1 November 2021

Congrats to VDC Manager, Lou Varni!

40 Under 40: Champions of Construction is an annual and global awards program that recognizes both established and up and comers in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) who are making a big impact. It recognizes construction professionals under the age of 40 who are making waves in the AEC field for their creativity, forward-thinking, and dedication.

Lou is motivated and inspired to find new processes to increase Pankow's planning efforts so that the company can be more lean and productive in the field. He demonstrates a commitment to improve the industry by searching for better ways to design and build. Lou is not satisfied by the status quo, he leans on innovation to help tackle some of the industry's biggest challenges during design and coordination. Lou collaborates extremely well with design teams and trade partners, improving all around team performance. He brings a strong work ethic and a desire to stay on schedule. These characteristics allow Lou to gain client confidence when overcoming complex design obstacles.

How has this person made a significant impact on a project, team, or across the company in 2021?

Lou is currently working to help improve some of our coordination and issue tracing procedures through the use of Autodesk BIM collaborate and Autodesk Build.

He has made significant impact on several key projects such as the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 1951 Harbor Bay Parkway in Alameda, 500 Broadway in Santa Monica, Los Angeles Mission College in Sylmar, and 550 O’Farrell in San Francisco.

An example of successful collaboration between Mark Cavagnero Associates and the Pankow Builders team was the BIM coordination process on the SF Conservatory of Music building. The MEP subcontractors were brought on during preconstruction to provide design-assist input on constructability. The building was very tight on interstitial space for routing MEP elements. The tight space combined with the need to over-size ductwork for acoustics, meant that the MEP elements were extremely constrained. Mark Cavagnero Associates met with Pankow’s BIM team, including their trade partners, twice a week for many months to assist with the coordination of all MEP elements in the building. The process required very close collaboration between all members of the design and construction teams. Together the team was able to identify and resolve over 850 constructability issues ensuring that the design would fit, function and meet the design intent set forth by the Cavagnero team. The BIM coordination process allowed the team to prefabricate many of the larger MEP systems from the model ensuring for better accuracy and a more efficient install. This also aided in ensuring that other architecturally significant prefabricated components like the sculptural wood Performance Hall ceiling could be built off-site with confidence that it would fit once assembled together with the MEP systems.

Lou works with project teams to help identify constructability and coordination issues eliminating major conflicts before they play out in the field.

He partners with teams to take incomplete designs and help make them constructible through BIM coordination.

Has this person helped implement Autodesk Build, Autodesk BIM Collaborate, and/or Autodesk Takeoff on a project this year?

Not only is Lou seeking Autodesk tools to improve inefficient procedures but he is working with Autodesk to improve their products so that they are more effective.

Lou is passionate about addressing industry issues and is doing so through the use of VDC, Autodesk Build and Collaborate.

He is a member of the Citadel National Construction Group VDC Leaders pioneering the best use and implementation of BIM and VDC technology.