Evolving into more comprehensive design-build services was the driver behind CannonDesignâs recent merger with gkkworks, an integrated planning, design, and construction firm.
Founded in 1991, gkkworks employs 120 people in its offices in Irvine, Pasadena, and San Diego, Calif.; Denver; and Pune, India. (CannonDesign has an office in Mumbai.) Its annual revenue ranges from $50 million to $60 million.
Praful Kulkarni, president and CEO of gkkworks, says his goal has been to âcreate a firm with multiple professionals to customize the design process.â He notes that his companyâs progressive design-build delivery model is promulgated on the belief that âarchitecture and construction are inseparable.â
Kulkarniâs new title at Cannon Design is director of integrated services, focused on advancing the combined firmâs design and construction capabilities.
Praful Kulkurni is now Cannon Design's director of intergated services, focused on the firm's design and construction capabilities. Image: courtesy of Cannon Design
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Last year, Fast Company magazine recognized CannonDesign as one of the 10 most innovative architectural firms in the world. CannonDesign became acquainted with gkkworks through a âclient connection,â says Brad Lukanic, AIA, LEED AP, CannonDesignâs growth-minded CEO.
Merging with gkkworks expands CannonDesignâs west-coast partnerships and moves the firm into the hospitality sector. Lukanic further explains the rationale behind this merger by stating âweâre finding that the industry is really hungry for alternative delivery methods. When thereâs a single source of delivery, fewer mistakes are made.â
Cannon Design got into integrated modular design two years ago. Based on post-occupancy studies that CannonDesign has conducted on those subsequent projects, its delivery model is reducing delivery times by 28%, lowering costs by 20%, and reducing material waste by 30%. Kulkarni observes that these results ârest on involving the construction company at the point of selection.â
Deb Sheehan, Cannon Design's Executive Director-Firmwide Strategies, is looking forward to her company working earlier with subs and suppliers. Image: Cannon Design
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Merging with gkkworks extends CannonDesignâs delivery reach to the supply chain, says Deb Sheehan, CannonDesignâs Executive Director-Firmwide Strategies. The company is already collaborating with GCs, and has started to include large subcontractors such as Hill Mechanical in early design discussions. Sheehan speaks enthusiastically about working sooner with suppliers and subcontractors to get costs down.
When asked why more firms should go the IDP route, Kulkarni cites a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that, he says, set âan impossibly high barâ for the accuracy of design drawings. In any disputes among building team members or with clients, that ruling âbecame a defensive position.â But when design and construction are integrated, âyou no longer have these disputes.â
Since joining Cannon Design in 2016, CEO Brad Lukanic has been acquisition minded. Image: Cannon Design
âI believe our firm can play a vital role in a unified approach, as clients seek integrated solutions that link a projectâs design and delivery phases,â says Lukanic. âBy breaking traditional boundaries, our firm seeks to delivery every project aspectâfrom shaping the design experience to final construction.â
Its merger with gkkworks brings to 24 the number of offices Cannon Design operates. Over the next several months, Cannon Design and gkkworks will be combining their respective operations, âespecially in California,â says Lukanic.Â
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