Development work on Dammams old market (known in Arabic as a souq) is 80 percent complete and the market will open within six months, said Ziad Al-Suwaidan, director-general of the Department for Investment Development. The project is a commercial and traditional complex located on King Khalid Street at the Gazaz neighborhood in Dammam, he said. The complex consists of two floors and includes diverse commercial outlets, such as shops, gold workshops, jewelry showrooms, a goldsmith teaching center, male and female hawkers, parking lots and other services to support the market. The ground floor of the market will include two large shops, seven medium-sized shops, 48 small shops, 165 traditional hawkers, restrooms, a mosque, a caf and an old traditional caf, while the first floor contains administrative offices, trainers offices, a training class, a training hall and a multi-purpose hall. The market authority took into account the importance of providing indoor and outdoor covered seats and support facilities, such as seating and storage areas and disposal units, he said. The market has been developed while preserving aesthetic and touristic factors, he said. Engineers took into account people with special needs while designing the place. The market also has emergency exits and safety and security mechanisms in accordance with Civil Defense instructions. The market is unique in its design due to the location factor, he said. The traditional architectural identity has been foregrounded in the design and studied scientifically. The mayoralty has redeveloped the market while maintaining traditional and folkloric activity to accommodate low-income families, he said. Productive families are encouraged to take place in the markets activities and promote their products. Old traditional markets have been popular among Dammams residents for years. The markets are also a popular destination for consumers who want to buy traditional and folkloric products.

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Dammams old souq to be ready in six months

Meredith, NH (PRWEB) April 16, 2014

The Cascade Spa located in Church Landing at Lake Winnipesaukee today announced the reopening of a their brand new renovated spa for social getaways and respite guests.

Designed with an Art Deco theme filled with bold colorful sunbursts, trapezoids and chevron patterns both fun and nostalgic, the newly designed spa by Pat Sava of Sava Designs features two new couples treatment rooms, a relaxation lounge with juice bar overlooking the pool, expanded treatment rooms and salon and nail services. With the help of Samyn-D'Elia Architects putting the design into work, Cascade Spa gives people a different level of spa experience.

Our focus at Cascade Spa is to ensure our guests enjoy their moments of enjoyment and respite, says Spa Director Martha Zyla. Our belief is wellness and beauty from inside out and now not only our services will reflect thatbut the addition of our antioxidant water selections and juicing bar will complete our guests wellness journey.

There are several reasons people come to enjoy our spa, says Zyla a moment with friends and family a quick social, romantic or weekend getaway and some may be here because they are battling a serious illness or undergoing chemo and want to supplement their health plan. The Spa experience coupled with our full spectrum approach to wellness reaches everyone.

Spa features include:

About Cascade Spa

Cascade Spa first opened its doors in July 2004 and since its opening has been known as the Lakes Regions premiere New Hampshire Day Spa for locals and a destination for leisure guests and travelers.

About Mill Falls at the Lake:

Mill Falls at the Lake is located in the historic village of Meredith, New Hampshire on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee. The property includes four Inns; Mill Falls, Bay Point, Chase House and Church Landing as well as the Mill Falls Marketplace, Cascade Spa, Sacred Waters Yoga, EKAL Lake Activity Center and Meredith Gas Station. Church Landing was voted one of the Top 25 Hotels for Best Relaxation/Spa in the U.S. by Trip Advisor 2012; and 3rd Most Romantic Hotel in the U.S. by Trip Advisor 2011. For more information, visit http://www.millfalls.com or call 800.622.6455.

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Lake Winnipesaukee Resort Renovates Spa to Create a Luxurious Health and Wellness Escape

Shares of Apogee Enterprises, Inc. ( APOG ) rose 4.5% as the company reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2014 earnings of 27 cents per share, up 80% from 15 cents earned in the prior-year quarter. However, earnings lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 31 cents.

Total revenue increased 19% year over year to $214 million in the quarter but fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $217 million.

Operational Update

Cost of goods sold increased 17% to $167.5 million in the quarter. Gross profit improved 29% to $46.9 million. Gross margin increased 170 basis points (bps) to 21.9%. Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses rose 16% year over year to $34.8 million. Operating income was $12.1 million, which grew a whopping 97% from $6.1 million earned in the year-ago quarter. Operating margin rose 320 bps to 6.4%.

