In a building landscape where the expected lifespan of a structure is longer than usual, the durability of the materials that encompass the structure become more critical. Sustainability is key for any structures viability in today’s construction world, which means new technologies are of great value to not only the project teams, but also the environment. …
Do you remember what inspired you to become a structural engineer? Did you love building blocks and toy construction sets when you were little? Maybe you had a relative who was an engineer or an architect. Maybe you loved problem solving, or you just wanted to build big things. …
Severud Associates Consulting Engineers, PC was an Award Winner for the Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology – University of Pennsylvania project in the 2014 NCSEA Annual Excellence in Structural Engineering awards program (Category – New Buildings $30M to $100M). …
Within the broad field of civil engineering, structural engineers have perhaps been among the slowest to embrace and adopt the concepts of sustainability in the built environment. Many sit by with mounting frustration as architects, other types of engineers, and urban planners have defined “green” agendas for their disciplines, and successfully embraced and marketed them. …
First, I would like to take the opportunity to wish all of you a Happy New Year. I hope this year holds promise for you in your individual careers, for your firms, and for our profession. Second, I would like to extend a thank you and best wishes to Bob Barnett of the Alabama firm of Barnett, Jones, Wilson. Bob has been a fixture on CASE’s Guidelines Committee for as long as I can remember, but is stepping back from his committee work as he moves into retirement. His down-to-earth approach has helped to keep our practice guidelines grounded in reality. I will miss his wit and friendship during our meetings. …
Writing is hard work for most people, myself included. Mozart supposedly finished entire musical compositions in his head before committing any of the notes to paper, but for almost everyone else, our minds simply do not work that way. As David Hare put it, “The act of writing is the act of discovering what you believe.” I have certainly found that to be true when preparing these columns over the years. …
The New York City stock of retaining walls is dominated by concrete and masonry walls. The older stock, dating from late 1800s and early 1900s, consists of stone masonry walls. Originally, these soil retaining structures were mostly commissioned and supervised by public works, parks, railway or highway administrations. In the early 1900s, under pressure from strong residential needs, the city started to open streets in hilly areas that previously had not been considered suitable for construction. …
When it comes to enclosing large building volumes, it is hard to beat tilt-up concrete construction for economy and durability. Long considered the mainstay for warehouses and big-box retail, the tilt-up method is now frequently employed for commercial projects, churches, schools and Class A office buildings nationwide. With newer types of occupancies driving attention to aesthetics higher and higher, the importance of minimizing concrete cracking in the site-cast precast wall panels is greater than ever. …
This series of articles discusses some of the commonly encountered structural issues with renovation projects focusing on historic buildings of this type, and provides guidance on ways to address them. Part two of this series focuses on wall systems. Part one, published in the December 2014 issue of STRUCTURE magazine, reviewed common issues with foundations. Part three, to be published in an upcoming issue of STRUCTURE, will focus on historic roof systems. …
How much more efficient would structural engineers be if they had access to all of their resources wherever they want? Imagine if resources like construction documents, as-built drawings, project correspondence, calculations, building codes, reference materials, computer analysis programs, product manuals, colleagues, etc. could be carried to every meeting, hauled around to every jobsite and brought home every night. …