DeSimone Consulting Engineers

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DeSimone Consulting Engineering
IndustryStructural engineering
Founded1969; 55 years ago (1969)
FounderVincent J. DeSimone
HeadquartersNew York City
Area served
Boston
Chicago
Dallas-Fort Worth
Foxborough
Houston
Las Vegas
Miami
New Haven
New York City
San Francisco
London
Medellín
Abu Dhabi
Dubai
OwnerStephen V. DeSimone
Websitewww.de-simone.com

DeSimone Consulting Engineering is a structural engineering firm founded by Vincent J. DeSimone in 1969 in New York City.[1] The firm provides structural engineering services to architects, owners and developers, and performs structural analysis and design for all types of buildings at all project phases. DeSimone also launched a Property Loss Consulting division in 2016. The company has offices in Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Foxborough, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, New Haven, New York City, San Francisco, London, Medellín, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai.[2] DeSimone has designed over 10,000 projects in 40 states and 45 countries.[3][4][5]

History[edit]

Vincent J. DeSimone (1969 - 2002)[edit]

Founder, and former President and CEO Vincent DeSimone

DeSimone Consulting Engineering was founded in 1969 by Vincent "Vince" J. DeSimone, (born in 1937) a graduate from Manhattan College in 1959. Vince stepped down as CEO in 2002, making way for his son, Stephen V. DeSimone. Vince would work as President of the firm until his passing in 2016 from a battle with cancer.[6][7][8]

Stephen V. DeSimone (2002 - present)[edit]

The firm has made a concerted effort to break into the engineering field in the United Kingdom, opening a London office in May of 2022.[9] However, struggled to gain significant clients due to the lack of the firms brand recognition in the United Kingdom. In an effort to remedy this, the firm acquired DP Squared on 1 August, 2023, one of the leading British structural engineering firms in Manchester, and Northern England as a whole.[10]

The Architect's Newspaper named DeSimone Consulting Engineering the best structural engineering firm in the Northeastern United States for 2023.[11]

Engineering[edit]

Exoskeleton buildings[edit]

DeSimone is recognized for its work with exoskeleton buildings, including the award-winning residential building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan at 170 Amsterdam Avenue.[12] The 20-story residential high-rise features a concrete exoskeleton with a diagrid design and was developed using newly available modeling technology. The building's exoskeleton moves the structure to the exterior, allowing for flexible floor plans free of columns. A specialized concrete mix was used for the exterior structure which was made to look like limestone. Fiberglass was also used also used on the exterior.[12] DeSimone was nominated and received a Diamond Award for Structural Systems from the American Council of Engineering Companies in 2016 for their work on 170 Amsterdam.[13]

DeSimone is also the structural engineering firm for One Thousand Museum in Miami, Florida.[citation needed] Designed by Zaha Hadid, the building is the first skyscraper by the Pritzker-winning architect in the United States.[14] DeSimone developed a curved "root" exoskeleton structure to support the building. The record setting auger cast pile deep foundation system was installed by HJ Foundation, part of the keller Group. Like with The Grove at Grand Bay project, placing the buildings support systems on the exterior allows for increased space inside and reduces the amount of materials used.[15] The exoskeleton structure was originally purely cosmetic, but DeSimone was able to integrate the design into the structural engineering, creating the exterior support structure out of hollow, precast, concrete panels.[16]

Twisting buildings[edit]

DeSimone engineered the first truly twisting towers in the US with The Grove at Grand Bay towers in Miami, Florida designed by the Danish starchitect Bjarke Ingels.[17] Grove at Grand Bay features two 20-story buildings with 98 apartments that feature 12-foot high ceilings and 14-foot deep balconies. The twisting element of the buildings has a total rotation of 38 degrees, and provides panoramic views of the Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline.[18][unreliable source?][unreliable source?]

Like One Thousand Museum, the auger cast pile deep foundation system for this building was by HJ Foundation, part of the Keller Group. The twisting nature of the columns posed a number of structural challenges. The main challenge was to resist torsion generated in the tower core due to the sloping column geometry. The horizontal component of the gravity load in the columns is resolved in the slabs by transferring it to the interior core shear walls, which are the only consistently vertical structural elements in the building.[18] DeSimone was nominated and received a Platinum Award for Structural Systems from the American Council of Engineering Companies in 2016 for their work on The Grove at Grand Bay[13]

Skyscrapers and supertalls[edit]

