New book chronicles design/build innovator Charles Pankow and Company

VANCOUVER, Wash. – The Charles Pankow Foundation (CPF) announced the publication of the new book, entitled A Better Way to Build: A History of the Pankow Companies, written by business historian Michael R. Adamson, Ph.D. The book was launched at a recent gala event hosted by Purdue University Libraries.

A Better Way to Build is a compelling portrait of Charles Pankow, who pioneered major innovations in concrete construction and is considered a forerunner in developing and refining the design/build method. Moreover, it is a history of the Pankow Company—from Charles Pankow’s early career with Peter Kiewit Sons’ in the 1960s and the formation of his company in 1963, to the present day—and a practical study of the civil engineering and construction management decisions that have left their mark on the industry.

“A Better Way to Build is a tribute not only to the founder of the Pankow Companies,” said Richard M. Kunnath, P.E., President of the CPF Board of Directors and Executive Chairman of the Board of Pankow Builders, “but it is also a powerful study of the successful corporate culture that Charles Pankow created and which continues to inspire new ways of advancing design and construction technology and practices.”

With an interesting and insightful look into the development of the design/build methodology, Adamson discusses the internal evolution of business methodologies and Pankow’s unique adaptation and response to the economic and industry trends that have transpired in the construction industry over the past 40 years. Some of the real-world, moment-to-moment decision making by the Pankow team that went into the construction of 160 buildings, including some of the most iconic structures in the western U.S., are included in candid detail.

In A Better Way to Build, selected projects are analyzed and used as case studies to explain how the company innovated at the project level, and how it automated and developed construction technologies to keep projects on track and within budget.

During the 1990’s when the U.S. slid into recession, management decisions were made by the Pankow Company to adapt successfully in the changing commercial market. It may be that some of those decisions are relevant today as businesses widen their knowledge base to remain profitable.

A Better Way to Build: A History of the Pankow Companies is published as an illustrated hardcover (ISBN 978-1-55753-634-1). Copies of the book may be ordered by calling 1-800-247-6553 in North America or by email (order@bookmasters.com), or through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other retailers. E-book versions of the book are also available.