Experiencing San Francisco’s booming economy every day, it’s easy to forget that millions of people on our planet struggle with some of life’s most basic necessities. So when our own Sean Puterbaugh came to us with a request for time off, to help build an educational facility for an international training center, for rural leaders in Bolivia, he had our full support.

In partnership with Construction for Change, a Seattle-based organization dedicated to creating infrastructure in underdeveloped countries, and Etta Projects, a Bolivian non-profit founded to empower local organizations around creating clean water facilities, access to education and sanitation systems, Sean is realizing a personal goal and giving back in a place that needs it most.

Sean’s dedication to this project moved us to donate to support his dream. We’re hoping you may feel moved to donate something, too. The project is only $15,000 away from meeting funding goals.

ettaprojects.org/donate/

With gratitude,

The Principal Builders Family

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“I was first introduced to PBI through PBI Alum Zoe Carter Hyatt, who had volunteered for Construction for Change in Africa. Bolivia, though ecologically rich, is one of the most economically impoverished in South America. From clean drinking water to elementary school education, finding a community in need of help with infrastructure isn’t the hard part. Although there are many skilled people on the ground, the challenge is finding a supervisor who is capable of organizing, planning, and executing all phases of a project, while simultaneously overseeing the multitude of varied daily tasks on site. I knew I wanted to bring my construction skills to a place in need. The education facility at the Community Transformation Center that we’re building will be the town center where classes will be held on using medicinal plants, basic hygiene and nutrition, constructing dry compost latrines, and needed medical education. They just need a sound and safe place to do their work.”

– Sean Puterbaugh

Click here to learn a little more about Sean’s story and the construction challenges of building in Bolivia. (here)

“We were really motivated to work with Perkins+Will on the Larkin Street Youth Services based on LSYS’ holistic youth program. LSYS doesn’t stop at providing a bed to sleep in – they assist with reengaging their youth into education and employment programs while nurturing their health and wellness via an in-house medical clinic. Further into project discussions, we learned that the center’s youth body had voted and personally selected what upgrades they wanted to see in the building. The first of which being a transgender restroom.

It has been great working with an organization that allows those within the program to help direct what they desired within the buildout – empowering them in the process toward other life aspirations.”

– Sean Puterbaugh, Principal Builders, Assistant Project Manager

For full story on LSYS’ space, click here.

We are honored and humbled to be ranked as the #1 “Best Place to Work” in the small companies category by the San Francisco Business Times. What an incredible moment… for our people, our customers, our partners – this is for you just us much as it is for us. We’re here because of your commitment to us.

It is even more meaningful because it was always by design, not by default. In 2003 we founded Principal Builders with a vision to change the construction industry. We wanted to create a culture rich with perks, flexibility and opportunity, a place where people wanted to be – every day. So we approached hiring with the belief that that personality and shared values are more important than résumé.

Thirteen years later, that belief still holds true. Happy, motivated, engaged team members are what set the standard for excellence. And we believe our clients benefit from this in every way; from the big picture thinking to the day-to-day problem-solving, and ultimately to the built environments we deliver.

It is a privilege to attract the talent we have and to serve the customers who continue to refer us, over and over, and build our name as we build their headquarters.

With sincere appreciation.

– Scott, JM, Brandon

It’s an honor to work with diverse partners whose creative vision and commitment to design are rewarded in projects of all sizes. Whether small, medium, large, people’s choice or the coveted best of show, it’s even better to see these teams recognized for their attention to detail, innovation and the hundreds of unseen decisions that (we know) go into making something great.

We are thrilled to have been part of these award winning projects:

– MUH-TAY-ZIK | HOF-FER / Gensler
– ThoughtWorks / FENNIE + MEHL Architects
– WIRED Magazine / Gensler
– Paris Meets Bladerunner / Studio O+A 

Check out our Facebook page to see photos of each project.

Well done to to all of the winners! We are especially proud of the four projects we were part of!

Small office (tech): Alibaba Group / Studio O+A
Mid-size office (tech): Uber 11th Floor / Studio O+A
Mid-size office: Wired Magazine / Gensler
Large office (media/tech): Acxiom / Studio O+A

Check out all of the winners here.

It’s been an amazing 12 years! We have been so lucky to have worked among the best in the industry.

Thank you to each of you that we able to come out and celebrate with us.

Check out all of the night’s pictures on our Facebook page!

We were already thrilled to be invited back to work with Kabam once again, but these words of appreciation is what really makes our job worth it.

“With the helpful and prestigious team of Gensler Architects and Principal Builders, I’m proud to present our new Star Wars: Uprising lobby!

This was a total team effort, from top to bottom. I’d like to thank everyone who was involved in this process. Kabam and Gensler legal team, Andy Seul and Holly Liu for your vision and direction.

Principal Builders was excited to once again sponsor CrewSF (Commercial Real Estate Women San Francisco) at their annual golf tournament! Thank you for continuing to invite us back each year!

(It’s not every Monday that we’re able to kick it with Austin Powers and the Royal Family!)

Check out all of the day’s hilarious pictures on our Facebook page.

The Right Kind of Busy

One thing that’s true of Principal Builders is that we love being the right kind of busy. And lately we’ve gotten just what we’ve asked for with an incredible group of customers who are as bold, brave and progressive as we could hope for. Referrals remain our primary source of new business, so it’s a testament to both our current and long-time customers that we continue to be selected to build a host of world-class, professional environments. Thank you to those of you who have connected us and shared your experiences with other teams.

We are pleased to announce the following projects:

• Dropbox
• NRG
• Comcast
• GoPro (thrilled to work together again!)
• Arnold Porter
• Acxiom (another long-term client!)
• ODG
• Golden State Warriors Sales Center
• Dodge & Cox (another long-term client!)
• NetSuite (another long-term client!)
• Norwest (another long-term client!)
• Rapt Studios
• Kilpatrick Townsend
• Uber (now on our 7th job together!)

Our Commitment in Today’s Market

Something we continue to see played out in today’s market is the expectation of perfection – whether this is realistic or not. Many assume that all builders are set up to deliver flawlessly, even under conditions that are inherently challenging. Yet, in this highly competitive environment, what customers are quickly finding out is that because of the stressors impacting many sectors, it is essential to make allowances.

When the market is busy, inventory and resources can be extremely taxed, which compounds the uncertainty and risk of a project. For us, this means we have to be even more sensitive to managing budgets and getting ahead of issues before they impact a project.

In this market, we remain especially committed to our long-held mantra of ‘no surprises’. While there will always be the chaos that construction and building brings, our clients know that by working with us, there will be far fewer chaotic moments – and those that do arise will be expertly managed and mitigated.

Thank You

Lastly, we want to express thanks for all of the positive feedback we get from you, for what we consider to be just doing our job. The entire Principal Builders team feels even more motivated to stay on the path of aiming high when others recognize and appreciate our approach and work ethic – driving our desire to achieve a high level of integrity and partnership.

These newsletters are always a great opportunity to share what’s new with us – from celebrations to observations. So thank you for keeping up with us. It’s been a terrific year, in large part, because of you.

Here’s to more good stuff!
– The Principal Builders Team