May 14, 2019
DPR presents Beyond the Drawing Board. In this series of podcasts designed for our Design Management Academy, we bring to you conversations with Industry Thought Leaders to take a peek behind the curtain at the design process.
Our guest for this episode is Doug Woods, the D in DPR and one of its co-founders. Doug’s interest in the construction industry began at an early age, and despite getting his college degree in a different field, he joined Rudolph and Sletten after graduation, where he met the other co-founders of DPR, Peter Nosler and Ron Davidowski. Together, they started DPR in 1990 and have since grown it into a multi-billion dollar company.
Doug shares more about his journey in the industry and the history of DPR as a company. He reveals the motivations behind starting DPR, and some of the early challenges and opportunities facing the company. Doug and Greg also discuss the larger construction industry, the importance and role of design management, and what the future holds for DPR moving forward.
This episode is brought to you by DPR Construction, with our host, Greg Mantz.
Key Takeaways:
[:53] Gregory introduces his guest for this episode — Doug Woods.
[1:25] Doug shares a little more about his background.
[5:00] When did Doug discover his passion for construction and doing projects?
[5:59] Dough explains his role at Rudolph and Sletten.
[8:22] When did Doug meet the other co-founders of DPR?
[9:44] What drove Doug, Peter and Ron to start DPR?
[20:03] How did Doug, Peter and Ron create their vision for DPR?
[22:08] What were some of the major challenges and opportunities in the early years of DPR?
[23:40] How did Doug target the high-technology clientele that DPR is now known for?
[26:05] What are some of Doug's favorite projects? Why?
[31:50] How did the ATA joint venture with Ehrlich-Rominger come about?
[34:07] What can DPR do to better react to changing delivery methods?
[39:40] What are some things the competition is doing that DPR can learn from?
[42:32] What would owners like to see changed about how projects are delivered?
[44:44] How are the young people coming into the firm impacting the firm?
[49:22] There's a lot of innovation happening in the industry. What does Doug see changing in terms of what DPR should be doing to advance the business?
[51:28] How will the architectural and engineering community react to the creation of a single point of project delivery?
[55:25] What are Doug's thoughts on the importance of design management and the execution of these types of projects?
[56:44] What can DPR do internally to help people realize the importance of quality design management?
[59:09] Doug shares some final words of wisdom.
Links:
Design Management Academy Yammer Page
Beyond the Drawing Board Podcast Episode 005 - Mike Medici, President and Managing Partner with SmithGroup