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Architecture, engineering, and construction writer

Need a writer who understands architecture, engineering, and construction?

architecture | engineering | construction | development | publications

Call or email to schedule an assignment assessment.

303.668.0717  /  sean@sokpr.com

“Since it was our first time working with Sean, it was helpful that he set clear expectations upfront to get the best results and that made the process flow very smoothly with everyone involved in our company. Next, Sean’s understanding of the construction industry was invaluable as he was able to easily take our input and turn it into a beautifully written award submission that showcases our custom work."

Sherri Lindsey, Concepts in Millwork

Construction and Design Writer

AEC Industry Award Writing

AEC award writing for construction and design requires an understanding of the built environment’s many organizational interests and the key aspirations of each. Architects, engineers, contractors, and specialty trades have all hired Sean to write awards submissions to entities such as the AGC, AIA, IIAD, ASLA, and many more. Working with the client’s marketing team, award submission requirements, the project being submitted, and the project’s participants must all be harmonized with succinct messaging and inspirational writing.

With more than 20 years of experience as an AEC industry writer and marketing professional, Sean has authored more than 100 industry award submissions for projects across the full spectrum of architecture, engineering, construction, and development. 

Through the briefing process, Sean will develop interview questions to explore the who, what, how, and why of the situation and why it is worthy of recognition. The AEC Award writing interview process engages subject matter experts on program objectives, challenges, solutions, and outcomes. Interviews are structured telescopically, making highly technical conversations involving acute expertise and multiple perspectives simple and straightforward.

In addition to talking to the client’s project leadership, there are often also secondary interviews with owners, adjacent participants, or users. Once the interviews are complete, the writing begins with the Golden Idea. Sean’s service is turnkey. He ingests the information from all sources, identify the golden idea, and deliver a fully written awards response that is ready to submit. On more than 90 percent of assignments, once Sean turns the writing in, the client takes it from there without an iterative process. 

AEC Award Writing

Client: Colorado Hardscapes
AEC Award Writing: AGC Colorado ACE Awards

Hallowed Ground
integrity first, service before self, excellence in all we do

Solutions of Special Projects

Graduating the first class of cadets in 1959, the U.S. Air Force Academy campus is a one-of-a-kind architectural experience of order and excellence. Designed by Walter Netsch of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the campus is a mid-century modern masterpiece based on Netsch’s signature aesthetic, Field Theory. The most hallowed ground is the 27-acre Cadet Area, a distinct collection of modernist design that publicly articulates the Academy’s vision and values. Established on a 28-foot grid, Netsch used 7-foot increments and multiples thereof to organize every aspect of the campus from plazas to windows. When the Academy opened in 1954, the focal point of the Cadet Area’s landscape was a 700-foot grid of grass and fountains known as the Air Garden. A backdrop for daily life, the Air Garden was the site of the cadets’ most cherished tradition, fountain jumping upon completion of their last final exam before graduation. Made of 13 interconnected concrete basins, the fountains remained central to the campus experience until the early 1970s when the Academy determined they were too difficult to maintain and buried them under several feet of soil.

In 2016, Colorado Hardscapes was honored to be invited to return the Air Garden to glory in a design-build delivery of many unknowable complexities.

“We choose Colorado Hardscapes as the premier architectural concrete resource in Colorado. They developed beautiful solutions to a whole host of issues from cost to quality and the finished work is spectacular.”

Aaron Wallin, Project Manager
GE Johnson

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Architecture and Construction Writer
  • Mary Buys

    Colorado Hardscapes

    “Colorado Hardscapes is thankful for all of Sean’s help through the years. He asks the important questions and is precise with any form of communication.”

AEC Award Writer

AEC Award Writing

Client: Swinerton
AEC Award Writing: AGC Colorado ACE Awards

An Investment of Permanence

Southwest Airlines’ DEN Hangar represents an investment of permanence in Colorado. Designed to house three 737 airplanes and park eight more on the apron, the 128,000-SF hangar is the first of its kind at DEN in 30 years: moving Colorado from flyover country to an epicenter of national aviation.

This heavy steel and structural concrete building boasts a 270-FT clear span, 48,000 cubic yards of concrete, and a reduced carbon footprint thanks to team problem-solving. Beyond the daunting size and specialized nature, distinguishing elements of this project included building a site-adapted prototype, construction on an active airfield, changing fire suppression systems, monthly-spending restrictions, and builder-invested project financing. To welcome Southwest Airlines to Colorado, Swinerton proudly fostered mutually advantageous relationships among many intersecting interests.

“DEN is a key cog for Southwest. We expect this hangar to be in operation for the next 50 years. It was designed and built for airplanes that don’t even exist today.”

Jay Fretwell Sr Manager Facilities Projects,
Southwest Airlines

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  • Sara Hall

    Swinerton

    “After writing several articles about our projects, we hired Sean to write a series of award submissions. His ability to organize various voices into team interviews makes information gathering painless. His ability to synthesize vast technical insight into eloquent, engaging, reader-ready copy that requires almost no editing is a huge time saver. He’s not just an exceptional writer, he’s an expert in the building industry, and a veteran AEC marketer. Sean’s service is turn-key and worry-free.”

AEC Award Writing

Client: Saunders Construction
AEC Award Writing: AGC Colorado ACE Awards

A Higher Calling

Volunteers of America Colorado (VOAC) is dedicated to helping those in need transform their lives through more than 50 distinct human services programs. Among the many, Meal on Wheels delivers healthy, hot meals to people 60+ across eight metro-Denver counties. In the summer of 2023, VOAC completed a major program milestone in relocating the Denver Meals on Wheels hub from RiNo to Commerce City through partnerships with Edens Realty, Shopworks Architecture, and Saunders Construction.

Celebrating 50 years of excellence in Colorado in 2023, Saunder’s leveraged our nimble, resourceful Express Services Group to find the right building, economically convert it to program needs, and shepherd the transition from existing to new with limited disruption to food prep and delivery services. Along the way, we applied the invaluable lessons learned from lives in construction to the task of community building that has been at the heart of our mission for half a century.

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Need Award Writing for Construction and Design?

Free Assignment Assessment

Call or email to schedule a AEC Awards Writing conversation today.

303.668.0717 / sean@sokpr.com

  • Teena Bergstrand

    Saunders Construction

    “Sean is a gifted storyteller and has an ability to clearly convey technical concepts.”