ELEVATE Awards | The Registry, CREW East Bay, CREW Silicon Valley, and CREW San Francisco
An awards gala honoring diversity & women’s leadership in commercial real estate
Three outstanding BCCI women, Kena David, Director, Sustainability, Mallory Wall, Vice President, Michelle Puckett, Studio Director, were recognized as Inspirator Nominees. The Inspirator Award acknowledges the exceptional efforts of a woman in the real estate industry who supports, inspires, coaches and mentors people in their profession.
Kena David, LEED AP ID+C, WELL AP, WELL Faculty, Director, Sustainability | BCCI Construction
Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kena-david-00a4a163/
Twitter: @BCCIbuilders
Professional Background:
With expertise in sustainability, green building, and chemistry, Kena David leads the Sustainability Department at BCCI, working with project teams to support client sustainability goals as well as growing and shaping departmental initiatives. Kena has completed dozens of sustainable projects under the LEED Rating System, including the world’s first LEED v4 for Commercial Interiors Platinum Certified project. Additionally, she has successfully managed over half a dozen WELL projects, a leading tool for advancing health and well-being in buildings globally, including the first WELLv1 CertifiedTM Interior at the Silver level in San Francisco, the first WELL Ground Up in Northern California, and the first WELL CertifiedTM project in Texas. Her experience includes sustainable design strategy/cost analysis and LEED and WELL project management. Kena also provides educational training on the successful implementation of LEED and workshops on various sustainability frameworks. Kena is a LEED AP (Accredited Professional) in Interior Design and Construction, a WELL AP, and a WELL Faculty member serving in an elite group of professionals participating in education on the WELL Building Standard and contributing to continual program development. Kena has also been recognized for her leadership receiving the 2017 ELEVATE Rising Rock Star Award and the Northern California Women of Real Estate Rising Star Award.
CREW SF Background:
My highlight experience with CREW SF was back in 2014 when we began brainstorming how to get the next generation of CRE leaders involved in the organization. I was the founding chair of the Rising Leaders committee for two years focusing on growing CREW’s recruitment of new members and sustaining veteran members. was After being active with Rising Leaders , I transitioned to the Governance committee. As a member of the Governance committee, I learned a lot about the chapter’s makeup and participated in selecting the incoming board and president. Following governance, I became the Vice-Chair of Sponsorship and have been actively involved for over a year on that committee. This year, the Sponsorship committee has worked hard to revamp the annual chapter sponsorship structure to minimize the amount of outreach for events during the year and maximize the networking and learning for committee members. I am also a part of the 2019 Leadership Certificate cohort and have had a glimpse into the amazing reach of CREW Network.
Q&A:
How did you move up in your career at and what advice do you have for women who wish to advance in their jobs?
During my nine years in the industry, I have worked for BCCI and advanced from a part-time Sustainability Intern to the Director of Sustainability. Early on, I came from a purely science and sustainability background and had much to learn about the CRE industry. When my work was light, I asked to help out in any way I could and worked with the estimating department filing paperwork, the permit team to help out with the Department of Building Inspection (DBI), project management as an assistant project manager, and filled in at reception when needed. When I got involved in CREW, it gave me the opportunity to learn more about the CRE industry beyond the general contracting world.
My advice to women who wish to advance their careers is to stay engaged and always be learning. Don’t be afraid to take on something new; it can give you a more well-rounded understanding of your organization and how your desired role can help the company. Throughout my advancement, I have also stayed up to date with the ever-changing green building trends and provided education to both BCCI and our clients on the latest and greatest in the sustainability world. BCCI’s offers a full-service consultative approach to sustainability to add more value for our clients.
What do you like most about your job and/or industry?
At the heart of my job is my passion for sustainability and building better for people and the environment. The world is always going to need real estate, and if I can help them build more sustainably, that is a win!
What advice do you want to give a new CREW SF member?
Get involved! I have made some amazing connections at CREW and learned a lot from different people in other facets of the CRE industry. Committee work provides leadership opportunities and group work not only forges business connections, but also friendships.