DeSimone has served as structural engineer for many skyscrapers and is currently working on a supertall building, 125 Greenwich Street designed by Rafael Viñoly which tops out at over 1,000 feet.[19] DeSimone is also the engineering firm behind 99 Hudson Street, an 889-foot residential tower under construction in Jersey City, New Jersey.[20] Upon completion, it will be the tallest building in the state of New Jersey and the 4th tallest residential tower in the United States.[21]

Work with "Starchitects"[edit]

DeSimone has worked on projects with many of the world's most renowned architects and architectural firms including Zaha Hadid,[22] Bjarke Ingels,[23] Richard Meier,[24] Robert A.M. Stern,[25] Foster and Partners, Rafael Viñoly, Rem Koolhas,[26] Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA),[26] Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF),[25] Arquitectonica,[27] and SLCE.[28]

Sustainability[edit]

DeSimone is a U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) National Member organization.[29] DeSimone's work on P.S. 62, The Kathleen Grimm School for Leadership and Sustainability, New York City's first net zero energy school, has received numerous awards including the 2016 AIANY COTE Award, Best Green Project by the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, Architizer A+ Awards – Primary and High Schools 2016, and Engineering News Record (New York Region) – Best Green Project 2016.[30][31][32][33]

Mergers and acquisitions[edit]

RRC Engineering[edit]

RRC Engineering's logo

On September 2, 2020 DeSimone Consulting Engineering announced they had purchased RRC Engineering, a Massachusetts-based structural engineering firm specializing in the design of data centers to diversity the firms holdings and to offer RRC's engineers further resources.[34] RRC Engineering was founded by its eponymous Robert Chartrand in November of 2002.[35][36] Prior to its merger into DeSimone, its profile boasted numerous data centers around the country, as well as the headquarters of the Mobile Press, the Winston-Salem Journal and Bob's Discount Furniture, as well as Tufts University's Equine Center as part of its University of Veterinary medicine.[37] RRC would become DeSimone's Foxborough branch whose principle engineer would remain Robert Chartrand.[38]

Dowco[edit]

Dowco's logo

On January 6, 2023, DeSimone Consulting Engineering announced they had acquired Dowco, a Langley, British Columbia, based steel detailer for an undisclosed amount.[39][40][41][42] Dowco was founded in June of 1970 by Hugh Dobbie, Joe Ord and Jack Wilson (whose last initials spell DOW). The company had been an early adopter of computer-aided design (CAD) and even developed several early softwares as well as running CAD classes. Prior to its acquisition in 2023, Dowco itself underwent several mergers and acquisitions, including Adveno Consultants in 1982, Total Structural Detailing in 2004, FabTrol Systems Inc. in 2008, SDE Steel Detailing and Consulting in 2013, RISA Technologies in 2015, and Acuna y Asociados in 2016 and had offices in Chile, India and the Philippines.[43] DeSimone had acquired the firm in order to have in-house detailers, as opposed to contracting other firms, in order to limit risk to their clients.[42][44][45]

DP Squared[edit]

DP Squared's logo

On 1 August, 2023, DeSimone acquired DP Squared, a civil engineering firm established by Darren and Deborah Paine in 2004.[46] The firm was headquartered in Hebden Bridge, which will transform into DeSimone's Northern England branch, and has become DeSimone's second branch in the United Kingdom, besides their London branch. DP Squared was known for its environmental and LEEDs initiatives, and for being the structural engineers for Deansgate Square.[47][48] The firm was noted by New Civil Engineer for punching above their weight, with a relatively small team that has been responsible for the structural engineering of 5 of the 6 tallest buildings in Manchester. They also noted the firms commitment to creating a friendly and inclusive work-space environment.[49] DeSimone acquired the firm to expand their profile in the United Kingdom, mostly due to DP Squared working on projects similar to those DeSimone is known for, and also due to their name recognition in the British civil engineering field.[10]