Segment Performance

Revenues from the Architectural Glass segment increased 9% year over year to $75.7 million with growth in the U.S. and Brazil. Operating income in the quarter was $0.1 million, turning around the loss of $0.4 million in the prior year quarter, aided by improved mix and pricing, partially offset by timing of expenses and increased incentive compensation.

Revenues from the Architectural Services segment increased 22% year over year to $63.5 million. The segment reported an operating profit of $5.9 million, improving twofold from $2.8 million in the year-ago quarter. Growth in the top and bottom lines was owing to favorable project timing and cost flow, along with improving project margins.

Architectural Framing Systems' revenues increased 41% year over year to $63 million, with 16% organic growth. The segment's operating income increased to $1.9 million, turning around the year-ago quarter loss of $0.2 million. Improved performance in the window business drove the results.

Large-Scale Optical Technologies segment's revenues remained flat at $19.2 million due to softness in the retail market, which resulted from a severe winter, partially offset by sales growth in the fine art and museum market. Operating income in the reported quarter was $5.2 million, up 30% year over year due to reduced expenses and a strong mix of higher value-added framing products.

Financial Position

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Apogee Shares Up on Strong Q4 Earnings - Analyst Blog

Management Accountants, Architectural Designers, Quantity Surveyors and Customer Service Representatives are just four of the professionals sought by employers as the New Zealand economy continues to create new jobs, says recruiting experts Hays.

Nationwide job numbers have been rising for the last 18 months with more people seeking work and successfully finding jobs across the country.

According to the recruiters latest Hays Quarterly Hotspots list of skills in demand for the April to June quarter, the jobs growth is being led by professional, technical and administration workers.

Significantly, its not only the rebuild in Christchurch that is generating new employment opportunities in New Zealand; jobs growth is gathering pace across all regions of the country.

"Over the past two weeks over 300 companies have attended recruitment events weve held across Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch," said Jason Walker, Managing Director of Hays in New Zealand. "All companies shared a similar positive outlook for employment in New Zealand regardless of location.

"This shows that the growth in employment is no longer just centred on Christchurch - while the unemployment rate for Canterbury has plunged to its lowest level in six years, we are also seeing healthy jobs growth in Auckland and Wellington."

One such area of growth exists in the accountancy and finance sector. According to Jason, "Employers are evaluating their accountancy and finance operations and adding resources to ensure they continue to produce accurate and timely information as well as insight into their operations.

"For example, architectural work is increasing in New Zealand, particularly in Christchurch and Auckland, and it is currently a candidates market. Quite often employers will create a position for a good intermediate or senior candidate who can use the right software and has local experience. In the construction sector we are seeing particular demand for experienced and intermediate Quantity Surveyors.

"There is also currently a good mix of both temporary and permanent roles in the office support market and this is due to new roles being created. Employers are willing to see good candidates as they are often overloaded with work," says Jason.

A selection of skills in demand across New Zealand from the Hays Quarterly Hotspots for April to June 2014 follows:

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Jobs growth set to continue - report

The other Sunday, I wrote on my vision for lawyers to (1) be ethical and competent, (2) safeguard the liberty and nurture the prosperity of our people, and (3) globalize their outlook and practice. Today, I will dwell on the globalization of all professions: accounting, architecture, dentistry, engineering, medicine, nursing, etc.

Globalization of services. The World Trade Organization (WTO), of which the Philippines is a member, has globalized not only trade and industry by breaking down tariffs and taxes that impede the free flow of goods, but also services by encouraging the free exchange of the professions and blue-collar labor worldwide.

The Philippines is a major beneficiary of the globalization of blue-collar labor. Over 10 million Filipinos are employed abroad and remitted $26 billion last year, thus keeping the Philippine economy bustling and growing at a pace second only to China.

On white-collar jobs (or professions), however, the story is a little different. Former Dean Andres D. Bautista of the Far Eastern University Institute of Law and one of 10 holders of the Chief Justice Panganiban Professorial Chairs on Liberty and Prosperity, pointed out in a recent lecture that our Constitution limits the practice of all professions to Filipino citizens, save in cases prescribed by law, and by implication also restricts our professionals from practicing in foreign countries that demand reciprocity.

