Many of the big builders now have their own teams of architects and engineers. Brinkmann has no architects. He insists that his engineers know the market prices for materials and labor. He also teaches them how buildings are financed, so they can look at projects from the owners' perspective. That's not easy.
Engineers tend to be very linear thinkers, and they're trained to find one correct answer.
Despite such experiences, Lapinski says he's thrilled to have so much responsibility only three years after graduation. You could be stuck for a couple of years doing that. Here, they give you as much as you can handle. Brinkmann was born in St. Charles in 1949. His parents divorced when he was 2.