promote a healthier planet.

September 12, 2024

A New Era for Chicago: The Rise of the Quantum Computing Hub

Clayco is part of a team redeveloping a 400+ acre site that was once the country’s leading steel producer into a future-forward project that will establish the city as a global quantum computing hub. The Quantum Campus at 8080 South Lakeshore is set to lead the nation in quantum research.

August 5, 2024

Yahoo Finance Interview: The Insane Growth in Data Center Demand Driven by AI

I recently joined Julie Hyman and Josh Lipton on Yahoo Finance’s Market Domination Overtime to discuss the rapid and extraordinary growth in data center demand, largely driven by AI.

August 1, 2024

Herzog & de Meuron: Blending Visionary Aesthetics with Functionality

One of the first names that come to mind when I think of architectural innovation is Herzog & De Meuron!

June 25, 2024

Learning About the 1904 World’s Fair with Missouri’s Historical Society

In 1904, St. Louis hosted The World’s Fair under the banner of The Louisiana Purchase Exposition.

April 19, 2024

Bob Clark Beyond

Building Beyond and Beyond!

I initially launched Bob Clark Beyond in 2020 to motivate and mentor others. Now, I am thrilled to announce that I am venturing on a deeper mission to spark inspiration and connection with a NEW LOOK!

February 27, 2024

Communities Powered by the Cloud

I often post about the Cloud, and people ask me, “What is it?” While I could explain that the energy that powers our technology comprises over half a million miles of undersea cables, hundreds of exchange points, around 8,000 data centers, and more, it may be easier to show you.

September 29, 2023

Discussing Innovation at Mexico GRI Real Estate 2023

There's nothing like connecting with remarkable individuals and minds from across the globe – which made the Mexico GRI Real Estate 2023 conference a premier destination last week! The event provided a dynamic platform for real estate and infrastructure executives to exchange innovative strategies and solutions. I loved my trip to Mexico City and enjoyed witnessing the nation's journey toward a promising future with many positive signs, including a strong peso, growing population, and entrepreneurial spirit. The country is also ready to receive global manufacturers to provide nearshore supplying to the USA in the next decade.

September 5, 2023

GRI Real Estate

Mexico GRI Real Estate 2023 Conference

The centerpiece for advancement is sharing wisdom, experiences, and perspectives to foster the greatest innovations possible. To do this, we must build connections through communities and industries – like attending the upcoming Mexico GRI Real Estate 2023 event! In Mexico City, from August 30th to 31st, GRI Club is working to build valuable relationships between the most prominent leaders in the real estate sector. This conference brings together hundreds of real estate and infrastructure executives to discuss evolutionary strategies and find solutions for a sustainable future.

August 16, 2023

VinFast Celebrates NASDAQ Listing

VinFast has reached a significant milestone toward its global expansion! It was an exciting celebration as the company began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market today, following VinFast and Black Spade Acquisition Co’s completed business combination. VinFast’s Global CEO, Madame Thuy Le, rang the bell to mark the moment!

August 15, 2023

August’s Inspiration of the Month: Lisa Goodman

If you’re looking for a leader who embodies what it means to use your skills and resources to spark positive change, look no further than my good friend Lisa Goodman. Lisa is my August inspiration because of her dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives throughout her impressive 30+ year career path and tireless commitment to advancing communities. Lisa is a successful businesswoman with experience in complex and capital-intensive sectors, including technology, health care, retail, financial services, commercial real estate, and hospitality. She is currently on the executive team of The Benaroya Company, a real estate company that finances, develops, and manages projects for global and regional organizations.

August 10, 2023

Celebrating the Next Generation of Innovators

Companies that don’t invest in the next generation never last long! That’s why we love celebrating National Intern Day at Clayco, to recognize and thank our hardworking interns for their various contributions. Our team works diligently to build a better future for our communities and foster a company culture that inspires innovation. We support the ambitions of young creatives and provide them with the resources and opportunities required to bring the most complex and dynamic projects to life. Interns provide a wellspring of new ideas, fresh insights, and the energy needed to keep things moving forward. At Clayco, we help interns implement and refine their skills and collaborate with some of the best builders in America to gain crucial real-world experience. Our team focuses on creating meaningful, effective, and enduring environments that hold space for people from all walks of life.

