KINDRED.

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KINDRED CONSTRUCTION – THRANGU MONASTERY

When complete, the Thrangu Monastery will feature a shrine
room, retreat room, library and personal quarters.

Ultimate Communication
Kindred Construction’s accountability, advocacy and safety make it the right contractor to build the
Thrangu Monastery, a temple that is turning heads around the world.
By Genevieve Diesing statues, including one that is 14-feet tall, will be a strenu-

W hen it comes to handling the construction of a

project as momentous and yet sensitive as the
Thrangu Monastery –a temple in Richmond,
British Columbia, Canada for the Kagyu sect of Tibetan
Buddhist monks – Kindred Construction is the right team
for the job. The Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based
company is known for communicating with its clients in
every facet of construction management, which helps it
maintain trusting relationships, says Evan Tepperman,
business development and marketing director.
This close working relationship is at hand in the con-
struction of the Thrangu monastery,
Kindred Construction –
Thrangu Monastery which broke ground in January 2008. The
www.kindredconstruction.com 21,000-square-foot project is very detailed,
HQ: Vancouver, British Columbia, and consists of stucco, brick, concrete
Canada
Employees: 270 on site floors and gold-plated exterior finishes.
Service: Construction The 7,000-square-foot shrine hall boasts a
management 35-foot high decorative ceiling, Project
Evan Tepperman: “We foster a
team environment and are virtually Manager Randy Famulak describes. In
transparent in our processes.” addition, the installation of 1,037 Buddha
ous task spanning several months, as each statue is filled
with sacred objects and consecrated. The monastery
includes a shrine room, retreat room, library and personal
quarters. Kindred’s crew continues to work diligently on
the job and expects to be finished in February 2010. In
addition, Kindred says its supervisors meet regularly with
all project stakeholders to make sure everyone is on the
same page.
“We worked very closely with the monks on site in all
aspects of building,” Famulak explains. “We consulted with
them on a regular basis to make sure we were going in the
right direction.”
Kindred’s clients have the same essential expectations,
Tepperman points out: quality workmanship and a trust-
ing relationship. “At Kindred, we understand that – it’s just
how we work,” he explains.
“We foster a team environment and are virtually trans-
parent in our processes. Our open-book approach to man-
agement allows our clients access to project data that clear-
ly shows where costs are being incurred or saved, and how

126 ■ WWW.CONSTRUCTION-TODAY.COM ■ FEBRUARY 2009