Tag: breaking into the industry

Transforming Public Spaces: Inside European Pavers Southwest’s Award-Winning Hardscape at Scottsdale Civic Center Plaza

The Scottsdale Civic Center Plaza, a nine-acre public gathering space in downtown Scottsdale, Arizona, has been a community cornerstone for over 50 years. As part of a $27.5 million bond-funded renovation, the plaza underwent a complete overhaul to modernize its infrastructure and aesthetics while enhancing its year-round usability.

European Pavers Southwest played a crucial role in transforming this urban oasis, earning national recognition for their work. Their efforts were celebrated at the 2024 Hardscape North America (HNA) Awards, where they took home the top prize in the Segmental Concrete Pavement – Commercial (less than 15,000 sf) category. The event recognized outstanding hardscape projects from 215 submissions across 19 categories.

European Pavers has built up a reputation for municipal work, especially in Arizona, and she was thrilled when they were selected to take on this Scottsdale project.

“It was a huge project,” Kimberly Miller, President of European Pavers Southwest, said. “It’s our reputation. We’ve been here for so long in Arizona and throughout the Southwest. People know our workmanship. They know that we return our phone calls. They know we show up for punch lists. They know we’re honest,” Miller said.

Reimagining an Iconic Public Space

Scottsdale Civic Center Plaza consists of nine acres of pristine open public space constructed over 50 years ago in the heart of downtown Scottsdale, Arizona. With a bond-funded $27.5 million budget, the Civic Center Plaza Renovation Project included upgraded utilities, regraded and drained landscapes, and newly installed hardscapes. Key additions include two multi-functional stages, restroom facilities, a children’s play area with a mist-fog system, and expansive pedestrian walkways designed with eye-catching pavers.

European Pavers Southwest worked on four distinct areas of the revamped plaza. Their award-winning section spans 4,800 square feet and showcases an intricate series of concentric and patterned circles crafted with various types of stones and permeable pavers.

The project took about four weeks to complete. The visually striking design required technical precision, expert craftsmanship, and honest feedback. These are the qualities that have built the company’s impressive reputation throughout Arizona and the Southwest.

Crafting for Community Impact

Miller finds deep satisfaction in contributing to public works that the entire community can enjoy.

“I love those jobs because they’re so high profile,” she said. “It’s something that somebody’s going to see.”

The plaza’s pavers, supplied by Ackerstone, perfectly complemented the design vision crafted by the City of Scottsdale. This collaborative effort highlights how hardscaping goes beyond construction—it’s an art form that can redefine public spaces.

With a complete overhaul, the site’s new layout is designed so that all nine acres of the plaza can be utilized throughout the year. The existing hardscape was removed, and an extensive grading operation lowered the grade by as much as six feet in some areas. Several hills were moved to enhance the view of the park. New decorative hardscape and pedestrian walkways—a combination of concrete and pavers—made this linear civic space more inviting to users and visitors.

A Surprising Win

With 215 project submissions across 19 categories, the 2024 Hardscape North America (HNA) Awards showcased hardscaping excellence in materials such as concrete pavers, clay bricks, retaining walls, adhered thin veneers, porcelain, natural stone, and vintage installations.

European Pavers Southwest took home the top prize in the Segmental Concrete Pavement – Commercial (less than 15,000 sf) category for its work on the Scottsdale Civic Center Plaza.

Despite their stellar work, the European Pavers team was genuinely surprised when their project was announced as the first-place winner.

Because of the way they saw the boards displayed at HNA, they thought they had gotten fourth place and the photos were just being shown as additional project examples.

“Needless to say, we were all shocked!” European Pavers posted on Facebook with the announcement of their win.

Inspiring the Next Generation of Hardscapers

European Pavers Southwest’s success at the HNA Awards proves that hardscaping is more than laying stones—it’s about shaping environments, telling stories through design, and leaving lasting legacies.

For aspiring hardscapers, projects like Scottsdale Civic Center Plaza show how creativity and craftsmanship can blend into something truly remarkable.

