Contractors need to be nimble enough to position themselves for whatever the market yields. “We want to be a ‘must consider’ for every project, and to be that, we must constantly improve,” says Pat Di Filippo, Executive Vice President of Turner’s Northeast region.
For the past several years, design-build has accounted for 10–15% of Turner’s work. “If you’re going to do design-build, you have to be able to drive the design,” Di Filippo says. The company is also pursuing projects more aggressively via public-private partnerships.
Last year, the company launched Turner Engineering Group, which now has 16 experts. Di Filippo, who leads the group, says there is “a tremendous thirst” for TEG’s services throughout the company. Its services have been expanded to include design peer review.
One recent project where TEG is providing services is the $114 million Center for Cyber Security Studies at the U.S. Naval Academy, which the design-build team of Turner and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has been selected to deliver. The 206,400-sf facility will include a research and testing tank to support its engineering and weapons labs, an observatory, offices, and collaborative spaces for students and faculty.
Turner also has been cultivating its self-perform capabilities, such as concrete pouring. Last year, it hired nine regional Lean practice managers to streamline construction and reduce costs.
Making Turner a Lean practices company is a work in progress. “But the results are moving in the right direction,” Di Filippo says.
He is cautiously optimistic about business, especially in New York City, where several mega-projects are in the works. “We’re geared up for opportunities,” he says.
RETURN TO THE GIANTS 300 LANDING PAGE
Related Stories
| Apr 26, 2012
Blackney Hayes Architects launches new engineering division
The new division, BHH Engineers, will be led by Mark Hershman, PE.
| Apr 26, 2012
Energy efficiency requirements heighten the importance of proper protection for roofing systems
Now more than ever, a well-insulated and well protected roof is critical in new or renovated commercial buildings.
| Apr 26, 2012
Orange County, Fla. high school receives NAIOP “Public Development of the Year” award
School replacement designed by SchenkelShultz Architecture and constructed by Williams Co.
| Apr 25, 2012
Bubble skyscraper design aims to purify drinking water
The Freshwater Skyscraper will address the issue of increasing water scarcity through a process known as transpiration
| Apr 25, 2012
Thornton Tomasetti/Fore Solutions provides consulting for Biologics Support Center
Project receives LEED Gold Certification.
| Apr 25, 2012
McCarthy introduces high school students to a career in construction
High school students from the ACE Mentoring Program tour the new CHOC Children’s Patient Tower in Orange, Calif.
| Apr 25, 2012
Missner Group names McCrory VP of property management
McCrory will be responsible for overseeing the financial and operational needs of the firm’s commercial real estate portfolio which includes more than two million square feet of property.
| Apr 25, 2012
Rogers joins Morgan/Harbour as senior project manager
Rogers will also manage the construction process and daily activities as well as act as the interface between the subcontractors, owners, municipalities and regulatory agencies
| Apr 25, 2012
J.C. Anderson selected for 50,000-sf build out at Chicago’s DePaul University
The build-out will consist of the construction of new offices, meeting rooms, video rooms and a state-of-the-art multi-tiered Trading Room.
| Apr 24, 2012
ULI Real Estate Consensus Forecast, projects improvements for the real estate industry through 2014
Survey is based on opinions from 38 of the nation’s leading real estate economists and analysts and suggests a marked increase in commercial real estate activity, with total transaction volume expected to rise from $250 billion in 2012 to $312 billion in 2014.
