Brian Palmquist has spent more than 35 years as an architect, specialist consultant, urban designer, teacher and now builder. He is hoping to pass on the lessons he’s learned to others.
He spent about a year working on An Architect’s Guide to Construction: Tales from the Trenches.
It’s a book loaded with real world examples and advice on specifications, holdbacks, mold, mockups and much more.
Palmquist said the project started shortly after attending an architecture continuing education conference.
Unsatisfied with the content, a number of young architects at the various sessions began to ask probing questions.
"I noticed the younger members in the audience didn’t seem to be all that happy with what they were getting out of it," he said.
Palmquist explained that it is the symptom of a larger issue.
On average, the amount of mentoring offered to young designers and builders has drastically reduced.
"I think that we do a lot less training and mentoring than we used to and at the same time the industry has become more complex," he said.
"I think it has caused designers and builders to, in essence, circle their wagons and retreat into their corners and do a lot of finger pointing."
So in 2013, once Palmquist’s travel commitments began to lessen, he started writing his book, eventually settling into a format of quotes and tales designed to highlight teachable moments.
This includes Tale 16, which talks about the importance of collaborating with construction superintendents.
"I am forever amazed at the skill and the hard work of a typical construction superintendent," he said.
"Those folks are managing $8,000 of construction every hour."
He explained that collaborating with the superintendent on how the building will be constructed requires a small investment and simply produces better buildings.
He also cited an example from the book where he noticed the cladding material on a project was far cheaper than it should be.
After some brief research he discovered several websites on class action lawsuits regarding the material and notified the builder.
The book is self-published and Palmquist said he isn’t interested in making money from it.
"I am just doing this because I thought it had to be done," he said, emphasizing he wants the information to be freely shared.
However, Palmquist is aiming for something far beyond a book.
The e-book is filled with links to more material. He’s also set up a blog and social media pages for others to join in the conversation.
"I am hoping that book two will be a series of tales told by other people," he said.
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