What has been the highlight during your membership with CREW SF?
The highlight of my CREW experience would have to be the 2017 ELEVATE awards where I won Rising Rock Star. Being recognized amongst the three CREW Bay Area chapters and The Registry was an exciting and humbling moment for me.
How has CREW SF benefitted you personally and/or professionally?
Professionally, CREW SF has been a place for me to learn other parts of the CRE industry. It has also provided me with both business and personal connections that I will carry wherever my career and life take me.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
In my spare time, I love getting outside, especially in Tahoe. Snowboarding in the winter and hiking when the ski season is over. I also try to get back east to Massachusetts to visit my family whenever I can, always try to catch a Sox game, and eat a few lobstah rolls while I’m there.
What’s a fun fact that you’d like to share about yourself? In high school, I was a cheerleader and voted “Most Spirited” in my senior year superlatives.
Located in the historic Jackson Square neighborhood this 3,500 square foot office space is the first to be occupied by 01 Advisors — a new, boutique, venture capital firm based in San Francisco, California.
Robert Hoshowsky | Construction in Focus
Thoroughly testing our resolve, the COVID-19 crisis is unlike anything many of us have ever endured. While the pandemic remains challenging, some companies are seizing the opportunity to help others weather the storm, including BCCI Construction.
Headquartered in San Francisco with regional offices in Silicon Valley and Los Angeles, BCCI’s reputation as a high-quality, full-service commercial builder spans over three decades.
Their team of professionals is experienced in many facets of commercial construction, including ground-up, seismic upgrades, building renovations, historic restorations, and tenant improvements. Additionally, beyond traditional general contracting services, BCCI’s professional services group offers client advisory, program management, design-build, architecture, permit services, and sustainability consulting focused on the LEED, WELL, and Fitwel rating systems.
With the advent of COVID-19, BCCI instituted enhanced safety protocols and formed an internal C-19 task force to stay up to date on local, state, and federal health directives; monitor supply chain concerns; develop demobilization procedures in case of potential job site closures; manage internal and external communications; and maintain business operations. On March 17, 2020, the Bay Area became the first region in the U.S. to enact wide-spread shelter-in-place orders, which, as expected, included the shutdown of most construction sites.
Leading the way in safety
During the shelter-in-place, The C-19 taskforce gathered leading industry research and brought on Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) consultant EnviroNova to work with its safety, field operations, and office management teams to further develop its COVID-19 protocols and start planning its return to jobsites and offices. The team continued to monitor the local, county, state, and federal public health directives and COVID-19 guidance, including the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), the WHO (World Health Organization), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to ensure it was operating with the latest information.
BCCI was well prepared when commercial construction was deemed an essential business in the San Francisco Bay Area on May 4. “We had been preparing since the initial shelter-in-place orders in March, trying to find ways to operate safely,” says Kena David, Director of Sustainability.
“We really worked hard up-front to stock up on all those materials that were important to providing a safe environment, such as PPE and cleaning supplies, and it definitely paid off,” says BCCI Field Operations Manager Jim Williamson. When sanitation supplies became difficult to procure, the team at BCCI began making its own hand sanitizer in 55-gallon drums.
Months after Coronavirus first made the news, BCCI continues to build upon its robust safety protocols for its staff, subcontractors, clients, and vendors.
Describing the city’s once-bust downtown as “a virtual ghost town,” the San Francisco Business Times praised BCCI for both its ability to get back to work and for helping other companies with guidelines and other tools, enabling them to reopen their offices safely. Increased cleaning and sanitation, mask-wearing, physical distancing, and enhanced ventilation were all aspects of BCCI’s return to jobsite and office plan. An analysis of ventilation systems and the placement of supplemental Wynd air purifiers in its offices has been key to reducing particles in the air that a virus could bond to. BCCI has recommended Wynd’s stand-alone air purification systems to several clients as they have planned their safe return to the workplace.
“COVID-19 really was a catalyst to having health and wellness be seen as a necessity in the workplace.
