Ron Zawadzki to Lead Building Technology Systems at WSP USA

As wireless technologies play a larger role in meeting connectivity demands, new national practice leader commits to ensuring firm stays at forefront of building system innovations.

IRVINE, California — Ron Zawadzki has been named the national practice leader for building technology systems (BTS) at WSP USA, a leading engineering and professional services consultancy.

In his expanded leadership role at WSP, Zawadzki will foster growth within the firm’s well-developed BTS team by augmenting the firm’s specialty services and mechanical-electrical-plumbing (MEP) business lines.

Zawadzki arrived at WSP in 2021 when tk1sc – a 240-employee mechanical, electrical and plumbing “plus” engineering firm based in Irvine – was acquired by WSP. He started with Konsortium1 in 1999. By 2001 he was a partner and in 2013 he and his two partners merged with another firm to create tk1sc. There he was instrumental in developing an in-house technology team that designed structured cabling, security and audio-visual systems. His team handled a full spectrum of electrical and technology designs, from medium voltage campus electrical distribution to overhead paging and sound masking.

“Ron’s new role at WSP solidifies the alignment between WSP and tk1sc and further develops our ability to not only provide more skills and resources to clients, but create growth opportunities for people within our firm,” said Rick Rome, WSP national business line leader, Property and Buildings. “The BTS field is undergoing rapid changes driven both by building occupant needs and the drive to connect building systems to a converged IP network. Our clients will appreciate having an all-inclusive partner in Ron and his BTS team that is capable of delivering projects – large and small.”

Recently Zawadzki has been managing the WSP technology systems design strategy and facilitated the technology system integration for the greenfield construction of an all-electrical hospital project at the University of California at Irvine’s Campus Medical Center designed to be one of the first facilities of its kind with the goal to achieve carbon neutrality.

“We have just about every technology system represented on this project and are working with the client to integrate the building’s MEP systems, building technology systems and healthcare technology systems using an integration engine that fully leverages these systems to achieve those use-case goals,” Zawadzki said. “This effort has been a real eye-opener on improving patient experiences and how we, as designers, can help reduce the workload on medical professionals and hospital support staff.”

Zawadzki is a graduate of Worcester Polytechnique Institute with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and West Coast University with a master’s degree in environmental engineering.

He is a U.S. Air Force veteran where he served with a combat engineering outfit that he described as “the ultimate design-build opportunity. We would design projects located in various parts of the world, pack up all our heavy equipment, fly there and lead a large team to build the projects. It was an incredibly challenging and rewarding experience for a young engineer.”

Zawadzki holds professional memberships with the U.S. Green Building Council and Building Industry Consulting Service International.

“It is certainly humbling to be selected to lead a national team with the depth of knowledge and experience that they have demonstration, but I am looking forward to the challenge,” he said. “As consideration of new wireless technologies, such as [citizen broadband radio service] and 5G, play a bigger part in meeting connectivity demands, keeping our team at the forefront of these changes will ensure WSP maintains its position as a competitive industry expert in this arena.”