SMPS SFBAC Sponsor Spotlight: Pankow
I recently had a chance to touch base with Nancy Lopez, Marketing Coordinator at Pankow, and ask her a few questions about her firm, which is one of our Silverado Trail Sponsors.
Tell us about your firm and services.
Since 1963, Pankow has benefited clients through creative problem-solving, engineering expertise, and construction innovation. We are pioneers of design-build and integrated project delivery, and provide design-build, design-assist, general contracting, and tenant improvement services. We specialize in complex projects and work in occupied facilities. We apply new construction tools, processes, and technologies, such as: Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), BIM Planning and Execution and Virtual Design and Construction, LEAN Delivery and Alternative Energy Solutions – all in support of our client’s success.
How many years have you been in business?
Over 55 years.
Could you tell us about some notable projects?
Of course!
San Francisco Conservatory of Music, San Francisco, CA
Pankow is the General Contractor for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s new twelve-story basement building. Located at 200 Van Ness Avenue at Hayes Street, directly across from Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, the new building will be approximately 170,000 square feet and will include ten levels of housing, as well as teaching spaces and a rehearsal hall on the ground floor and basement, a street-level café, and a rooftop performance hall.
San Francisco Public Safety Building, San Francisco, CA
This new state-of-the-art Public Safety building was a 6-story project with a partial basement and included the adaptive reuse of a historic red brick firehouse. The project was LEED-Gold Certified.
49 South Van Ness, San Francisco, CA
49 South Van Ness is the future headquarters for the San Francisco Department of Public Works. This ground-up, 530,129-square-foot steel structure office building includes 2 levels of cast-in-place below-grade parking and 16 levels of above-grade office space. The new building will be a one-stop shop permitting center, and will be the future home for the Planning Department, Department of Building Inspection, and the Department of Public Works. In an effort to guarantee the certainty of the cost, schedule, and quality, Pankow will be self-performing the concrete work.
CPMC/Sutter Heath Cathedral Hill Hospital, San Francisco, CA
The CPMC/Sutter hospital project is a new replacement hospital that houses both an Acute Cate Center and a Women and Children Center. This project is one of the first OSHPD projects to use a Lean Construction delivery process and a phased OSHPD Submittal Process to accelerate and improve the agency approval process. The team used 3-D modeling programs with an integrated project delivery team to fully coordinate all components and systems into the building to allow construction to take place with minimum disruption caused by constructability issues.
SFPUC Southeast Community Center, San Francisco, CA
This project is a new community center consisting of two buildings with a canopied breezeway between the buildings. The main building will include a ground floor lobby, café, and childcare center; the second floor will have multipurpose rooms for workshops, conferences, classes, and special events; and the third floor will have office space for community-based organizations. The community room pavilion will be a separate structure. The campus will include a parking area, an enclosed play area for the childcare center, and two acres of open space featuring gardens, play and picnic areas, and green infrastructure.
What differentiates your firm in terms of approach, talent, tools, values?
Pankow’s vision is to “See the Possibilities, Engage the Power in People, and Deliver Value – in Everything We Do.” We value our employees and believe our primary focus is all about the people. The Pankow team strives to be a diverse community inspiring, engaging, and exciting one another. In order to tap into the full potential of our people, Pankow created the “Pankow Playbook,” a tool to help employees discover their unique drivers and develop a personal connection to our Vision and Mission and the values they deliver. By engaging the power in our people, we have cultivated a culture that celebrates the passion that comes from each Pankow team member and an empowered environment where they proudly bring innovative ideas and solutions to the table.
FLIP THE CURVE™
As we strive to become a Learning Organization, our passion for innovation is fueled by Pankow’s desire to “Flip the Curve.” As labor productivity has been increasing in all non-farm US industries, labor productivity in the construction industry has been declining since 1968. Pankow is committed to reversing this trend as we work to continuously improve the productivity of our processes and become part of the solution to break the cycle of waste and inefficiency.
Building a lean culture at Pankow that promotes self-awareness and solutions-oriented mindsets enables us to embrace concepts and applications that will eliminate waste and drive efficiency. Through the use of leading-edge technology, pre-fabrication and modular solutions, and the revolutionizing of project delivery, we have begun to break the cycle of waste and inefficiency, Flip The Curve™, and change the construction industry forever.
Pankow offers a full range of preconstruction and construction services. Pankow is a founding member of the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) and has practiced design-build and integrated project delivery throughout its 55-year history. We have experience designing and building complex facilities on tight sites where quality and predictability are integral parts of the construction process. We successfully execute new construction and tenant improvement projects with minimal impact to existing operations.
As we foster a company culture of innovation, we consider ourselves true design-builders. It is essential that we contribute more than good management to the preconstruction process — we continuously endeavor to discover ideas and systems that benefit our clients. We make a point to stay on the leading edge so our clients can have front row access to best practices in the utilization of new construction tools, processes and technologies.
How long have you been a sponsor of SMPS?
This is the first year we have been a sponsor for SMPS and it surely will not be the last!
What are some memorable or key events of SMPS that your firm has been involved with?
For the SF Client Roundtable, Bret Firebaugh, DBIA, Northern California Regional Vice President at Pankow Builders, was on the panel.
Tina Barni Aday is the Marketing Manager for RHAA Landscape Architecture + Planning. She writes for the Shortlist and is on the SMPS SF Communications Committee. She can be reached at [email protected].