Pursuant to the constitutional exception, Congress enacted Republic Act No. 8981 authorizing foreigners to practice here on a reciprocal basis, i.e., the laws of the countries of the foreign professionals allow citizens of the Philippines to practice the profession on the same basis and grant the same privileges as those enjoyed by citizens of such foreign states.

Also, our Labor Code allows non-resident aliens to work here after a determination of non-availability of a person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing at the time of the application to perform the services for which the alien is desired. In 2012, about 12,000 working permits for foreigners were issued.

Asean integration. The reciprocal exchange of professional practice is urgently required by the forthcoming integration of the 10 member-countries (including the Philippines) of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) next year. Aseans 2015 vision is a single market where goods, investments, capital, skilled labor and services freely flow.

To prepare for this integration, Dean Bautista reported that the Philippines entered into mutual recognition agreements with Asean members for reciprocal professional practice by their citizens: engineering (on Dec. 9, 2005), nursing (Dec. 8, 2006), architecture and land surveying (both on Nov. 19, 2007), and medicine, dentistry and accounting (all on Feb. 26, 2009).

Borderline actual situations. Beyond Asean, Dean Bautista sketched some actual situations where borderline professional practice is already being done here, and I quote him:

(1) In architecture: International hotel chain Shangri-La is planning to build a 6-star hotel in Fort Bonifacio. It engages Palmer & Turner which is a foreign architectural firm based in San Francisco but with a branch in Hong Kong. It also engaged a structural engineer, Ove Arup, as design consultant, [and] BTR Ltd., Davis Langdon and Seah as quality surveyor. Teams of foreign professionals visit the project site on a regular basis. It engages a local architectural firm, Recio & Casas, to sign the plans. After the hotel is built, it will be employing several expatriates: general manager, hotel manager, resident manager, chef, etc.

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Globalizing the professions

WASHINGTON, DCThe Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this morning that the US economy added 192,000 jobs in March, leaving the unemployment rate unchanged at 6.7%. Details in the report offer evidence for both optimists and pessimists about the job market.

For the pessimists: the problem of long-term unemployment remains seemingly intractable. At 3.7 million, it changed little from February; these individuals accounted for 35.8% of the unemployed. Also March figures show that little has changed with the 2.2 million persons "marginally attached" to the labor force-that is people who want and are available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but not in the four weeks preceding the survey.

For the optimists there are the upwardly revised figures from January and February that note that employers added a combined 37,000 more jobs than previously estimated. And there are signs that more people are searching for jobs and finding them. Also, by analyzing just the private sector job figures-government job creation remains flat-the labor market can be said to be back to its pre-recession peak.

Specifically for March, employment grew in professional and business services, in health care, and in construction. Professional and business services added 57,000 jobs in March, in line with its average monthly gain of 56,000 over the prior 12 months. Health care added 19,000 jobs, topping slightly the 17,000 per month that has been averaged for this sector over the last year.

Construction employment continued its upward climb in March with 19,000 new jobs. Over the past year, construction employment has risen by 151,000. Also, in the business and professional services category, architectural and engineering services added 5,000 jobs.

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US Businesses Add 192,000 Jobs in March

(PRWEB) April 03, 2014

April 2nd, New York City. WhiteClouds, a 3D printing and modeling service company, is demonstrating its capabilities at Mediabistro's Inside 3D Conference and Expo. WhiteClouds display is located at the Javits Convention Center in the Maker Pavilion, booths M522 and M523.

WhiteClouds has several commercial 3D printers, including the Connex500, the ProJet 660, and has just acquired Stratasys new Connex3 full-color 3D printer, capable of printing in multiple colors and materials. WhiteClouds is one of a few select companies in the U.S. with this printer.

WhiteClouds is staffed with a team of experienced designers and offers design services for those without 3D modeling experience, allowing anybody with a vision to have their idea 3D designed and printed.

Jerry Ropelato, WhiteClouds CEO, said about the conference, We're excited to debut our new models at Inside 3D. We have some displays that push the boundaries of 3D design and the capabilities of 3D printing.

Kyle Gifford, a designer at WhiteClouds said, I think the services we offer are the first of its kind, and will continue to evolve over the next several years. 3D printing has started coming into its own recently, and more people are realizing its potential for both quick prototyping and elaborate consumer goods. Our 3D design services allow anybody to transform an idea into a 3D file, and ultimately a tangible item.

