Five Question With Ty Thornton, Senior Precon Manager
Up next in our Five Questions Q&A series is senior preconstruction manager Tyler Thornton, incoming vice chair of DBIA Northwest Region's Western Washington Chapter.
Ty is a key member of Lewis’ progressive design-build team in Washington, which has delivered more than $1 billion in work since 2018 and earned national recognition from the Design-Build Institute of America.
His career highlights include shaping Innovation Hall, the nation’s first academic building on a campus serving both a university (University of Washington Bothell) and a community college (Cascadia College), as well as projects for Northshore School District and Lake Washington School District.
Read on to learn more about Ty's background, how he got started with progressive design-build and his take on the value of getting involved with DBIA.
Q: What should people know about getting involved with DBIA?
A: It’s about bringing people from all disciplines together to advance design-build through shared knowledge, real-world experiences and dialogue. The hope is that everyone—from PDB veterans to those just getting started—finds opportunities to connect with like-minded people passionate about professional development and of course delivering better project outcomes.
Q: What got you interested in alternative project delivery?
A: One of my early assignments was on the front end of a GC/CM project for EvergreenHealth in Kirkland. Our team spent over a year in on-site precon investigating and planning for a seismic retrofit. While the project didn’t end up moving forward, that early involvement and opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration really piqued my interest in alternative forms of procurement.
Q: What were some of your early experiences with PDB?
A: As a young engineer, my initial connection to DBIA Western Washington was the breakfast meetings. That networking led to me joining and eventually co-chairing/chairing the DBIA Western Washington NextGen committee for several years. Also, in 2018, I stepped into the UW Health Sciences Education Building project, which was being delivered via PDB. I’ve been working exclusively on PDB projects in higher ed and K-12 ever since.
Q: How has your work evolved these past 10 years?
A: It’s been a whirlwind! After precon for the UW Health Sciences Education building, I moved onto Innovation Hall (for UW Bothell and Cascadia College), starting at architect selection and staying on through construction. Since then, I’ve been working exclusively in precon on a number of K-12 projects for Northshore School District and Lake Washington School District, all being delivered via PDB.
Q: What’s most gratifying about being part of the PDB team?
A: Seeing how progresive-design build consistently brings the best out of a project team and maximizes value for owners and end users is what comes to mind first. Bringing the right minds to the table early creates timely opportunities and builds the deep integration and trust that carry a project through occupancy and beyond. I love that my role allows me to be part of that process from day one.
Up next in our Five Questions Q&A series is senior preconstruction manager Tyler Thornton, incoming vice chair of DBIA Northwest Region's Western Washington Chapter.
Ty is a key member of Lewis’ progressive design-build team in Washington, which has delivered more than $1 billion in work since 2018 and earned national recognition from the Design-Build Institute of America.
His career highlights include shaping Innovation Hall, the nation’s first academic building on a campus serving both a university (University of Washington Bothell) and a community college (Cascadia College), as well as projects for Northshore School District and Lake Washington School District.
Read on to learn more about Ty's background, how he got started with progressive design-build and his take on the value of getting involved with DBIA.
Q: What should people know about getting involved with DBIA?
A: It’s about bringing people from all disciplines together to advance design-build through shared knowledge, real-world experiences and dialogue. The hope is that everyone—from PDB veterans to those just getting started—finds opportunities to connect with like-minded people passionate about professional development and of course delivering better project outcomes.
Q: What got you interested in alternative project delivery?
A: One of my early assignments was on the front end of a GC/CM project for EvergreenHealth in Kirkland. Our team spent over a year in on-site precon investigating and planning for a seismic retrofit. While the project didn’t end up moving forward, that early involvement and opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration really piqued my interest in alternative forms of procurement.
Q: What were some of your early experiences with PDB?
A: As a young engineer, my initial connection to DBIA Western Washington was the breakfast meetings. That networking led to me joining and eventually co-chairing/chairing the DBIA Western Washington NextGen committee for several years. Also, in 2018, I stepped into the UW Health Sciences Education Building project, which was being delivered via PDB. I’ve been working exclusively on PDB projects in higher ed and K-12 ever since.
Q: How has your work evolved these past 10 years?
A: It’s been a whirlwind! After precon for the UW Health Sciences Education building, I moved onto Innovation Hall (for UW Bothell and Cascadia College), starting at architect selection and staying on through construction. Since then, I’ve been working exclusively in precon on a number of K-12 projects for Northshore School District and Lake Washington School District, all being delivered via PDB.
Q: What’s most gratifying about being part of the PDB team?
A: Seeing how progresive-design build consistently brings the best out of a project team and maximizes value for owners and end users is what comes to mind first. Bringing the right minds to the table early creates timely opportunities and builds the deep integration and trust that carry a project through occupancy and beyond. I love that my role allows me to be part of that process from day one.