4 November 2015

At the DBIA Conference & Expo held in Denver, Colorado from November 2-4, the conference culminated on the evening of November 3rd with a bestowment of the 2015 Brunelleschi Lifetime Achievement Award to Rik Kunnath, President of Charles Pankow Foundation. Rik has been a true leader in the construction industry. In 1993, he was among a handful of practitioners that founded the Design-Build Institute of America in Washington, DC. He served as its National Chairman in 1995 and President of its Design-Build Education and Research Foundation, and is the former President of the Foundation for Integrated Services. He has received numerous awards and recognitions from the industry, where he continues to support key organizations and mentor industry leaders. Awards include, the AIA President’s Citation and in 2013, election to the National Academy of Construction. With his passion for building, Rik was not only a founder of DBIA National; as a true design-builder, he continues to share his insights and expertise through his affiliation with industry associations such as DBIA, AIA and American Arbitration Association, and of course, through his current role as President of Charles Pankow Foundation.

In giving back to the community, he was named Engineering Alumnus of the Year by his alma mater, the University of Detroit Mercy, College of Engineering and Science. He is a City of Hope Spirit of Life Honoree, and is passionate about his volunteer efforts at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Habitat for Humanity, ACE Mentor Program, Boy Scouts of America and Children’s Hospital – to name a few.

In 2013, Rik was named one of ENR’s Top 25 Newsmakers where he was recognized for his support of “building innovation one grant at a time.” Regularly published and quoted in ENR, it has been written at least 10 times—twice in 2012— that research projects are "funded by a grant from the Charles Pankow Foundation." Grants supported the first large-scale load tests of reinforced-concrete link beams and tests of a hybrid shear-wall assembly. Grants, to date, also include support of digital tools and standards, BIM, and research into the effectiveness of alternative delivery systems, especially design-build.

With many notable achievements, both personally and professionally, Rik Kunnath is the epitome of a Brunelleschi Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient. His dedication to the industry, his unwavering devotion to community service, and profound knowledge and expertise as a professional engineer and design-builder, DBIA National is proud to present its 2015 Brunelleschi Lifetime Achievement Award to Rik Kunnath. In a recent ENR article, Rik said “Innovation was what Charles Pankow was always about.” We can only hope that the future will continue to be brighter with an award-winning newsmaker and “a leader of leaders” by our side.

The Brunelleschi Award is the highest honor DBIA bestows. It is presented to an individual who has made significant contributions to the design and construction industry through outstanding leadership and the advancement of integrated design-build project delivery. Recipients of this award have exhibited originality, vision and breadth over the course of their professional life, with 25 years or more of strong and well-documented commitment to design-build project delivery. The prestigious award is named for Filippo Brunelleschi, the Florentine master builder whose most notable work is the Duomo of the Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence.

For DBIA's full article feature, go to: http://www.designbuilddoneright.com/rik-kunnath-honored-with-dbia-lifetime-achievement-award/

For the full video presentation, go to: https://vimeo.com/150428185