The attention we have attracted with this spans from local inventors to foreign businesses, all with different motives, ideas, and experience. I think this has been a great opportunity for everybody involved to learn about new, exciting technologies. We are happy to serve as the bridge between ideas and technology, and hope to teach all those we interact with about the exciting world of 3D printing, Gifford explained.

Kelly Root, another WhiteClouds designer, agrees. I think the projects weve worked on will help show the capabilities of 3D printing. This industry is still so unknown that most people arent even aware that it exists, much less what can be done with it. By doing these large scale projects, we can help educate people what the possibilities of 3D printing can be, and hopefully in the future, give them ideas of the different things that can be done with it as well.

Some of the models WhiteClouds is showcasing includes architectural models, futuristic cities, and Classic Crusaders, which are well-known fairy tale characters and legends reimagined and redesigned by the WhiteClouds team.

One model, a futuristic city, was designed by Root. It was printed in 38 pieces, using the Zprinter, Connext500, and the ProJet 3500 HD Max. It has a footprint of 14.15 x 12.15 x 11.5.

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WhiteClouds at Mediabistro's Inside 3D Conference and Expo

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) March 31, 2014

Global commercial real estate services firm Studley, Inc. is pleased to announce that workplace strategy expert, Renae Bradshaw, has joined its Chicago office. She will act as an advisor in facility evaluation, planning, design and project implementation.

We are thrilled to welcome Renae to Studley as a true thought leader in workplace trends, says executive vice president and co-branch manager, John Goodman. Workplace strategy has become an imperative component of any occupancy decision for a company. With a growing demand from our clients for such expertise, we are delighted to bring Renae on board, as she is widely viewed as one of the best of the best in the industry.

With more than fifteen years of experience in the design industry and a background in strategic planning and management consulting, Bradshaw will consult clients on the study of their space utilization, evaluate best practices for their operations today and tomorrow, and support Studleys advisors in implementing leading edge solutions.

Studleys platform allows me to blend my strategic business skill set, architectural knowledge and interior design background in the occupier advisory arena, remarks Bradshaw. By consistently operating in a client-driven, non-biased way, Studley has the ability and flexibility to truly meet the clients needs. I admire Studleys nimble and entrepreneurial spirit and am eager to become a part of the team.

Prior to joining Studley, Bradshaw lead the interiors practice at HOK Chicago. She is a LEED Accredited Professional and an active member of the Chicago real estate community. Bradshaw is involved with the Chicago Board of CoreNet and the Chicago Real Estate Council of the City of Hope and is often recognized through awards, publications and speaking opportunities for her portfolio of work and thoughtful insights on workplace trends.

About Studley Studley is the leading global commercial real estate services firm specializing in tenant representation. Founded in 1954, Studley pioneered the conflict-free business model of representing only tenants in their commercial real estate transactions. With over 60 offices worldwide, Studley offers expert advisory services, including brokerage, project management, corporate services and strategic portfolio solutions. Studleys unique approach examines every clients business to fully understand corporate objectives and optimize real estate assets. For more information, please visit http://www.studley.com and follow us on Twitter @StudleyInc and LinkedIn.

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Workplace Strategy Expert Renae Bradshaw Joins Studley

D Edward Kontz Jr AIA Architect (509) 631-9538
D Edward Kontz Jr AIA Architect Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509) 386-5757 Our company provide residential and commercial architectural services more than 35 years...

By: Georgina Lewis

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D Edward Kontz Jr AIA Architect (509) 631-9538 - Video

OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. (AP) - Olive Branch Middle School will get a face-lift as part of a routine upgrade process for schools throughout the DeSoto County system.

DeSoto School Board members hired Allen & Hoshall for architectural services related to the project, for which no cost or timetable has been determined.

The Commercial Appeal reports (http://bit.ly/1mwtYIR ) plans are to replace floor and ceiling tiles in classrooms, and paint and replace old chalkboards and whiteboards with up-to-date equipment.

Physical plant director Jerry White says the district, with 40-plus schools spread throughout the county, chooses a different school each year to be updated and Olive Branch Middle is this years target.

White says the district had spent the past two years getting Horn Lake Middle up to date, and Oak Grove Central Elementary in Hernando before that.

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Information from: The Commercial Appeal, http://www.commercialappeal.com

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Olive Branch Middle School to get upgrade