Federal Triangle Finale
At 3.1 million sq ft, the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center is the second largest U.S. federal building ever constructed; only the Pentagon is larger. After more than...
Historic American Covered Bridges
Covered wooden bridges are a visual testament to the American spirit. Originally designed with roof-like covers to protect the exposed wood from the effects of sun and rain, these bridges...
Concrete Colossus
After finding 120 million cubic meters of oil and 30 billion standard cubic meters of natural gas 175 kilometers off the Norwegian coast, Houston-based Conoco, Inc. was faced with a second...
Timber!
For engineers accustomed to working with steel, using large wood beams in structural applications can be an unusual experience. Three Midwestern construction projects�a nature center,...
Florida's Big Bellies
FPL designed and installed double reverse tapered poles, affectionately called big belly because the width gradually increases toward the middle and narrows at both ends. The poles replace...
Historic Downtown Dilemma (Available only in Structural Engineering special issue)
Many older commercial masonry buildings built of locally quarried stone or fired brick in downtown areas suffer from roof leaks. Because a studwall cavity often is located between the...
Turnback Project Moves Ahead
The $202 million Muni Metro Turnback (MMT) Project, scheduled for completion in September 1996, includes an 840 ft section consisting of twin steel-lined tunnels that connects to the Embarcadero...
Re-engineering Cowboy Heaven (Available only in
On a wooded hill overlooking the north end of Oklahoma City sits one of the foremost repositories of this country's Western heritage, the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. Contained...
Tunneling Under Pressure
Work will begin this month on the South Bay Ocean Outfall (SBOO) project, a $140 million undertaking to build 3.6 mi of tunneling through the saturated ground of the Pacific Ocean. When...
Translucent Structural Beacon
In East Los Angeles some 2,000 children, teens and adults are accessing their future inside a building that is as high-tech as the computers they are using to learn. The 40,000 sq ft building...
The Timberlake Dam Failure: A Hydrometeorological Assessment
Extremely heavy rainfall over the Timberlake basin in southwest Virginia on 23 June 1995 caused an earthen dam to fail and resulted in fatalities. The meteorological conditions are examined...
Propeller Wash Induced Erosion at Quay Walls
The characteristics are examined of the sea bed erosion produced by the scouring action of a ship's propeller wash acting against a quay wall. The rate of development of erosion...
Swimming in Style
The Deerfield Academy's new $10 million swimming and squash facility, built in the floodplain of a river, is a jewel-box created from glue-laminated timber, galvanized steel,...
All-Around Arenas (Available only in
Structural form and architectural function go hand-in-hand in the design of today's modern multipurpose arenas. The 19th century architect, Louis H. Sullivan, coined the phrase...
New Address for the 21st Century
The purchase of the office building in Reston, Virginia, that will be the society's new headquarters is described. The decision to buy property was made in April 1993, candidate...
Reinforced Glued Laminated Timber
In record time, reinforced glued laminated timber (glulam) has moved from an experimental product to wide-spread commercial acceptance. Several case studies illustrate applications and...
Marine Borers Are Back
Cleaning up the nation's harbors has brought a resurgence in marine borer activity. These organisms, mainly the teredo and the limnoria, eat at timber piers, undermining critical...
Hospital Over a Highway
New York Hospital is undergoing a $1 billion expansion that includes construction of a new building over the FDR Drive in Manhattan using air rights. The starting point for this building...
Guidelines for Evaluating Aging Penstocks
Wood Working
Engineers may be more accustomed to working with concrete and steel, but for certain projects aesthetics, cost or other considerations may make wood the preferred choice. According to...
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