Baltimore, Md—April 21, 2021—CallisonRTKL (CRTKL) mourns the loss of Paul Simonsen FCSI, a former employee and longtime friend of the firm. A registered architect and a Certified Construction Specifier, Paul joined RTKL (now CRTKL) as Director of Technical Resources in 1988. He launched his own firm, Technical Resources Consultants, Inc. in 1998, but remained close to his RTKL colleagues until his death.
“Paul was a wonderful person and a life-long friend to so many of us,” says CRTKL Principal Daun St. Amand. “He was passionate about his work at the firm. Long after Paul left, he maintained our master guide specifications and remained the go-to for all of my projects. I will sorely miss his counsel.”
Paul devoted more than 40 years to providing and improving architectural specifications, quality assurance and construction contract administration. He was a longtime member of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), eventually becoming a Fellow in 1990 and a Distinguished Member in 2014. Distinguished Membership is considered the most prestigious CSI honor and Paul “was named for his work as a teacher in CSI who continually enlightens, supports and cheers on those around him.”
“I had just taken on spec writing for a large firm when I met Paul,” says CRTKL Associate General Counsel Robyn Baker. “It was the ‘90s and I attended some of his CSI presentations. He was always so open and friendly. Years later, we sometimes found ourselves presenting at the same CSI conventions—but always at separate sessions. Paul and I would attend each other’s event, asking the first questions during the Q&A to warm up the audience. That was Paul’s idea. He knew how to draw people into the conversation and help them learn something useful, something that they could take back with them.”
Paul Walter Simonsen RA, FCSI, CCS, CCCA, SCOP, LEED AP was born in Valley Stream, New York on November 15, 1951. He earned an associate degree at Farmingdale State College and a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Technology from the New York Institute of Technology. Paul was both a Certified Construction Specifier and in 1996 became a Certified Construction Contract Administrator. He was the primary author of the 1st Edition of the CSI Construction Contract Administration Practice Guide. Paul passed away due to cancer on April 14, 2021 in Flagstaff, Arizona.