Confirmation Bias
Confirmation bias is a problem in everyday life and in most professions, so it’s no surprise that it can be
Journal
Our work with old buildings has us studying a lot of different topics in addition to structural engineering – for example, architecture, history, and historic preservation – and we like sharing stories about what we’ve found.
Failure Portrait 2
Sometimes there are so many things going wrong that it’s hard to in down which is the most disturbing. Here,
Failure Portrait 1
We spend a lot of time with the issue of masonry veneer separation. During investigation, we look for signs that
West Park Presbyterian Church
We are proud to be part of the team starting on the long-term restoration of the West Park Presbyterian Church.
A Bug Fixed
Our apologies to anyone who has been receiving blog updates consisting of four-year-old news. Our new website is in the
“Design”
The Center For An Urban Future has released an interesting report on the importance of design services to the New York City
Anonymity
Part of being structural engineers who work on buildings is the knowledge that our work is almost never directly visible.
New Technology
We’ve recently started using iPads as field tools for data capture. In other words, the field notebooks and clipboards that
Historic Structural Detail 2
Even when dealing with large and unsubtle structure, small details often provide important information. The picture below shows the underside
NYC Media
The official New York City website has a section called “NYC Media” that includes short video clips on various topics
Locality
We work where the buildings are: one of the simple truths of a practice based on existing structures is that
Historic Structural Detail 1
In the course of building investigation, we see a lot of details that are no longer used. From time to
Aging
Not us, buildings. It is amazing how fast buildings can age when they are not used, maintained, or mothballed. A
“Bannerman’s Island”
One of our projects was given a slide show on the New York Times website yesterday. In unromantic terms, Pollepel
The Church of St. Francis Xavier Wins a Lucy Moses Award
The historic, Baroque-style Church of St. Francis Xavier on West 16th Street was completed in 1882 by architect Patrick Keely,
Design Intent Versus Common Sense
An engineering or architectural design has many components, one of which is intent. The designer has a goal in mind
Other People’s [Drafting] Standards
There’s nothing wrong with a little professional voyeurism, right? The now-universal use of computer-aided drafting means that we, as structural
Cast Iron Facades
Our increasing involvement with the analysis and repair of cast iron buildings in New York City has allowed us to
PS90 Wins A Lucy Moses Award
This conversion project took a 1905 New York City elementary school building, which had been abandoned since the 1970s, and
Under-appreciated Inefficiency
Efficiency is ordinarily a goal in any technological undertaking. We want our vehicles to be energy-efficient, our computers to be
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