Kena David, Director, Sustainability, BCCI Construction
Many business owners have adopted some portions, if not all, of BCCI’s safety protocols. “They really used ours as a baseline to expand upon,” says Williamson.
Further emphasizing BCCI’s commitment to safety pre-pandemic and heightened emphasis today, the company has been recognized with an Excellence in Safety Award from the Construction Employers’ Association six years in a row and with a Platinum Safety Award from ConstructSecure.
Unexpected benefits
While corporate interiors construction has slowed this year, the pandemic has brought about new commercial development project opportunities and a need for facility upgrades. Since there are fewer tenants in commercial buildings due to COVID-19 restrictions, building owners have been able to tackle capital improvement projects, which would be more challenging to undertake at full occupancy.
“Owners and developers are reaping the benefits of getting things done more efficiently and more cost-effectively without having to work around their tenants or have noisy work completed off-hours or on weekends,” says Williamson.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the focus on healthy buildings has shifted from th amenities provided onsite to the increased focus on ventilation, healthy materials, fitness incentives, health benefits, and wellness initiatives. Successfully completing over 70 LEED Certified projects and five WELL Certified projects, the company’s experience in Sustainable Building is unsurpassed. BCCI remains an industry leader in building projects benefiting mind and body, including the offices the team calls home.
“COVID-19 really was a catalyst to having health and wellness be seen as a necessity in the workplace, rather than a ‘nice to have,'” says David. This focus on health and wellness, coupled with energy-efficiency, is highly valued by many of BCCI’s clients in the corporate office, healthcare, life sciences, mission critical, and hospitality market sectors.
The industry-leading rating systems around health and wellness in the built environment are responding to the pandemic and preparing for re-entry beyond COVID-19. Kena David participated in a task force established by the International WELL Building Institute on COVID-19 research, including how the virus spreads and how we can prepare all spaces for sustained health and safety. The outcomeof this IWBI task force was to ensure the new version of WELL (version 2) released in September this year included specific measures that help mitigate the spread of infectious disease within buildings. In efforts to make health and safety more achieveable for all building types, IWBI also launched the new WELL Health-Safety rating. “The intent is, a WELL Health-Safety rating demonstrates a building has been third-party verified to ensure health and safety through building operations and policies to protect occupants from emergency and health risks.”
BCCI is also leveraging features from WELLv2 and ways to prevent transmission, focusing on air cleaning, sanitation, operational policies, and communication to occupants and employees.
“A lot of the protocols that we put in place here at BCCI for our office return are very much in-line with the WELL Health-Safety rating,” says David, and the company is currently underway with the WELL re-certification of its headquarters. “We are also pursuing the WELL Health-Safety rating since we already had the protocols in place. That’s been pretty exciting, and we think it will become a common thing for all types of buildings, whether you are a restaurant, stadium, or office building,” she shares.
Moving forward, safely
As the world deals with COVID-19, award-winning BCCI Construction continues to be a leader for its employees, jobsites, and clients. Acknowledging many are nervous about returning to work — be it to a job site or an office — the team at BCCI has ensured that it’s able to answer questions and address concerns quickly as they arise.
“Even though we are working within new safety guidelines and have limitations on the number of staff on-site due to physical distancing requirements, we are still able to be productive by operating with staggered starts and things like that,” says Williamson. “We continue to work as efficiently as we can for ourselves, our subcontractors, and our clients. And we’re able to provide the safest workplaces possible.”
Robert Hoshowsky | Construction in Focus
As one of California’s most respected full-service construction companies, BCCI Construction’s philosophy spans well beyond project completion. The company is best known for forming long-lasting partnerships with clients like Adobe, Google, Stanford University, Cisco Systems, and numerous other Fortune 500 companies.
Since its founding thirty-three years ago, BCCI Construction has been dedicated to supporting clients by offering a unique range of services, including client advisory, design-build, preconstruction, general contracting, and sustainability consulting.
