Check out the video below for an additional taste of all the great things DPR accomplished this year. More great things are yet to come!

As hard as it is to believe we’re about to flip the calendar to a new year, it’s also amazing to see what has been accomplished in 2021, even with significant external pressures on work from the field to the office. In all, DPR put in approximately 13 million worker-hours across approximately 650 projects worldwide – the vast majority doing so even while adjusting to ever-changing COVID-related protocols, challenging weather conditions and more.

The year also featured the launch of new programs aimed at changing our industry and supporting our communities. We navigated supply chain challenges as our core markets found themselves on a new playing field as a result of the pandemic. It was quite a year and it’s worth looking back at the highlights.

Making a more inclusive industry

Collaboration among major firms set the stage for sustainable changes and progress toward a more inclusive industry. The launch of the first Construction Inclusion Week was the most visible of these efforts and, in 2022, DPR will chair the event industrywide.

Making sure everyone feels they can be themselves at work will be key to addressing the need to bring more and more people into the workforce and, again with contractor and union partners, DPR spearheaded conversations with the U.S. Department of Labor aimed at helping bring the next generation of craft workers into the industry.

Building a truly inclusive culture also means celebrating and sharing where new industry voices are contributing. For example, in alignment with International Women’s Day, we turned the microphone over to some of the women leading DPR projects from around the world.

As DPR’s George Pfeffer noted at the conclusion of Construction Inclusion Week, these are great things… but just a start. Our work toward a truly inclusive construction industry will continue in 2022 and the years ahead.

Changing the way we build

As much as the faces of the industry are changing, the ways we put work in place are also evolving. Two specific tools – prefabrication and virtual design and construction – are showing increasing value when applied on projects and are driving predictable outcomes for projects across our core markets. We also continued to spotlight members of DPR’s corps of self-perform workers – more than 3,000 strong – in our Builders at Our Core series.

Additionally, we leveraged our knowledge to help customers make more informed decisions. For example, with supply chain challenges, we tried to offer counsel so projects could move forward without disruptions and also launched our market conditions dashboard. We also showed how a more collaborative approach to design challenges can ensure smooth execution in the field.

Getting to the core of the matter

Supporting our customers also came in the form of showing how construction expertise and methods can help address the real pressures of individual market sectors. For each of our five core markets, our experts – often with many of our project partners – helped try and make sense of rapidly changing market trends so customers could move forward with confidence. A few examples included:

• A candid look at how universities could align project planning with trends emerging as the result of the pandemic.
• Discussion of a new framework for how pediatric healthcare systems can plan their projects to support whole life health and wellness.
• A detailed look at the considerations firms need to take when converting former commercial spaces to accommodate life sciences research and development.
• Sharing how prefabrication can, when properly planned and executed, help data center owners bring their new facilities online faster.
• Sorting the hyperbole from reality when looking at what the next generation of office space will look like in the wake of the pandemic.

No matter the core market, we also showcased the work of our Special Services Group, which often works in some of the most challenging environments for construction.

Giving back

Throughout the year, our work didn’t end with customers; it also extended into our communities where DPR’s expertise uniquely positions us to support community organizations. While these projects took place all year, it all comes together every year in “Service September” when groups from nearly every DPR office mobilize to support under-resourced members of our communities. In June, the DPR Foundation also hit a major milestone, granting its 10-millionth dollar.

Community initiatives don’t happen on their own, though; they’re driven by people with full-time roles within the company who have chosen to give more of their time. We have started to shine a light on those individuals, sharing their stories and what inspired them to get involved.

Making Doug proud

We enter 2022 missing one thing that DPR has always had. Doug Woods, the “D” in DPR, passed away this spring. He is deeply missed, not only for his expertise but his passion for DPR’s people and what they do for the company and its customers every day. While gone too soon, Doug always knew he was helping build a company that would live on for generations. As we look back on the year – and ahead at what’s come – we know he’d be proud.