Southfield 4 in Dallas by PDMS  Design Group (https://www.pdmsdesign.com/) makes the point well: a project can have can comparable first cost, market appeal, and offer the bonus of a reduced carbon footprint.

The design solution combined a metal panel exterior with a cross laminated timber ("CLT") wall. It both satisfied local regulatory approvals and gained national recognition as an energy effective commercial real estate project.

Wilkinson Building Advisors is leading a design and construction team to design a wood superstructure and enclosure system for the mid-west marketplace.

https://wilkinsonadvisors.com/blog/item/107-wood-superstructure-and-enclosure-systems-in-the-mid-west

https://wilkinsonadvisors.com/blog/item/108-announcing-new-commercial-industrial-building-product-line

Emerging markets, advancing building science, and improved logics are changing how we design, build, and finance our real estate assets.

(Southfield photo credits to PDMS Design Group)

A Wilkinson Building Advisors-led team in the mid-west is designing a product line of commercial and industrial buildings that are assembled from a kit-of-parts. This kit (“Building in a Box”) is composed of the renewable building materials for the superstructure and enclosure system (cross laminated timber, mass timber and sawn lumber components).

The kit-of-parts can be disassembled at the end of the intended service life and reused; thus regenerative and recyclable. These systems are combined with advanced energy exchange and ventilation systems to yield low operating costs.

The combination of low first cost and operating expenses are attractive to investors/owners seeking a favorable ROI and a low carbon footprint. This team intends to help reduce the out-scale amount of energy used by buildings in the US (40%).

The WBA team will work as a design-build, prime subcontractor (superstructure and enclosure systems) or a design-builder for complete projects.”

If your business seeks to combine design with economy, we are here when you are ready!

                           Competitive first costs... Low operating expense.... Sound investment while pushing back at climate change

A Wilkinson Building Advisors (“WBA”) led team in the mid-west is designing a product line of commercial and industrial buildings that are assembled from a kit-of-parts. This kit (“Building in a Box”) is composed of the renewable building materials for the superstructure and enclosure system (cross laminated timber, mass timber and sawn lumber components). The kit-of-parts can be disassembled at the end of the intended service life and reused; thus regenerative. These systems are combined with advanced energy exchange and ventilation systems to yield low operating costs. The combination of low first cost and operating expenses are attractive to investors seeking a favorable ROI and a low carbon footprint. This team intends to do is part to reduce the out-scale amount of energy used by buildings in the US (40%).

The WBA team will work as a design-build, prime subcontractor (superstructure and enclosure systems) or a design-builder for complete projects.”

A well established, national real estate developer is beginning operations in the upper midwest.

This represents an unusual opportunity for a small number of construction project managers and field supervisors to form the core of the new organization.

They are seeking two office-based project managers and a lead superintendent. Urban, mid-rise and tall commercial building experince is an essential professional qualification. Design-build project management experience is considered an advantage for the applicant.

Please inquire through our contact page or send resumes and cover letters to

Confidentiality is assured.

In the early 1950s and after a long struggle, McCarthyism was waning. The American spirit though bruised is intact and on the rise; a good thing because the Russians didn’t hesitate to launch Sputnik after closing the iron curtain on Eastern Europe.

In a evermore globally competitive marketplace, the US construction industry is lagging behind other nations. This is remarkable considering that in 1955, the United States was the only fully formed democracy, and industrially intact country on the planet. Thus, 65 years later, here we are… in a horse race to hold a place in the global markets.

Wilkinson  Building Advisors  ("WBA")  provides experienced lender consulting

• Project budget review and validation
• Field observationsa and interim reports as requested
• Application for payment review both monthly and final
• Inspection reports as required by the lenders

Our approach

• Remote or on-site support; seasoned professional knowledge and skills
• Compliance with lender’s document management process and technology
• Budget friendly and outcome based; firm fee and schedule proposals

Our credentials

• George Wilkinson is a p rofessional building engineer with a depth of planning, design, and construction experience
  • https://www.wilkinsonadvisors.com/work
• In-house administrative support for timely processing of documentaton

The Business Case for High Performace Buildings

Buildings represent nearly 40% of final energy used globally. If we include the energy consumed in building construction, this number grows to more than 50%. However, large and attractive opportunities exist to reduce buildings’ energy use at a lower societal cost and a higher return than in other sectors.

• The World Business Council for Sustainable Design & Energy Efficiency in Buildings

The guiding light for Wilkinson Building Advisors is to “Plan thoughtfully and act purposefully.” A pillar of the consulting practice is to help everyone “win” when the project needs fixing. Thus the title of this post: “Fix your project.”

Unfortunately, the need for “fixing” usually arrives after a design and construction project is in the advanced stages, i.e. construction is well underway. By then the “one-time manager” is feeling as though events are getting out of hand. The usual suspects are:

• The financial operations threaten  to break the budget
• The schedule is slipping and the needed opening dates seem unlikely

100 years ago, old-growth trees were used to make columns, girders, and planks for commercial buildings. Butler Square in Minneapolis is a good example of this applied construction technology. It was a sound construction strategy; 100 years of service is impressive. However, limitations arose from the availability of old-growth trees to be used for this purpose.