BCCI brings professional, integrated solutions to the table and is known for always going the extra mile. “While there are a lot of good general contractors out there, BCCI brings together subject matter experts that deliver unique solutions and create unmatched value for our clients. Much as it says on our front door, ‘The Thinking’s Built In,’” says Chief Strategy Officer John F. Kranz. The company’s portfolio of work includes new construction, major building renovations, historic restorations, seismic upgrades, and tenant improvements.
“BCCI brings together subject matter experts that deliver unique solutions and create unmatched value for our clients. Much as it says on our front door, ‘The Thinking’s Built In,’”
John Kranz, Chief Strategy Officer
While headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, BCCI works on projects in the markets most important to its clients. In May, BCCI merged with Global Infrastructure Solutions (GIS) and the STO Building Group, which now enables the company to deliver projects coast-to-coast, as well as in Canada, the U.K., and Ireland.
Taking sustainability to the next level
For over a decade, BCCI has been fiercely committed to sustainability within the built environment. The company’s Sustainability Department formed in 2006, and since then, they have worked on the certification of more than 60 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) projects at various levels.
One of the firm’s noteworthy sustainable projects was the Bay Area office for global engineering company Thornton Tomasetti – a collaborative, open-plan workspace that features curated materials with low carbon impact, such as reclaimed bowling lane floors. The build-out, which was completed in 2015, became the first LEED v4 Platinum-certified commercial interior in the world.
For BCCI and the client, obtaining this internationally recognized certification was a tremendous achievement. “It was one of the first projects to pursue the LEED v4 rating system, the newest and most stringent version of LEED,” Director of Sustainability Kena David says.
In the pursuit of LEED v4 Platinum, every point counts, and depending on the project type, some are more challenging to achieve than others. The new materials credits were an integral part of attaining the points necessary for a Platinum rating, and the new requirement for materials made them difficult to obtain. The open office plan limited the number of finish materials possible, and the construction materials and furniture industries had to catch up and begin providing Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) or Health Product Declarations (HPDs) as required by LEED v4. BCCI worked closely with Thornton Tomasetti and the architect to select finishes and furnishings that had EPDs and HPDs available. With the limited number of finish materials utilized on the project, there was a lot of back-and-forth with Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) to ensure BCCI met the new requirements and was able to obtain the necessary points to push past the Platinum threshold.
“Although achieving LEED v4 Platinum certification took a significant amount of time,” says David, “Thornton Tomasetti was extremely pleased with the persistence and dedication of our team to help them achieve their goals.”
Since then, BCCI has overseen dozens of LEED for commercial interiors, new construction, and core and shell projects. The company has also worked on numerous WELL projects, including the first WELL Compliant™ ground up in Northern California, the first WELL Certified™ project in Texas, and the first WELL Certified™ interior in San Francisco.
The WELL Building Standard describes itself as ‘the premier standard for buildings, interior spaces, and communities seeking to implement, validate, and measure features that support and advance human health and wellness.’ The Standard aims to advance building occupants’ health and experience through design.
At 85 Bluxome in San Francisco, a new office development completed in 2016, BCCI’s construction and sustainability teams successfully steered the project to achieve LEED Gold certification for Core and Shell and WELL Compliant™ Core and Shell – the first WELL ground up in Northern California. Additionally, the new building achieved the first Gold rating from the U.S. Resiliency Council, America’s leading organization ‘committed to community and corporate sustainability through the promotion of resilience-based building design.’
Besides being efficient from a natural resource perspective, the building was designed and constructed to promote health and achieve WELL compliance with amenities such as a roof deck yoga area and a program that rewards employees with points for taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Maximizing the available natural light was a key consideration of the design. Two sides of 85 Bluxome – the south and east, abut other buildings, so there were no opportunities to install windows on those elevations. To counter that, the front façade was designed with full height windows and a small gap on the west side provided an opportunity to install more windows for more natural light. “Restrooms, bike storage, and elevators were intentionally located where there are no windows so that the tenant spaces receive abundant natural light,” says David.
Following construction, WELL assessors conducted air quality, water quality, and lighting measurements to ensure the property was designed and built to the WELL Building Standard. “One of the unique things about WELL is that they verify through testing that a building is a healthy space,” comments David.
