The AEI Professional Project Awards: Why AEC Firms Should Pursue Them

Speaker A: All right, Recording. And I also, um, I turn my notifications off for what it's worth. I always like to remind folks, in case you're often, uh, people are in demand for your attention, as I find is the case with folks. It is a Monday morning though, so

Speaker B: hopefully, yeah, let me shut this thing down. I'll just shut down the team. That's the only one likely to ping in the background. Everyone will know what the sound is

Speaker A: once it goes off. It's one of those, right? Yeah. Uh, all right, there we go. Cool.

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker A: Hey everyone. I'm Stephen Gallo, your host and the vice president of client services at Reputation Inc. We're a public relations and thought leadership marketing agency for B2B professional services, including architecture, engineering and construction firms. To learn more, go to rep-inc. That's incwithak.com. okay, quick question. Can you name a famous architect? Maybe. Probably right. Uh, Frank Lloyd Wright is one that I have. Uh, Zaha Hadid, Santiago Calatrava. Uh, there's other big ones out there. Uh, but what about a famous engineer? They're out there too. Um, but perhaps a bit of a harder question, uh, to answer, but the AEI Professional Project Awards are trying to change that. And that's why today I'm sitting down with Nick Pidio, a principal at Simpson, Gumperts and Hegar, and who chairs, uh, the jury for the architectural engineering. I'm going to start over because I meant to ask you if I'm pronouncing the firm's name right. I've got your name.

Speaker B: Simpson, Gumpert and Hager. You got it. You got my last name right.

Speaker A: Also beautiful. So Hager.

Speaker B: That's right.

Speaker A: Okay, sorry, we're going to, we're going to redo our intro because that was one I forgot to do. Hey, everyone, I'm Stephen Gallo, your host and the vice president of client services at Reputation Inc. We're a public relations and thought leadership marketing agency for B2B professional service firms, including those in architecture, engineering and construction. To learn more, go to rep-inc. That's incwithak.com. all right, quick question. Can you name a famous architect? Maybe. Probably right. Uh, Frank Lloyd Wright? Uh, maybe. Zaha Hadid, Santiago Calatrava. There's a few more out there, but if I were to ask you to name a famous engineer, that might be a harder question to answer. Uh, and the AEI Professional Project Awards are trying to change that. I'm sitting down today with Nick Pittio, a principal at Simpson, Gumperts and Hager and he chairs the jury for the Architectural Engineering Institute's Professional Project Awards. Uh, these awards are run by aei, which is part of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Uh, and today we're going to talk about why these awards matter and what it takes to put together a winning submission. So, uh, Nick, welcome to the show and thanks for coming on.

Speaker B: Hi, thanks for having me, Steven.

Speaker A: So set the stage for us, if you will. What, uh, are the AEI Professional Project Awards and why do they exist? Sure.

Speaker B: And as you stated in your intro, almost everyone thinks of architects when it comes to buildings and architecture, and they may even know several names of the famous architects out there. But the engineers, the folks that really help to complete these projects, are seldom given the spotlight and many don't want the spotlight. We'll be fair in that also. But, uh, a lot of times you just, you don't hear about the engineering teams, maybe hear about something if there's a problem out there or if there's something really special going on. But for the most part, the engineers are sort of forgotten and in the background. And with the aei, the Architectural Engineering Institute, part of asce, we focus on the engineering aspect of buildings in particular. And we're trying to recognize those folks that are doing a great job helping to develop this building built environment around us in a special way and help the architects really achieve their visions.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And you make a fair point about engineers who a lot of times shy away from the limelight. But they deserve their credit too. Right? And that's what this is about because there are huge pieces and elements of this project. Uh, but you chair the jury for the awards. So tell us a bit about who's reviewing these submissions, um, and what they bring to the table.

Speaker B: Yes, our jury is made up of, uh, a bunch of industry professionals and they come from different walks of life. So I think we should probably start out with what are the different award categories that we have? And looking at that, there are discipline specific awards, and that includes the construction, management and methods, electrical systems, mechanical systems, structural systems. And which one am I missing here? Uh, lighting systems. So I had to consult on the side my notes over here. But when we look at the building as a whole, long gone are the days of the master builder where one individual was in charge of the entire project and really knew everything going along with it. Our buildings have just gotten too complex and our systems are way too complex for one individual to really lead all the charge and know everything about it. We need a bunch of specialists and a Lot of times those specialists are engineers. So with those discipline specific awards, um, and categories, those are some of the key specialists that we see on the engineering side in the built environment, specifically with buildings here. So you asked about the jury and we're selecting folks who are out there doing this day in and day out and designing all the different engineering systems. And generally folks that have a decent amount of experience. We usually ask for people with about 10 years of experience. And obviously we'll look at that on a case by case basis. When it comes to who's actually functioning as our jury, we're looking for people who've been there and done that and really know what it takes to design and construct a good project. And all the ins and the outs and the coordination that goes into these projects. As I. Essential team member.