As Miller summed up, “We take pride in what we do. Saying I’m proud of my team is an understatement.”

Seasonal vs. Year-Round – What to Know When Applying for Hardscaping Jobs

The hardscaping industry offers rewarding career opportunities, but working year-round can be sometimes be tough due to seasonal slowdowns. However, longtime hardscaping experts and business owners say that aspiring hardscape professionals can find full-time work in the industry if they are able to show initiative, be flexible, and adapt to changing needs.

Starting with Initiative

Frank Gandora, President of Creative Hardscape Company in Lakewood, Colorado, has been in the industry since the early 1980s. He recalled that he took a construction trades class in high school and he wanted to immediately put it into action.

“I drove up to this job site, just got my license, 16 years old. I had a 4-foot level in one hand, my tool bag in the other. I saw this guy chomping on a cigar, looking on at the job site. I figured he was the boss and I went up to him with the tools in my hand as I walked up. I didn’t just hop out saying, ‘You guys hiring?’ I walked with the tools in my hand,” Gandora said.

“He looked at my level, chomped on a cigar. He looked at my tool bag. He didn’t say a word. He pointed to the scaffold. I knew what that meant, young, ambitious person I was. I literally ran to the scaffold.”

While the hiring practices might look a little different today, initiative like Gandora’s is exactly what employers are looking for.

Qualities Employers Value

Bob Goossens, President of Precise Paving, Inc. in West Palm Beach, Florida, said he is always looking to hire full-time employees that are “enthusiastic, hungry for employment, and punctual.” He tries not to hire seasonal employees as training is an ongoing effort.

“We always offer our employees a minimum 40-hour work week even if a project has scheduling or material delays. We use this time to service equipment or do odds and ends around our yard and warehouse,” Goossens said.

Renee Redding, the owner of Logan’s Landscaping in Scarborough, Maine, echoed the importance of being proactive and reliable.

“If you’re looking to jump into our industry, you better be somebody that’s looking to jump hard. You need to be a leader on your crews. You need to be a leader to your boss and absorbing, taking it in, understanding, doing exactly what they’re asking you to do so that you have that place 12 months a year. They won’t get rid of you if you’re making them money. That’s a fact,” Redding said.

Adapting to the Seasons

Redding has been a business owner for almost 10 years, but has been in the industry since high school. When she first started, there was a time when hardscaping was seasonal, but now improvements in technology and tools have changed the environment. She doesn’t consider it a “slow season,” as much as it is a time to shift gears or to prepare for the future.

“When I talk to people about it, they’re like, ‘Oh, you must get many months off.’ We switch. We go into masonry. We can tent something. We will heat it. We will accelerate it. There are other things that we do work on in the wintertime. There’s a lot of equipment to work on. There’s a lot of things to get ready for the following season. You just have to make yourself useful and you can manage to have a business 12 months a year, even as far up here as Maine,” Redding said, noting that last year she did a patio project in February.

“There are a lot of companies that their seasonal change will allow them to keep employees on. They don’t want to lose good guys because it’s seasonal work, so they will dip into snow. That’s a natural progression for a lot of companies,” Redding said. “If you’ve got some really good skills that will allow you to stay on in most cases.”

The Value of Long-Term Commitment

Redding also stressed the importance of retaining skilled workers.

“It’s really crucial that when you train those people and you train those people to do something the way you want it done, or way that it should be done, that you maintain those people. If not, they’re going to be your competitors down the road. We have a big incentive to keep them full time,” she said.

Gandora said his work is focused primarily on commercial projects, which allows for year-round operations. He is always looking for a full-time workforce that can be flexible.

“When I was doing residential, I wasn’t working for three months a year because of snow in the backyard and the ground being frozen. I switched over to my commercial work and home builder work. We’re doing much bigger projects with big machines. You’re not worried about frost,” Gandora said. “Instead, we ask, ‘Can you work out of state? Can you work a hundred miles from here in a ski resort application for two weeks at a time?’” Gandora said.

