There are those who bellyache that the construction industry is stagnant and lacks innovation and productivity gains. They have complained that it takes too long for the adoption of new technology to advance the built environment. And they blame this on the fragmented nature of the industry, individual and collective aversion to risk, a litigious and unforgiving society and general reluctance to change.
The age of whining is over, thanks to the Charles Pankow Foundation, and especially one of its pro bono directors, Ron Klemencic, who is ENR’s 53rd Award of Excellence winner. In his day job he serves as chairman and CEO of Magnusson Klemencic Associates, but he has also spent a decade as the “poster practitioner” of the foundation’s approach to cooperative R&D for improving U.S. buildings. The foundation has spent $12 million on such collaborations, and Klemencic has proven the model works (see p. 34).