July 28, 2023

My Friend & Mentor: The Exceptional Maxine Clark

Our society is filled with compassionate people who work daily to bridge the gap communities face with accessing wealth, resources, and opportunities. While the movement toward equality continues to gain momentum, leaders and advocates must unite and do the groundwork necessary to implement sustainable change. One of these exceptional people, who is also my June Inspiration of the Month, is my good friend Maxine Clark. Maxine is the Founder and Former Chief Executive Officer at Build-A-Bear Workshop, and her long-standing career demonstrates record successes in retail innovation and building stakeholder value. She recently received the Entrepreneurial Leadership Award from the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) in recognition of her successful mission to continuously practice the “Golden Rule” and inspire children's imaginations everywhere. Her honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Washington University in St. Louis is another representation of the dedication she pours into everything she does to enhance society. Maxine is a pivotal member of the St. Louis community and teaches the youth that if your bank account is full, but your heart is empty, you will not live life to the fullest. She suggests that one of the ways to live the most fulfilling life is to convert passions into actionable plans and turn ideas into modern business realities.

June 15, 2023

Final Push to bring Expo 2027 to Minnesota

It’s our last chance to prove why it’s Minnesota’s time to shine and host the 2027 World’s Fair! I have been honored to serve as co-chair of the Minnesota USA Expo bid committee, which has done a great job advocating for Bloomington to host the “Healthy People, Healthy Planet” specialized exposition. Minnesota bid committee members, civic leaders, the U.S. State Department, and allies were recently in Paris for the last meeting of candidate countries before the Bureau International des Expositions delegates' final vote.

June 12, 2023

Latin America GRI Real Estate 2023

Innovation can always be generated by a good old-fashioned “meeting of the minds,” especially when those minds are as diverse as they are sharp – and are intensely focused on business. More than 300 senior and C-level executives, as well as leaders in development, financing, and beyond, are joining the Latin America GRI Real Estate 2023 event on May 11th and 12th in New York!

April 26, 2023

ENR Op-Ed: Work From Home? Maybe if You Want to Kill Your Culture

I recently wrote an op-ed article featured in Engineering News-Record to discuss a topic I am very passionate about – moving away from the falsely-idolized “work from home” era and migrating back to the tried-and-true ways of working in traditional offices. This is a societal issue that other CEOs and industry leaders need to take a more active role in solving. The ways we interact and work as people will ultimately shape the future of our businesses and communities. Transitioning from standard places of employment to home offices decreases productivity and further isolates individuals struggling mentally and physically or those who face difficulty achieving equitable representation.

March 13, 2023

Remote Work Kills Company Culture

The concept of working from home has been a hotly debated topic over the past few years, and some institutions have (falsely) claimed that remote work is the new normal. As someone with a long history of workplace strategy expertise and success, I can say without a doubt that moving from traditional places of employment to home offices – that are likely bedrooms, grocery stores, and wherever people claim to be while on the clock – is a knock to productivity and a death sentence to company culture. I reject the idea that the movement toward remote work is necessary or permanent, and recent data supports this. Kastle Systems reported that office usage in 10 major metro areas neared 50% of 2020’s pre-pandemic attendance, demonstrating that workers and CEOs alike are ready to return to the office. Although in-office attendance is still lower than before the COVID-19 outbreak, the sharp increase in numbers and occupancy signifies that people are migrating back to the time-proven methods that work best for our businesses.

February 16, 2023

CONEXEC Podcast

I had a great conversation with Scott Arias, President of ACE Consulting Company, LLC, on the CONEXEC podcast which offers a global leadership platform for construction executives. The series has interviews with executives worldwide on a variety of topics, from current events in the construction industry to overcoming challenges, reaching success, and more. I talked about growing up in Bridgerton, Missouri, and how my fascination with the art and strategy of construction led me – a college dropout – to found Clayco. The journey to becoming all that it is now has been a long and winding road, filled with different phases, focuses, and the ultimate understanding that what happens within the walls we build will always be far more important than the bricks and mortar.

February 14, 2023

600 Canal Place Earns 2022 American Architecture Award

As someone heavily drawn to the “Art & Science of Building,” the work done for Dominion Energy is a remarkable structure to highlight. Like Clayco, Pickard Chilton connects a love for art to the spaces we design and develop – which is one of the reasons why 600 Canal Place was recently awarded a 2022 American Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. Developed by Clayco and Hourigan Construction as a design-build project, Dominion Energy’s new 20-story office tower at 600 Canal Place in downtown Richmond, Virginia, was designed by Pickard Chilton, Kendall Heaton Associates, and OJB Landscape Architecture. The design team created a next-generation workplace that fosters collaboration and sustainability that will help Dominion Energy recruit and retain top talent.