Notable projects[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ https://archpaper.com/2016/11/engineer-vincent-j-desimone-passes-away/
  2. ^ "Locations". DeSimone Consulting Engineering. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Company overview of DeSimone Consulting Engineering, Inc". Bloomberg News. 25 August 2023.
  4. ^ "DeSimone Consulting Engineering - Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat".
  5. ^ "About Us". DeSimone Consulting Engineering.
  6. ^ Post, Nadine M. "Innovator Vincent DeSimone Succumbs to Cancer Battle". Engineering News-Record. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Engineer Vincent J. DeSimone passes away". The Architect's Newspaper. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  8. ^ "In Loving Memory of Vincent J. DeSimone". de-simone.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  9. ^ "DeSimone Consulting Engineering Strengthen Its London Base". manufacturing and engineering magazine. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  10. ^ a b "DeSimone acquires UK structural engineering firm DP Squared". de-simone.com. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Best of Practice". The Architect's Newspaper. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  12. ^ a b "DeSimone collects an engineering award for work on 170 Amsterdam". Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  13. ^ a b "American Council of Engineering Companies of New York - 2016 Engineering Excellence Awards". Archived from the original on 2016-03-18. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  14. ^ Cotter, Molly (19 December 2012). "Zaha Hadid To Build Her First American Skyscraper In Miami! - Architizer". Architizer.
  15. ^ "1000 Museum truly isn't even a museum | ZAHA HADID - Arch2O.com".
  16. ^ Campbell-Dollaghan, Kelsey (27 May 2015). "How Engineers Are Building Skyscrapers That Seem Physically Impossible". Gizmodo.
  17. ^ "Structural Engineering, Keeping High-Rises Safe" (PDF).
  18. ^ a b "United States' First Truly Twisting Towers". DeSimone Consulting Engineering. 2014-02-10. Archived from the original on 2016-04-22. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  19. ^ "Living among the clouds: New York's supertall buildings". Archived from the original on 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  20. ^ "99 Hudson Street - the Skyscraper Center".
  21. ^ "Tallest Residential Buildings in the US | America's tallest condo buildings".
  22. ^ "Zaha Hadid Broke Barriers to Create Dramatic, Daring Architecture". Investor's Business Daily. 22 July 2016.
  23. ^ "Every apartment in this honeycomb-style building has a private pool on its balcony". Business Insider.
  24. ^ https://www.vsl.net/case-study/surf-club
  25. ^ a b "Interview: Engineer Joseph Gulden Discusses Wooden Skyscrapers Surpassing 1,000 Feet". 6 June 2016.
  26. ^ a b "OMA completes trio of buildings for Miami Beach cultural district". 2 December 2016.
  27. ^ Taranath, Bungale S. (2011-10-18). Structural Analysis and Design of Tall Buildings: Steel and Composite Construction. CRC Press. ISBN 9781439850893.
  28. ^ Taranath, Bungale S. (2011-10-18). Structural Analysis and Design of Tall Buildings: Steel and Composite Construction. CRC Press. ISBN 9781439850893.
  29. ^ "LEED Directory".
  30. ^ "Best Project Winners Announced for ENR New York".
  31. ^ "Judging takes place for the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce 2016 Annual Building Awards for Excellence in Design & Construction". Archived from the original on 2017-02-11. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
  32. ^ http://awards.architizer.com/
  33. ^ "Aianycoteawards".
  34. ^ "DeSimone Consulting Engineering Announces Asset Purchase of RRC Engineering". DeSimone. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  35. ^ "About Us We develop and maintain strong, enduring relationships with our clients". RRC Engineering. Archived from the original on 2019-02-09. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  36. ^ "DeSimone Consulting Engineering of New York Acquires MA-Based RRC Engineering". Boston Real Estate Times. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  37. ^ "Portfolio Our experience covers the full spectrum of structural engineering and consulting services for a wide variety of commercial, industrial, and institutional structures". RRC Engineering. Archived from the original on 2019-02-09. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  38. ^ "Robert Chartrand, PE". DeSimone. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  39. ^ "DeSimone expands with acquisition of Dowco Group's Global Detailing and BIM business". canada.constructconnect.com. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  40. ^ "DeSimone snaps up Dowco". www.theconstructionindex.co.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  41. ^ "DeSimone Acquires Dowco Group's Global Detailing and Building Information Modeling Business". Boston Real Estate Times. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  42. ^ a b "DeSimone Acquires Dowco Group's Global Detailing and Building Information Modeling Business". DeSimone. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  43. ^ "Our History". Dowco. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  44. ^ "Madison Street Capital advises Dowco Group of Companies on its sale to DeSimone Consulting Engineering". PR Newswire (Press release). Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  45. ^ Saundalkar, Jason (9 January 2023). "DeSimone acquires Dowco Group's global detailing and BIM business". meconstructionnews.com. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  46. ^ "About Us". dpsquared.net. 14 April 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  47. ^ Waite, Richard (18 February 2022). "Heatherwick's Leeds Maggie's Centre shortlisted for RIBA regional honour". Architects' Journal. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  48. ^ Wilson, Rob (July 2020). "Concertina-like footbridge completed in Leeds' Climate Innovation District by Gagarin Studio and DP Squared". Architects' Journal. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  49. ^ Henson, Robert (14 September 2017). "DP Squared - Setting up a small consultancy". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 1 August 2023.

External links[edit]

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