Building Boldly Works

February 2026

by JOHANNA HARLOW

Dave Rossi has an eye for the overlooked. When his high-end construction team gathers for dinner, Dave sends them one by one to the restaurant’s restroom and asks them for their observations. “What’s wrong from a design perspective?” he questions. “There’s five that I saw. Let me see how many you guys get.” If there’s water splashed across the countertop, “Is that faucet too low? Is the sink not deep? Is the water pressure too high?” Next, he’ll ask for the solution: “The spout needs to be taller, the bowl needs to be deeper, there needs to be enough room from the face to the back.” As the team continues to report their findings—the trashcan positioned on the far side of the paper towel dispenser rather than the exit side, the mirrors mounted too high—Dave nods his approval. “I want them to have that awareness and I think that happens when you train your people to open their minds more,” he explains..

With a career spanning commercial construction, tenant improvements, earthwork projects and more, Dave, founder of CIQU Construction, understands that all the little details are crucial to the big picture. “When an architect or owner wants to do something, I can see all of the steps,” notes the Los Altos local. “Not just what it looks like, but all the logistics and how each piece fits, and what the timing and sequence is, and what the impacts could be, what the difficulties can be and the nuances.”

Dave is the kind of person who gets his kicks assembling IKEA furniture without the instructions. Figuring out how everything fits together as a whole and in what order is a puzzle his brain enjoys. “Understanding how parts and pieces fit is really easy for me,” he says. For this line of work, it’s imperative. “We had a client that just wanted to buy their own refrigerator … but then they bought one that didn’t match the shop drawings of the kitchen so cabinets would hit it,” Dave grimaces. “You have to buy a fridge that fits in the space that it was designed for.”

Unlike his work, Dave’s personal journey hasn’t been seamless. After reading Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Dave was gripped by a haunting question posed by the book: What if you’ve lived your whole life wrong? In Dave’s case, it would take a demolition rather than a remodel to turn it around. Life came crashing in like a wrecking ball when a divorce meant not only the end of Dave’s first marriage, but also the scrap- ping of the 17-year-long general engineering business the couple had shared.

Resolved not to return to general engineering, a career that left him deeply unhappy, Dave found himself back at the drawing board. He decided to form a new foundation—one driven by passion and centred around a philosophy of authenticity, transparency and dedication. The goal is “staying true to what you want to do and being honest with yourself about what’s real and what’s not,” Dave reflects. These days, he always pauses to reflect on his motives and ask, “Am I doing this for money? Am I doing this for ego? Am I doing this for glamour? Why am I really doing this?” Dave writes about this journey in his book The Imperative Habit, detailing the seven habits that changed his life. As for the career path pivot, construction felt like a natural fit. Dave studied construction management at Cal Poly. Even as a kid, he had the builder gene, wiling away the hours with Lincoln Logs, Legos and branch forts in the backyard. “My friend and I would open up a can of beans in the little hut that we made,” he reminisces. Now specializing in high-end projects, Dave’s expertise ranges from contemporary remodels to luxurious new builds. CIQU’s commissions include home wellness centers featuring saunas and pickleball courts—and even a luxurious home theater with spring-loaded walls and ceiling, preventing the powerful speakers from rattling the rest of the house.

Dave’s own home is any- thing but run-of-the-mill. He’s currently working on a residence that will span a ravine. The bridge- like abode will stretch 60 feet across and hang 40 feet off the ground. He’ll need to build it in pieces, then transport it all along mountain roads to the site.

When asked about current construction trends, Dave mentions an uptick in wellness additions, warm modernism with biophilic design and lower maintenance properties for the frequently on the-go homeowner—though he’s quick to point out that these aren’t just popular for popularity’s sake. “I think homeowners are smarter about what they’re doing,” he says. “They are not chasing trends. They’re doing what they really want and they’re not afraid of it anymore.” Perhaps most important to how Dave does business is the respect he strives for with both his clients and team. “People are what get you from point A to point B,” he emphasizes. “I want my workers and me to know everybody on the job’s names. Appreciate them on the job. Thank them for being there. Look after their safety.” That regard extends to the job site itself—down to a stray candy wrapper. “That’s not below me to pick up trash,” Dave says. “This is our client’s house. Why wouldn’t you pick it up?” And he expects that standard of excellence from the entire CIQU team. “I think if you point it out, people will do it, but the difference is I want my guys to see it.”

Find out more:
Email: info@ciquconstruction.com | Call: 650-640-3099