Another project BCCI completed for global medical technologies firm Stryker Corporation was actually the first WELL Certified™ project in Texas, and it also received LEED Silver certification and a ‘Best Projects Award of Merit’ from ENR Texas & Louisiana. The 209,300-square-foot office and warehouse facility, located outside of Dallas, prioritized sustainability and wellness from the beginning. “Culturally it was a great fit for Stryker to target WELL certification, and [they] also wanted to reduce their carbon footprint by pursuing LEED certification,” comments David.
Stryker’s office offers a cutting-edge fitness center, an employee cafeteria with healthy food, basketball courts, a soccer field, and a game room. The workplace incorporates a human connection to nature with forest-themed wall coverings in the open office and break areas. All employees have ergonomic sit/stand desks, as well as access to flexible working options—from open work areas and collaboration rooms to small focus rooms and break rooms.
A sought-after partner
BCCI’s reputation as a leading and pioneering sustainable contractor attracted a sustainably-focused financial firm to recently contract BCCI to build its West Coast office in downtown San Francisco. With a commitment to sustainable investing at the core of its business, the financial firm’s goals for their new office included LEED v4 Platinum certification and WELL certification.
Materials were carefully selected with input from the architect, client, and BCCI to ensure they had the environmental attributes desired, such as recycled content and HPDs, and that the overall lifecycle impact was low in carbon emissions. A full lifecycle analysis was conducted of all the materials used in the build-out, including drywall, paint, and furniture. The project recently received LEED v4 ID+C Platinum certification and is WELL Certified™ Gold for New and Existing Interiors.
BCCI also recently completed a 126,000-square-foot project for a professional service firm at Salesforce Tower that is registered to pursue WELL and LEED certification. “The client wanted a future-forward vertical campus showcasing technology,” says David. The biggest and most spectacular feature is a five-story interconnecting staircase.
The staircase brings together active design attributes for both WELL and LEED, while also incorporating biophilic elements. Major structural reinforcements allowed the core to be cut for the stairs, and each floor connects from various points, which creates a multi-directional staircase. If that’s not spectacular enough, a five-story integrated digital art firewall displaying a life-size redwood tree is a stunning backdrop.
“When you stand at the bottom of the stairs, you feel like you are in a grove at the bottom of the forest,” says David. “As you ascend, you see more blue sky peeking through and little birds chirping at the top. It is both awesome and inviting, encouraging circulation through the space and connecting to nature – all within a downtown high-rise.”
BCCI is an industry trailblazer when it comes to providing sustainable construction solutions. The company’s client-centric approach to building, depth of expertise, and innovative resources have led to the delivery of exceptional projects throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Furthermore, BCCI’s commitment to green building and its diverse portfolio of LEED and WELL Certified projects is truly remarkable. Built upon a new paradigm in services and support, the company continues to raise the bar, helping owners achieve their real estate and sustainability goals.
Megan Hall | The Registry
Since its founding in 1986, construction company BCCI has grown from a small firm with just a few people to a regional industry staple with numerous commercial office projects throughout the Bay Area. Based out of two offices in San Francisco and Mountain View, Calif., BCCI has grown to more than 300 employees and has been looking to expand its reach beyond the San Francisco Bay Area for some time. Now, the goal of expansion has become a reality thanks to a recent merger between BCCI and the Global Infrastructure Solutions (GIS) and the Structure Tone Organization family of companies. The merger, which was announced in May, formally solidifies a more than 25-year-old relationship between the firms…
Workplace 2030 Launches World’s First Epidemiologically-Guided “Office of the Future” Prototype to Help Businesses Safely Reopen
Experts in workplace design, technology, and epidemiology work together to build functioning office prototype and launch interactive learning center
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Workplace 2030 – a not-for-profit initiative to reimagine the office, has now opened to the public the world’s first epidemiologically-guided “office of the future” prototype in San Francisco, CA. The prototype office is an interactive learning center where workplace leaders can experience first-hand the latest workplace designs, technologies and collaborations for workplace health, security, confidence and comfort in one real-world space. The “office of the future” prototype is live in San Francisco through March 2021; New York and Chicago locales are planned.
