When Ray Kowalik first interviewed with a recruiter at Kansas City, Mo.-based Burns & McDonnell after graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s in civil engineering, the concept of employee ownership didn’t bear all that much weight.
As the largest single infrastructure project in Kansas City history, this $1.5-billion, 1.1-million-sq-ft design-build effort replaced a three-terminal facility to streamline airport operations and improve passenger experience.
As many workers and companies still embrace hybrid and remote models established during the COVID-19 pandemic—even several years out from its onset—impacts on construction continue, with some sectors thriving and others diminishing.
Emerging leaders in design and construction not only chart their own path to success, they help others to succeed. Their engineering feats and mastery of cutting-edge technology allow these standouts to shape the industry’s future.
The urgent need for future talent in design and construction is not lost on today’s emerging leaders. A common theme among this year’s ENR Midwest Top Young Professionals—which honors 20 individuals in the region under the age of 40—is engagement with high school and college students to foster interest in the built environment and to help people build careers.
Faced with the constraints of an extremely narrow site, the Electric Park Garden Bar addition team found ways to leverage prefabrication to reduce downtime for subcontractors and keep the project on track.