David Wallin, Founder

David has lived most of his life along the Gulf Coast and has been in the building and construction business for over 35 years. Throughout his career, David has focused on the best ways to build for longevity and low maintenance. As a self employed builder, David has been involved in construction projects in almost every industry in Houston. He has worked on major projects at M.D Anderson Hospital, the Houston Ship Channel, Hobby Airport, as well as petrochemical plants, commercial buildings and custom residences. He just completed a single family residence using ICF’s to achieve a monolithic concrete structure rated by Energy Star to be 70% more efficient than the standard Energy Star home. David is committed to “building GREEN”. David holds a Texas Builders License and has extensive training from the American Concrete Institute. He is a distributer and consultant for Eco Block. David’s lifelong commitment to improved construction techniques led him to form Gulf Coast Lofts LLC.


Daniel Barnum, Partner

Dan, a vice president at Hall Barnum Lucchesi Architects, has over forty years experience in the practice of architecture and planning. Prior to the establishment of Hall/Barnum Architects, Dan was a partner in Environment Associates Architects & Consultants, president of Daniel Barnum Architects, and chief architect of Hedrick Architects and Engineers. His experience covers all aspects of planning, design, construction technology and project management for a wide range of commercial, institutional, religious and residential projects. His projects have been widely published and have received design awards from AIA. As a member of AIA Houston, Dan has served as founder and chair of the Residential Architecture Committee, Chair of the Urban Design Committee, Director for Urban Issues, and Vice-President. Dan is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, the Rice Design Alliance, and the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance. He is also a member of the Steering Committee of Richmond Rail.org, a transit advocacy group.


Howard Schmidt, Partner

Howard is an Alumnus of Rice University, having earned a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering in 1980 and a Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1986. He is presently a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University, where he pursues research on nanomaterials and renewable energy applications. He is also a director of Sun-Cool Technologies and Axion International, developers of solar-thermal refrigeration systems and lead-acid-carbon batteries, respectively. Between 2003 and 2008, he served as the Executive Director of the Carbon Nanotechnology Laboratory at Rice. Prior to joining Rice, Dr. Schmidt spent 17 years in industry where he founded or co-founded four start-up technology companies, including SI Diamond Technology, which he took public in 1993. He is the recipient of several awards, including the R&D 100 Award in 1989, the NSF Tibbett’s Award, and an entrepreneurial award from the Department of Energy in 1992. He has published 40 peer-reviewed papers, and has seven issued US patents.



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