Over 50 of Bay Area’s largest employers have toured the prototype workplace in the last 2 months to experience the innovative concepts and technology, and now the space is available to any company for complimentary in-person (when permissible by local health guidelines) and virtual tours.
Under the leadership of Founder, Executive Director Brandon Cook and oversight of leading infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. Maureen Miller PhD, Columbia University, Workplace 2030 aims to help protect the health of workers and drive economic recovery by enabling businesses to make informed and confident decisions on both when and how to reopen their offices. Workplace 2030 assembled a panel of ten leading workplace design and workplace technology experts to advise the initiative.
“Security, HR, and Facilities leaders are tasked with reopening their company’s offices, yet no one has ever faced the current situation” said Cook. “By working hand-in-hand with an epidemiologist and experts, we will help clarify, from a scientific and prescriptive perspective, when and how to reopen – so as the vaccine becomes available and when infection rates decline, we can do so sooner and more safely than ever before.”
There are two tectonic shifts in how work is done today. First, all organizations must proactively protect employees against viral disease transmission for an indeterminate amount of time, likely well after a COVID-19 vaccine is available. Second, the majority of workplaces are permanently moving to a hybrid of remote and in-office work.
In four months and relying on over one million dollars worth of donated goods and services, Workplace 2030 successfully built a functioning “office of the future” designed to demonstrate solutions to these unprecedented challenges. The prototype serves as an educational resource available at no cost for workplace leaders evaluating how to deploy the latest technology and design to affordably upgrade their existing workplaces for enhanced safety and collaboration. The Workplace 2030 initiative also includes an online resource center with epidemiologically-reviewed academic data sources and original content from expert advisors.
“Corporations and their employees are eager to return to a sense of normalcy,” notes Dr. Miller. “How to do that is not always obvious, so we are providing free in-the-weeds how-to information for the business people on the front lines of these office reopening projects. ” Dr. Miller, who consults for the public and private sector worldwide, helps Workplace
2030 to distill the latest academic research and health and safety guidelines into pragmatic, evidence-based recommendations. She advises on the development of all of the Workplace 2030 innovation use cases, and provides expert guidance free of charge online in Workplace2030.org’s ‘Ask an Epidemiologist’ section.
“People are expecting to go back to a workplace that is more restrictive, sterile, and isolating, but we’ve actually built one that’s more collaborative, welcoming, comfortable, while also advancing employee health and safety significantly” said Cook. “By building a real office we’ve been able to find and test the technology and designs that work in the real-world and put them together in a way that make people actually want to go back to the office.”
Schedule a tour: Workplace 2030’s San Francisco showroom is at 100 Montgomery Street, and you can make an appointment for a free virtual or in-person (when permissible by local health guidelines) tour here.
Educational Resources: Safely Reopening Offices – An Epidemiologist’s Framework, Ask and Epidemiologist Q&A,
Workplace 2030 advisors: Our advisors today include experts from Accenture, BCCI Construction, Biome, BlueJeans Network by Verizon, Chargifi, Columbia University, Condeco, Cushman & Wakefield, Gensler, Molekule, One Workplace, Proxy, Sequoia Consulting Group, and Vanbarton Group. You can read more about our advisors at workplace 2030.org.
Construction work is demanding – both physically and mentally – and the likelihood of injury or disability is higher than other sectors. The construction industry has done an excellent job at emphasizing and improving site safety so that everyone goes home safe every day, but what about going home healthy?
A new industry brief developed in collaboration with Structure Tone and BCCI Construction seeks to explore how wellness can be integrated on construction sites. Workplace wellness programs and have become popular in corporate commercial environments, yet have largely not been extended to the ‘workplace’ of the people actually building these offices. This article explores ways the construction industry can address more holistic health and wellness issues like dehydration, weight management, poor air quality, and stress.
See how wellness can be integrated onto construction sites in this industry report.