41-Story Eleven Gets Green Light
November 6, 2018 – On October 15 the Minneapolis Planning Commission approved a new 41-story condominium tower on Minneapolis’ downtown riverfront. As structural engineer of record on the project, we are very pleased to see plans for the tallest residential building in Minnesota move forward. Construction is scheduled to begin as early as 2019. Find out more about the Eleven project and MBJ’s involvement with mid- and high-rise construction projects at CTBUH (Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat).
MBJ at SAHC Peru
September 25, 2018 – Elizabeth Manning, PhD, and Kevin Vazquez, MSc, each spoke at the 2018 Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions (SAHC) conference held in Cusco, Peru, on September 11-13. Kevin spoke on “Structural Upgrade of Steel Stub Girders” and Elizabeth’s topic was “Numerical Modeling of Single Tube-Jack and Flat-Jack Tests in an Unreinforced Masonry Wall with a Regular Typology.”
While in Peru, which is located in a high seismic zone, Elizabeth and Kevin had the opportunity to visit a handful of historical sites both from pre-Columbian and colonial periods where they learned about construction techniques, materials, and strengthening methodologies used in that area of the world. Two of the locations they visited are shown below, Ollantaytambo (left) and Machu Picchu (right), both Incan archaeological sites.
SAHC is a bi-annual, international conference dedicated to the “sharing and dissemination of research and practice, as well as networking…The theme of the conference [was] “An Interdisciplinary Approach” which emphasizes the importance of the involvement of a variety of disciplines in the task of conserving and restoring heritage buildings.”
Proceedings of the conference may be purchased here.
If you would like to read their individual papers, please e-mail Kevin or Elizabeth at kvazquez@mbjeng.com or emanning@mbjeng.com.
ENR Best Project Grady Gammage
September 20, 2018 – We are honored to have been the structural engineer of record on the ASU Grady Gammage Auditorium renovation, recently recognized by ENR Southwest magazine as the 2018 Best Project in the Culture category. Other team mates were lead design architect RSP, CORE Construction, and Henderson Engineers. See all the winning projects here.
Steel This Book
September 12, 2018 – The September issue of Modern Steel Construction features Temple University’s new library in an article entitled “Steel This Book.” Although not mentioned in the article, MBJ provided all the delegated connections for this very challenging project, which you can read about here.
Huber Speaks at NASCC
April 19, 2018 — Matt Huber, PE, spoke at the recent NASCC conference in Baltimore, MD, on April 11. The topic of his presentation was “Delegated Connection Design – Best Practices to Promote the Steel Industry.” Delegated connection design is a widely accepted and encouraged design practice in the steel design industry. Used skillfully, it results in a deliverable that benefits all parties by giving EORs control over the final structural product and fabricators the flexibility they need to deliver an efficient, cost-effective package. In his presentation, Matt analyzed common pitfalls in the use of delegated connection design, (which lead to more expensive structures, difficulties in construction, and delays in schedule) and best delegated connection design practices to combat these perils.
Matt leads the firm’s fabricator steel group of 35 connection design engineers. He has been delivering projects using a delegated connection design model for more than 10 years and is an expert in both the American steel codes, AISC-360 (LRFD/ASD), and the Canadian steel code, CSA Design of Steel Structures.
MBJ Joins U of M Consortium
March 20, 2018 – Meyer Borgman Johnson is pleased to be the first structural engineering design firm to join the University of Minnesota’s Consortium for Research Practices, a medium for the exchange of knowledge among firms, faculty, and students. Consortium members develop shared research with MS-RP students guided by university faculty and practicing professionals through their academic and internship experience. The Consortium also seeks to address a broad range of societal concerns by becoming a catalyst for culture change in regard to sustainable design, diversity, design value, and many other important issues facing today’s design and construction community.
MBJ Staff Teach at U of M
March 5, 2018 – Several of MBJ’s staff are currently teaching as adjunct instructors at the University of Minnesota.
Twin Cities Campus
Cullen O’Neill, PE, has been an instructor at the University since 2014. He currently teaches CMgt 4544: Materials and Structures I, a class he helped create for the Construction Management Department.
Jason Cook, PE, SE, co-teaches CMgt 4545: Materials and Structures II, the partner course to CMgt 4544. Next spring, he will be teaching the class solo.
Saura Jost, PE, began as an instructor for the Architecture Department in 2016. She is currently teaching ARCH 4571 Architectural Structures I, a class typically taken by architecture students in their junior year.
Ryan Hopeman, PE, SE, teaches ARCH 5564: Building Tech 4: Structures II, a graduate level class in the Architecture Department. Murphy Curran, PE, a former adjunct instructor at the University, assists Ryan in this class.
Duluth Campus
In our Duluth office, Paul Johnson, PE, Craig Bursch, PE, and Ben Helmer, PE, teach a one-hour lecture per semester on both licensure and structural engineering to students in the CE1025: Intro to Civil Engineering class.
Paul Johnson Speaks at UMD
February 26, 2018 – On February 16, Paul Johnson, manager of MBJ’s Duluth office and chair of the University of Minnesota-Duluth Civil Engineering Department Industry Advisory Board, gave a presentation to civil engineering faculty and graduate students on the new Heikkila Chemical and Advanced Materials Science building (CAMS), currently under construction on campus. Speaking to future structural engineers, Paul described the CAMS project from a structural perspective, based on his experience as project manager for MBJ’s structural design team. In his talk, Paul described the selection and design of structural systems and MBJ’s response to a variety of building challenges, including economical/constructible methods of placing building foundations around an existing steam tunnel through the site, and accommodating numerous vertical penetrations of the primary structure for mechanical/electrical systems. The CAMS building is scheduled for completion in December 2018.
MBJ Joins Tall Building Council
February 16, 2018 – MBJ is now a member of The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a world-wide organization that brings together tall building experts in one online meeting place where they can share ideas, research, experiences, and outcomes with each other. MBJ joins colleagues in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and many other regions of the world in a cross-cultural dialogue that helps us grow in our knowledge of urban living and tall structures. You can find out more about the council here.
Glass and Steel
January 30, 2018 – Meyer Borgman Johnson provided erection engineering for a small but spectacular glass and steel pavilion featured in Modern Steel Construction’s January 2018 issue. Set at the front of 100 Federal Street in Boston’s financial district, the structure creates a light-filled entrance to the building. Commissioned by steel fabricator Cives Steel Company – New England Division, MBJ modeled erection sequences, shoring, and lateral bracing, analyzing wind loads for every day of the project throughout the 6-week construction phase. Read the article here.