Exploring Industry Roles Beyond the Job Site

Gandora also noted that there are so many different ways to work in hardscaping beyond physical labor, which expands the options for full-time employment.

“It’s not just about backbreaking hard work laying pavers. You have the marketing side of it – developing brochures, developing marketing and advertising campaigns. You have the management side of it, developing and managing crews and coordinating projects. You have the business side of it, you know, negotiating with your suppliers, trying to figure out the best products to use, the most economical products to use, and so on. You have the accounting side of it. You could spend your whole life just doing the accounting side, no different than any other industry,” Gandora said.

“When people look at hardscaping they think of it, ‘Oh, I see a brick paver. It’s heavy and I’ll go home with a sore back.’ That’s 5% of the industry. There’s so much more. And the sore backs are going away because of the tools and innovative equipment and technologies coming in to help make our job easier.”

From fieldwork to management, marketing, and beyond, there are numerous paths to explore. Showing initiative, being flexible, and staying committed can help aspiring professionals build a rewarding, year-round career in the hardscaping industry.

Check out some of the career paths.

Inspiring Artistry and Creativity in Hardscaping: Lessons from JPave’s Award-Winning Project

Breaking into the hardscape industry can feel like a big leap, but the recent 2024 Hardscape North America (HNA) Awards was a reminder that great things come from creativity, passion, and a willingness to push boundaries. With a remarkable 215 project submissions across 19 categories submitted in 2024, the competition highlighted the creativity and expertise within the field.

Among the standout projects was one that should especially inspire newcomers to the field: JPave’s “Grown Expectations,” a residential patio that redefines what’s possible in small spaces.

Jason and Jennifer Stewart, owners of JPave in Smithville, MO, took home top honors in the Segmental Concrete Pavement – Residential (less than 3,000 square feet) category. Their award-winning patio design used a combination of brickwork and pavers to create the impression of a vine weaving through the space, connecting a pergola, firepit, water feature, and dining area.

For Jason Stewart, this design was a long time in the making.

“I actually designed a variation of that idea for two prior customers, but nobody ever wanted it until this customer. I think with this particular project, the space that was allowed, the things they already had in place, and what they wanted and requested, it just flows so beautifully,” he explained.

For those new to the industry, Jason’s experience highlights the importance of finding a balance between artistic vision and customer needs. It’s all about understanding your clients’ preferences and finding creative ways to bring those ideas to life. This project, for instance, stayed true to the home’s overall aesthetic.

“It was a traditional design. The home is a traditional home. The front is all red brick, so it definitely matched the style of the home,” Jason shared. “I did present two other ideas that were more modern and contemporary designs to the same customer, and this is what they chose.”

For anyone starting out, one of the most inspiring aspects of “Grown Expectations” is the way it combines so many skills, including hardscaping, carpentry, boulder coring, lighting, wall building, staining, and even some coppersmithing. Jason’s advice? Don’t shy away from challenges.

“Since I was the installer and the designer, I knew my capabilities,” he noted. “Don’t be afraid to design and install. We did have to do a lot of stuff here. That wasn’t all interlocking pavement. There were water features, electrical pumps. There’s a curved pergola in it where there’s actually carpentry and woodwork. There are walls in there.”

Jennifer added, “Don’t be afraid to try the hard stuff. He knew it was going to be difficult, and that execution was going to be different and one of a kind, and he was not afraid of it. He went in full force and just knocked it out of the park.”

The Stewarts hope this recognition will open doors for new design opportunities and inspire others in the hardscaping community to explore their creativity.

“I’m hoping to gain more design work off of it,” Jason said. “We definitely wanted to show what you can do with a small space and it doesn’t look crowded at the same time… You could scoot the table and chairs out of the way, and it could be a dance floor for sure.”

Whether you’re just starting in the hardscaping field or looking to push your designs further, remember that every project is an opportunity to learn, innovate, and inspire. JPave’s “Grown Expectations” is proof that with a clear vision and a fearless approach, you can create spaces that not only stand out but also resonate with your clients and bring their dreams to life.

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