Speaker A: Sure. Yeah. They are complex puzzles, for sure. Uh, and you mentioned the categories which, yeah, is important to touch on who, who should be applying for these awards. If I'm thinking about as a firm, the types of projects, um, the types of disciplines and uh, sectors. Who is this really open to an ideal for?

Speaker B: Yeah, so the awards are open to really anyone who's designing and constructing buildings in the different categories here. So we're looking at mechanical engineering firms, lighting firms, structural engineering firms, contractors who have a really good project they've put together. And even architects are often the ones that lead the team. So we even get submission from firms that are more diversified, AE type firms where they have a lot of those folks on staff. But it's still usually the architect is the one leading the charge and they're often the one best suited to collect these team members together. So really it's a bunch of different walks of life and different professions we see coming together on these submissions.

Speaker A: Very cool. Um, you alluded to this a bit, but, uh, the, the program evaluates things like integration and collaboration, constructability, of course, use of technology. Um, so I'm curious from, from the jury's seat, what really separates a winning entry from a maybe good but not great or winning one?

Speaker B: Great question. And it's always so tough because we get some really impressive projects coming through the door. You get things like the Las Vegas sphere out there, you get some massive airport projects, and you also get some things down on a more municipal level. So what we're looking for is what makes your project special and what really did you do out there that made this project special and really helped out? And sometimes, uh, on construction, let's say it's the just in time delivery for a really Tight project site that took a lot of coordination that people don't often think about. But the logistics and supply chain is incredibly complex to work through a lot of that. And when you don't have space to store your materials on site, it just ratchets it up at a whole nother level. So we want to hear about those stories and we want to hear what was your big challenge here, what made this difficult, what made this special, what makes your project more energy efficient than maybe another one? What process did you go through? And like I said, these jury members are people that have done this and walked the walk. So we want to hear the details, we want to hear all about the ins and the outs to the extent we can. I mean, I don't want a novel, I don't want to have to read a, uh, 100 page novel about all this or asking to summarize a lot of information in a pretty succinct form. It's a one to two page description of these items. But still there's a lot you can tell, a lot of story can come across there.

Speaker A: Yeah, this is the time, like you said, within reason to get in the weeds and get into some of those details that really tell the story of what made the project unique.

Speaker B: So um, that's right. A lot of us are engineers on the jury, so we want to nerd out in the details like that.

Speaker A: Exactly, exactly. Uh, well, you described a bit of a disconnect that ah, I think can often occur between maybe marketing teams and engineers when putting together a submission like this. We hear about it a lot, um, that you know, getting those, those two parties together to, to align on sort of what the story is and the details and that message. Right. Of the project, um, making that successful. In your opinion and from your experience, how can firms really do that better make that collaboration more effective of sort of translating the expertise from the engineers to maybe some of these in house communications professionals or folks who are assisting them with pulling all of this together.

Speaker B: We, um, see a bunch of different types of submissions too when I say that, different ways people put it together. But the key ones tend to be either the marketing team is almost solely responsible for the submission, uh, or it's the engineer worked on the project who's almost solely responsible for the submission. And there's inevitably some communication back and forth. But like anything else, communication is really key between the folks because like I just told you, we want to have the story, we want to get some of the details, but at the same time you need to tell A story in the whole thing. So while as engineers, my experience is a lot of us are really good at getting in the details, maybe our storytelling could use a little help. And that's where a lot of the marketing folks are really good at telling the story and getting the details out there and visualizing it. So you can ask me, as a technical person, I would be happy to give you that 100 page novel we talked about. Just write and write and write and get really deep in the details. Uh, whereas the marketing folks will rein me in a little bit and say, okay, come on back, let's get some pictures. Let's really show the things you're most proud of here and help to relay the story in a way that is really compelling. So that's what it is. It's collaboration between both of the sides to tell the story, but also give us enough of the details, recognizing that we are a technical institute in the industry and part of ase.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And, uh, just really connecting all those dots, you know, that's something we, uh, often say to our clients or some of the engineers and subject matter experts we work with is, you know, just bring all the details. Bring, you know, brain dump. That novel we will help shape and streamline and refine. Okay, what are really the details to include? How do we really. How does this serve the story? Um, because, yeah, as you mentioned, you can easily. I mean, these are complex, huge projects. Easily get into a lot. Um, but I want to talk about what happens when folks win these and get recognized. Uh, you know, of course, a win like this, uh, is prestigious in itself, but goes beyond, you know, the benefit, uh, of just that recognition for the firm. It carries forward in terms of business development, recruiting, even client relationships. Um, tell me how that, how that's looked in the past. And if you have any examples of sort of how this has served firms in past.