February 8, 2023

My Experience

When I was appointed by the White House as United States Commissioner General of the USA Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, I was given an amazing opportunity to serve in a completely different way than what I am used to. I showcased the diversity, culture, and values of America while standing with friends from countries that love freedom from around the world. During my time at the Expo, I engaged and collaborated with a new family of team members. We worked diligently together as colleagues, explorers, and adventurers in a hopeful and diplomatic spirit.

June 16, 2022

Leaders

The Expo’s core message of “Connecting Minds and Creating the Future” could not have been more spot-on. I collaborated with groundbreaking innovators as we examined issues of sustainability, mobility, opportunity, and so much more. We engaged in a lively, spirited, and diplomatic way to examine hopeful solutions to our planet’s most pressing problems.

June 16, 2022

Pavilions

Expo 2020 Dubai changed how I see the world by gaining insight into each nation’s message and attributes. Some countries focused on politics, policies, technologies, and partnerships, while others were dedicated to tourism and investment opportunities. Even though each pavilion was represented by people from various backgrounds, we often found that we had more similarities than differences.

June 16, 2022

Canopy at Centene Park

Artist Liam Gillick designed the canopy at Centene Plaza in Clayton, Missouri, which makes use of the light-diffusing capabilities of glass to illuminate the walkway between two buildings in a new and captivating way. In addition to protecting walkers from the weather and elements overhead, the canopy was also designed to offer a visual distraction and encourage a moment of mindfulness apart from the hustle and bustle of the vibrant commercial center it’s located in. Using Vanceva® color interlayer technology, the canopy lights up the space beneath it in a dazzling array of bright, translucent colors. A passerby using the walkway for its utilitarian purpose also can take an opportunity to observe the canopy’s beauty and functionality, and it plays upon the concepts, similarities, and differences between utility and art.

July 28, 2021

Ellen S. Clark Hope Plaza

The Ellen S. Clark Hope Plaza was designed by the renowned architect and artist Maya Lin to provide a special place of respite and refuge for employees, patients and other visitors to Washington University Medical Center that is a leading center of research on the front of rare disease. It’s design incorporates a harmonious blend of nature with an infinity fountain as a centerpiece. The plaza’s trees, grasses and wildflowers were specifically selected in collaboration with the Missouri Botanical Garden based on what’s present in a self-sustaining Missouri woodland habitat, and it’s a continually changing landscape that grows and develops over time.

July 27, 2021

Broadway Chapter

Broadway Chapter in Fort Worth, Texas offered a special opportunity to work closely with the Near Southside community and its Art South program to offer a local emerging artist the chance to design a mural for the project’s facade. After receiving submissions from over 84 talented artists, Eric ‘Drigo’ Rodriguez was selected by the community as the winner. Drigo’s mural is titled “Cosmic Journey” and is a 5,000 square foot, five-story piece that speaks to the diversity and vibrancy of its surrounding community with its colorful imagery. Covering the southern facade of the parking garage, the mural is emblematic of a community-first approach to building and also building stronger bonds with people throughout the neighborhood. It was just unveiled in June and has added an entirely unique dimension to the project.

July 26, 2021

Wildhorse Village

In Chesterfield, Missouri, not too far from where I grew up, we’re currently hard at work on a massive multi-use development that’s going to be a complete transformation for the area. Serving as a brand-new urban center for the suburb, Wildhorse Village is going to offer 1 million square feet of office space, 150 for-sale residences, 500 apartments, and 100,000 square feet of retail space that spans across 80 acres of land. We’re delivering on this outstanding project through Clayco’s integrated services that leverage both CRG and Lamar Johnson Collaborative. Once completed, Wildhorse Village will include scenic lakefront locations for working, living, and playing and will include some amazing amenities like boardwalks, parks, an amphitheater, and a boathouse.

June 3, 2021

McCormick Distribution Center

If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that good food brings people together. Any family chef knows just how important different spices are to bringing out the flavors of all kinds of dishes.

May 14, 2021

Pfizer R&D Facility - Chesterfield, Missouri

At Clayco, we believe that every one of our projects is important and play a crucial role in the neighborhoods and communities they are located in. Over the past year, perhaps none of these buildings has taken on a more important role for the entire world than Pfizer’s new research and development facility located just outside of my hometown of St. Louis in Chesterfield, Missouri. Designed in accordance with LEED sustainability certification standards, Pfizer’s cutting-edge research and development campus includes a combined 295,000 square feet of flexible laboratories and open office space, supporting its development capabilities in biologics and vaccine therapy. This brand-new project has not only become an important hub for Pfizer in the Midwest region, but is also currently the place where every Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine dose originates.

May 3, 2021

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