DBI Sr. VP of Field Operations David Masterson (2nd from right) shakes hands with Texas Masonry Council President Mackie Bounds. Also pictured (L-to-R) are Continental Cut Stone President Rob Teel; Gensler Architects Brian Nicodemis; and (far right) SpecMix Southwest Regional Manager Trey Harris.
Dee Brown, Inc. (DBI) was recently awarded two Golden Trowel Awards by the Texas Masonry Council for stone projects completed in the Dallas area.
“It’s an honor to be recognized by our peers for these two projects,” said Rob Barnes III, DBI president & CEO. “We faced many difficulties during the past 18 months, but DBI was able to safely complete outstanding work throughout the pandemic.”
Freedom Place at Old Parkland North
The Texas Masonry Council awarded DBI the 2021 Golden Trowel Award - Industrial & Commercial Projects for Freedom Place at Old Parkland in Dallas. At 210 feet tall, the seven-story Freedom Place Building is full of thoughtful detailing, complexity, and symbolism, utilizing only the highest quality materials. Approximately 330,000 wood-mold bricks were laid, along with 8,500 pieces of variegated Indiana limestone, which were fabricated using pieces ranging from 75 pounds to over 13,000 pounds. The project consisted of 60,000 cubic feet of finished limestone material, with 180 hand-carved stones.
Freedom Place at Old Parkland North
In addition to the building facade, the project included several significant sitework structures comprised of brick, granite, marble, and limestone. The custom masonry products used were sourced from 12 states and three foreign countries.
Texas Hall of State at Fair Park
DBI also received the 2021 Golden Trowel - Restoration for the Texas Hall of State at Fair Park. Completed in 1936 for the Texas Centennial, the Hall of State was showing its age. The white exterior of Texas Cordova Cream Limestone had become dingy and stained by years of exposure to pollution and mold. Parts of the exterior were cracked with some crumbling stone. DBI washed, restored and patched the exterior as well as created new elements at their Garland fabrication plant to match the original stonework. The restoration took nearly a year to complete.
Before restoration
After restoration
Before restoration
After restoration
“Our expertise aligned perfectly with both of these projects,” said Barnes. “We have an experienced team who take great pride in building and restoring iconic buildings so future generations can enjoy them. We recently completed work on several major projects and have several new projects we’re starting on. In fact, we’re looking to hire and train the next generation of laborers and masons, and we’re always looking for experienced bricklayers and stone masons.”
Detail - after restoration
Rob Barnes is a third-generation leader in the family-owned business. He began his career in 1986, working on the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, as a non-skilled laborer. He received a Bachelor’s in Business Management from John Brown University in 1992, and his MBA from Southern Methodist University in 2007.
Dee Brown was founded by C. Dewitt Brown, Jr. in 1955 and is a leader in the stone and masonry industry, building and restoring iconic projects, including the American Airlines Center; Nasher Sculpture Center; George W. Bush Presidential Center; Old Red Courthouse; The Getty Center in Los Angeles; Houston Museum of Natural Science; Dallas Country Club; Hunt Oil Headquarters; Trammel Crow Center; AT&T Stadium and many others. More info is available at deebrowncompanies.com