Speaker B: Sure. Well, you hit the obvious one, right? I mean, when, whenever you get a win, we give you an award. And we've been changing the awards a couple times over the years, but you get something you can display in your office to say, we've won this award along with a certificate, and we blast the results out on the website and post it up there in order to give folks recognition, uh, as a winner. And that in and of itself is probably the thing that first comes to everyone's mind. Right. We have a way of saying this project was recognized by industry peers as something outstanding, something that truly went the extra mile. And, um, we want to show that off. So the Other parts are then what else comes out of it. And you mentioned recruiting. So when we present these awards, it's at the annual AEI conference. And part of that typically includes a student competition. So as far as architectural engineering is concerned, as a major in college, there aren't a ton of schools that even have the program. When I went through an architectural engineering program, There are only 13 schools in the country that even had architectural engineering as a discipline. And now it's still south of 30. So there aren't a ton of schools that have a program out there, but a lot of them are coming to this event and competing. So they're seeing these projects and seeing these names and saying, you know, this is a place I really want to work for because they're out there, they look like they're having fun. That project that was out there was really cool and really speaks to me in one way or another out there. And then it's also meeting other folks. Right. I mean, the jury members are industry professionals here. So anytime you get to make contact with other folks in your field or in other disciplines and get your name out there through that way, it may not be through the front channels and winning an award. But it really says to the jury members that this is what the folks went through. You know, that's someone I'd like to work with. That was a really cool project. Maybe we could find out some more details about that and loop that into our next project.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And um, definitely. And there's certainly, I think you mentioned a key point there, right. When we're talking about a, uh, an award that is reviewed and um, recognized by industry peers. Right. This isn't just some folks who say, oh, that project looks nice, or you know, a pay to play type thing. These are folks like you mentioned on the jury who are in, in the field. Our engineers have this expertise and can really validate, um, sort of the success and uniqueness of a project, which I think is, is a huge piece of it too, maybe compared to some other award programs that aren't as rigorous. Is that fair to say?

Speaker B: And that's what we're going for. We're going for something that really is on the engineering side and on the technical side, so that we are getting into those details.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Um, for a firm that perhaps has never submitted before, um, you might have an in house marketer or someone listening in. Um, it's like, okay, this sounds like might be in our alley. Where should I start? What would you say to them?

Speaker B: Yeah, best place to start is to go on the AEI Professional Project, or PPA for short, website. And, uh, I could read it out, but it's going to be an incredibly long and onerous link there. It's easy enough.

Speaker A: It'll be in the show notes and all that good stuff.

Speaker B: We can point it out in the show notes. Perfect. It'll be down there for folks to find. So that's the best place to start. And there's ability to look at past years, the winners, see what types of projects are up there. There's also a bunch of paperwork and forms that describe the submission process for, uh, each category. And it's pretty straightforward with entry forms and what we want as far as written descriptions, some submissions of photographs, and a brief PowerPoint. I want to say it's less than 15 slides just to give us some more information about the project and really look for that visual side of it that we were talking about, about before. So it's not just a wall of text. We actually get to see the beautiful projects in the end, for sure.

Speaker A: Something we hear from, uh, you know, members of this audience and our listeners. Right. Is sometimes, you know, having to overcome that internal hurdle, perhaps with leadership at the firm, or maybe they run into some pushback, uh, when a marketer wants to pursue auto or program like this, uh, or, you know, sometimes it's maybe, how do I have time to do one more thing? Right. Or for my team to submit for one more thing. Uh, I'm curious, sort of what your advice is to those folks and what you'd say to them, uh, in terms of the value and how to maybe navigate that challenge.

Speaker B: Sure. So we struggle with the same things. Right. I always struggle with the folks on the ASCE side of when should we open up these submissions? Because if we open it too early that and still have the deadline late, people are going to wait until the last minute anyway. It's trying to find out when is a good time to submit. And it's almost never a good time. There's always some kind of conflicting items. So our, our general goal has been, let's get the message out there as early as we can to open it up so people can get it on their calendars. And part of it is just getting the word out there more so through outreach efforts like this right here, like this podcast, hoping to get the word out there so people will have it on their calendars. And we've generally had the submissions due near the end of the year. So the end of the year is, of course, a busy time. For a lot of folks. But it tends to also be the time when the marketing team, ah, from what we found is um, on task with submitting for these award submissions. And there's of course limited resource as far as the marketing team and or engineering staff are preparing these submissions and, and where they're going to submit. So we hope that by being the technical folks out there and really judging it on the technical rigor for the engineering side that we can make it to the top of the pile and have part of that um, be part of that effort at the end of the year. You'd also mentioned pushback from different folks internally and the pushback, it's really in my mind a, there's two things because there is an entry fee that we require in order to submit. So planning that out early on is something that really helps out with all this. The sooner we get the message out there and the sooner people start planning for it, the easier it is. And the benefits like we talked about a little while ago, of getting the recognition, getting the name out there and really helping to um, promote yourself in that way is outstanding. I know when I've had to submit for items, there's often spaces in there. What awards have you won? Have you won any awards in the last however many years? And it's something that folks like to see, especially on these competitive submissions. Everyone wants to have an award winning design team in some way, shape or form out there.

