Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit company with projects in more than 70 countries and has helped more than 39 million people improve their living conditions since 1976.  Habitat works together with families, local communities, volunteers and partners so that more people are able to live in affordable and safe homes.  When a local Habitat for Humanity project surfaced in Grand Rapids, MI, Helix Micro Steel was happy to help their neighbors.  With building requirements including resilience, low maintenance, ease of construction and energy efficiency, NRMCA and Habitat for Humanity collaborated with Helix Micro Steel and found their Micro Rebar solution to be a perfect fit for their needs.  

Helix Micro Rebar concrete reinforcement is added at the ready-mix plant or on site directly to the concrete mix, reducing costs and saving time during construction.  Helix Steel has been incorporated in over 50,000 vertical installations since 2007 and has ICC-ES report documentation.  By using Helix Micro Rebar, concrete wall thicknesses can be reduced and steel content can also be reduced, creating a more economical and environmentally friendly system.  Also, by dosing Helix into the concrete mix, time is saved by drastically reducing and sometimes eliminating the need for setting traditional steel reinforcement bars.

This specific Habitat for Humanity project and the Helix Micro Rebar headquarters are both located in Grand Rapids, MI, making it a great fit to use Helix Micro Rebar and also have Helix employees volunteer during construction, providing valuable onsite experience.  

Luke Pinkerton is the President, Chief Technology Officer and the Founder of Helix Steel.  He has a BS in engineering physics from Hope College, an MS in structural engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from Georgia Institute of Technology.  Luke sits on several technical code committees including ASTM Committee C09, ACI 380, ACI 332, ACI 544, ACI 551 and ACI 564.  

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Episode 012: Richmond Olympic Oval with Paul Fast, PE

As the founder of Fast + Epp, Paul has emerged a leader in architecturally exposed structures and is recognized for his unconventional use of materials, including hybrids of timber, concrete and steel.  To this note, the Richmond Olympic Oval was constructed for the 2010 Olympic speed skating events.  This structure capitalizes on Fast + Epp’s ability to push the design envelope and create unique and visually pleasing spaces.  This structure includes free spanning timber and steel hybrid arches with intermediate “wave” panels spanning between the arches.  The “wave” panels are constructed with 2x4’s, reclaimed from pine beetle kill material.  This structure has received many accolades including awards in both the timber and steel categories.

Fast + Epp is headquartered in Vancouver, BC, with offices all around world.  Highly involved in the structural engineering community, Paul sits on several university advisory boards and the Structural Engineers Association of British Columbia.  He was the 2021 Gold Medal Recipient from the Institution of Structural Engineers for his contributions to structural engineering community.  He also won the 2022 education award for his mass timber class at the University of Illinois-Urbana.  

Fast + Epp uses forward thinking concepts such as their internal embodied carbon tool to quantify carbon output for projects and they are also able to test their design theories in their full scale Concepts Lab which is located in the first level of their office, allowing them to trail blaze innovation.

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011: Below Grade with Kari Sebern, PE

What’s really going on below the ground level of buildings?  What supports the things that we see above the ground?  Who is responsible for this support?  These are all questions that come up from time to time on projects so I thought I’d take a little time to do some metaphoric excavation into what happens below grade on construction projects.  After all, this work is typically only exposed for a short period of time, if even at all, and then gets buried into the abyss.  I hope you learn something about the world around (below) you in this episode!

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Episode 010: Eagle Nest with Ray Hooft, PE

How do you make a home a nest?  In this episode, I sit down with Ray Hooft, PE who is a Senior Project Engineer at Simplengi Engineering in Berkeley, CA.  We talk about the Eagle Nest project which is located in Temecula, CA.  With two wish bone shaped wings, one of which cantilevers 26 feet from the ground below, Ray and the rest of the design team were able to create an original piece of art that resembles a nest, complete with the “cherry on top”: nest-textured pieces that will be installed at the roof top patio.  Everything about this home is custom, unique and super fascinating! 

Listen in to hear how Ray was able to balance steel and wood requirements to arrive at a structure that met depth constraints set by the client but also satisfied structural requirements.

Ray obtained his Master of Science degree in Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials from UC Berkeley and enjoys being very active outdoors in his free time.

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009: Broadgate - Exchange House with Bill Baker, PE, SE

Get ready for a real treat! A new engineer, a seasoned veteran, or someone outside of the industry altogether, there’s incredible insight in this episode!  As the lead structural engineer for the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa, Bill Baker is a world-renowned structural engineer with projects sprinkled in many prominent skylines across the globe. 

