Have you driven around downtown Houston lately? If so, you may have noticed the construction site for a new YMCA facility located at Pease and Milam. Haynes Whaley is providing structural engineering services for this project, working with the architect, Kirksey, and the general contractor, Tellepsen. This new YMCA facility will bear the Tellepsen family name, and will replace an older facility located just a few blocks away. You may have also noticed the black plastic wrapping the top of several concrete columns on the site (see the picture below). The plastic wrap is not concealing special techniques, but rather protecting the finish to deliver the quality specified by Kirksey. Tellepsen wrapped the exposed reinforcement steel of all columns in order to prevent the materials from rusting and staining the sides of the exposed concrete columns.