Speaker A: Yeah. And you've, you've mentioned a lot about of course, what uh, this awards program is, what they highlight. Uh, the benefits are. I'm wondering if there are any misconceptions or misperceptions about them that you maybe hear or questions you get, um, that may be worth clearing up. Um, anything folks should know in terms of what these, I guess what these awards are not, or what they should steer clear of if they're thinking of submitting.

Speaker B: So I haven't heard many much feedback on really, um, misconceptions or other, um, other items I consider just on the wrong track when it comes to that. And uh, I'd love to hear more if there are any, because then it gives us an opportunity to grow and evolve and address just what those misconceptions may be.

Speaker A: Yeah. Well then in that case, if you could give every applicant, you know, perhaps one piece of advice or one or two, you know, limit you to just one. But um, you know, before they actually click submit, um, what would be your encouragement to them?

Speaker B: Yeah, the thing I would love to see is communicating amongst the Project team. So a lot of times what we've seen in the past is one firm's really leading the charge, and whichever discipline it is, they're really the ones out there. But what we're looking for, uh, a lot of times with that integration award in particular, is the whole project team coming together. And what really did you, you do as a team to make this a good project? So instead of having one firm, I would love to see all the folks who worked on the project get together and have one joint submission for the project. Because I did mention entry fee, but that entry fee, uh, is independent of how many awards you're seeking. So if you're mechanical, electrical, structural, lighting, engineer, construction team, all get together and coordinate, then you can get a better submission because you can really tell the story and talk about all the things you did together as a team in that submission and cut down the fee. And that might also be a way that folks that are struggling with the entry fee and convince maybe some of the other folks at the firm that it is worthwhile by spreading that out, then it just becomes more manageable and it's something that you can really work through. So that's really what I'd like to see. And we don't see a lot of that in the submission so far, like I said, tended to be, um, one firm leading the charge, and maybe they get a little input from some of the others. But it's clear that it's usually driven by one entity.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, I imagine that obviously that level of collaboration involves planning, uh, an advance and really connecting those teams earlier on, not waiting for that last minute to submit, um, but that, that makes a lot of sense because they're inherently very collaborative projects. And so to see that come through on the submission, yeah, I imagine is what the jury's looking. Um, so can you remind us, speaking of not waiting to the last minute to apply, uh, when sort of applications are going to be opening up and when they're due, how folks can learn more, um, and what to do to apply.

Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. So we tend to open up the, um, applications in early fall and that data has been flexible depending on what's going on with different, um, conferences and other items. So it varies a little bit, but it's usually in the early fall region with the submissions due in the December, end of December, beginning of January time frame. So at the end of the year there, the materials are up on the website. As of now, they will still be for last year because we haven't updated for this year's submission as of yet. We did just update the winners from this last year so you can go look at the glamour shots of all that when you go to the AEI website. And that's really the best place to start right there with all the forms that we talked about and the examples of past winners.

Speaker A: Fantastic. And still the back half of the year more or less in front of us here. So plenty of time to start pulling that together again. Now's, uh, the time to be doing that, uh, and certainly, you know, having those conversations, pulling those details together with, uh, your engineers on these projects that you might be looking to submit, uh, at the end of the year here. Um, so now is the time. Uh, anything else, Nick, for folks, um, that we haven't touched on yet that you'd want to leave, um, with our audience?

Speaker B: Yeah, just a plug for the ASCE 2027 mega conference. So they're m going to get all the institutes together. So for those that may not be intimately familiar with asce, while they're the American Society of Civil Engineers and they are the overarching variety, there are a lot of institutes that are part of ase, aei, the Architectural Engineering Institute being one. And we just finished up a joint conference down in San Antonio back in. In March, um, April timeframe, where we had four of the institutes together. It was sort of a test run for the big mega conference that will be in Philadelphia in 2027, when all of the institutes are really coming together, taking over the Philly Convention Center. And we're gonna have a good time, but then it's more publicity out of the awards when you look at that. So the bigger the conference is, the bigger the event, the more publicity you get out of it.

Speaker A: Fantastic. All right, get that on your calendars now for next year. Thank you for the heads up on that, Nick. We've been talking to Nick Pitio, principal at Simpson, Gumperts and Hager, uh, and chair of the AEI PPA jury. Thank you again so much for your time today and for coming on to share some of your insights, uh, and behind the scenes of the awards program.

Speaker B: Thank you so much for the opportunity.