Bill is a Consulting Partner with SOM in their Chicago office and has received honorary doctorates from four well-known universities and has been honored with many prestigious awards including the Gold Medal from the Institution of Structural Engineers; the American Society of Civil Engineers OPAL Lifetime Award for Design; the Gustav Magnel Gold Medal from the University of Ghent; the Fazlur Rahman Khan Medal from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat; and the Fritz Leonhardt Preis.

In this episode, we discuss the Broadgate – Exchange House which is located over the Liverpool Street Station in London, England.  This project is a bridge/building hybrid structure with clear spans of up to 250 feet.  The ten-story steel-framed structure is positioned over one of London’s busiest rail stations.  To say innovation was a necessity for this project is an understatement. 

Listen to how Bill thought through the challenges presented and arrived at the final design.  I think you will really enjoy the journey through this discussion!

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Time for a midseason recap! In this episode, we take a little time to look back at what we’ve learned so far and also a little peek into what’s coming up in the future.  Also, listen in for the theme song for structural engineers and Unstruct.

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I talk with Denis Blount in this episode about the Amazon Spheres Understory, located in Seattle, WA. Understory is a separate studio/exhibition space located in the ground level of the Amazon Spheres, which, as the name implies, is a series of spherical buildings framed out of steel and clad with glass.  The Amazon Spheres opened in January 2018, serves as a collaborative workspace for Amazon employees and is filled with over 40,000 plants.  The building focuses on biophilic design, art, technology, engineering and design. 

Understory presented several acoustical challenges that Denis and his team needed to solve, including a circular layout and several hard surfaces throughout.  Denis and his team were able to virtually simulate the listening experience of Understory in private listening sessions in Arup’s Soundlab prior to construction so that the design team could determine the best sound quality for the space.  Denis is an associate principal with Arup in Seattle, WA. 

https://www.arup.com/perspectives/soundlab

https://www.seattlespheres.com/visit-understory

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I recently talked with Chad Mitchell, PE, SE who is an Associate with S.A. Miro in Denver, CO. Instead of focusing on a particular building, we took some time out and talked about collaboration within the structural engineering community and ways that we can support one another.  As a past president of the Structural Engineers Association of Colorado (SEAC), Chad shares a wealth of knowledge on how involvement with professional organizations can have a real and immediate effect on advancing the profession.  As a group of volunteers, SEAC has developed documents regarding wind loads and snow loads that have made their way into the ICC Codes, helping structural engineers everywhere.  We also touched on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and how important it is for someone with a voice that carries to highlight people with voices that aren’t heard as loud.  Chad is an avid supporter of the engineering community as a whole and is passionate about sharing ideas that lead to industry wide elevation.  Here are some links to other great collaborative efforts:

www.seacolorado.org

www.eng-tips.com

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In this episode, I sit down with Richard Wilson, PE, the Founder of Wilson Structural in Sarasota, FL. Wilson is the Engineer of Record for the Sand Dune project – a single family residence located on Lido Key on Gulf Coast of Florida. This is a three story with roof top deck structure created out of concrete. The sides of this yacht inspired structure consists of swooping concrete arches which support the building against gravity and lateral loads. The home consists of 8,500 GSF conditioned space, 3,000 GSF garage space, and 1600 GSF exterior deck space. It really is a one of a kind masterpiece!

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Austin Reese, PE is a Senior Project Engineer with Jirsa Hedrick in Denver, CO and always up for an adventure. He has spent much of his last few years working on the One River North project, a showpiece building that is currently under construction in Denver’s River North neighborhood and slated for completion in late 2023. This building will include three stories of below grade parking and 16 stories of above grade, luxury residences, with an open air, 10 story tall, canyon through the center of the building. The exterior will almost appear as if the exterior hardscapes are cracked open, revealing vast crevasses of lush greenery. There will be over 13,000 square feet of open-air environments throughout the structure, including a creek, waterfall and walking trail lined with vegetation. Biophilic design inspired by Colorado’s great outdoors will be integrated throughout the building structure. The structure will be comprised of post tension concrete floor slabs and concrete vertical elements.

Austin grew up in Maryland and Texas but has called Colorado home since 2017. When he is not designing adventurous structures, you can find him hiking. This past summer, he completed an almost 450 mile hike along the Colorado Trail.

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