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PROJECTS
LERA Expands Federal Work
LERA is involved in a number of federal projects for various government agencies. Learn more about our government work on our Government & Public Institutions page.


In addition, Daniel Sesil, Partner is an active member of the OBO's Industry Advisory Group (IAG), and has over 30 years of experience designing projects for federal and state agencies. Click here to read Dan's OBO IAG bio .

If your firm is interested in pursuing federal opportunities, such as the current OBO Worldwide Design Services RFQ , get in touch with us to discuss possible collaboration.
4 World Trade Center Wins AISC Presidential Award of Excellence
4 World Trade Center, the first tower to open on the redeveloped WTC site and for which LERA led the structural design, won the 2017 Presidential Award for Excellence in Engineering, the highest honor from AISC's IDEAS2 Awards program.


Some of the jury's comments included:

"The building is a symbol of strength and unity."

"The project has an extremely complex structural system which is elegantly concealed."

"The team should be extremely proud of the end result and how steel was used."

Lotte World Tower Grand Opening
At 555 m (1,820 ft), the Lotte World Tower in Seoul, South Korea was officially named the fifth tallest building in the world by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).




Leslie E. Robertson and SawTeen See, Managing Partner, who led the design team for the innovative structure of the supertall tower, were invited to attend its grand opening on April 3rd, coinciding with the 50 year anniversary of the establishment of the Lotte Group. The event featured a world-class fireworks display that was set off directly from the tower.



Click here for video coverage of the fireworks display:
Advanced Science Research Center Wins ACEC Platinum Award
LERA was awarded the Platinum Award in the Structural Systems category from the ACEC New York Engineering Excellence Awards for its design of the Advanced Science Research Center, a new "beacon on the hill" for CUNY's City College campus. Perched above the surrounding urban environment, the ASRC heralds a new era of science education and research for the university. Winners were recognized at an awards gala at the Hilton Midtown on April 1st.


The $700-million, 8-story, 200,000-sf ASRC features vibration-sensitive design and a 4-story, column-free atrium, the product of a series of facade setbacks, stacked floating roof slivers and a single, offset pipe column.

Learn more about the ASRC's innovative structural design on our project page .



Pictured (left to right): Bob Fitzgerald of Flad Architects; Elias Matar, Rick Zottola and Carrie Villani of LERA.
CUMC Wins Top Honors from AIA NY Design Awards, Among Other Awards and "Best Of" Lists
The American Institute of Architects New York (AIA NY) named Columbia University Medical Center's Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center its Best in Show for 2017, on top of giving it an Architecture Honor Award.

LERA led the structural design of the unconventional building, set to transform the way that medical education is taught at the graduate level. Learn more about the design on our project page .



The Vagelos Education Center also made its mark on a number of "Best of 2016" lists, including:

2050 M Street Wins 2017 MIPIM Future Projects Award
At the recent 2017 MIPIM conference in Cannes, France, the 16th AR MIPIM Future Projects Awards were announced, with 2050 M Street named Best Future Project in the Office category.


MassArt Design and Media Center Wins Multiple Awards
The MassArt Design and Media Center was recently awarded the 2016 Education Facilities Design Award by the Boston Society of Architects (BSA) and the 2017 American Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

LERA was the structural engineer for the renovation and adaptive reuse of this previously disused brick gymnasium into an iconic campus hub. Learn more on our project page .
National Library of Latvia Wins AIA/ALA Library Building Award
The National Library of Latvia was awarded the 2017 AIA/ALA Library Building Award by the American Institute of Architects and the American Library Association. LERA was the structural engineer for the uniquely shaped 600,000-sf building. Learn more on our project page .
Sara Delano Roosevelt House Featured in The New York Times
The New York Times recently profiled the history of 47-49 East 65th Street, the former home of Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt and the current home of Hunter College's Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute. Read the full article here .

LERA led the structural design of a full-scale renovation and restoration of the building, originally built in 1907. Learn more about it on our project page .
Capitol Crossing Profiled in Landscape Architecture Magazine
The February 2017 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine features an article on the history and development of Capitol Crossing, a new three-block-long platform and mixed-use development that will cover the gap over the I-395 freeway in downtown Washington, D.C. Read the full article here .

LERA is the structural engineer for the platform, a massive 1.2 million-sf multi-level structure. Learn more on our project page .
Natural History Museum of Utah Wins Lighting Design Award
Accolades continue to roll in for the Natural History Museum of Utah, which previously won AIA's Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture in 2014. The museum was recently given the 2016 Lighting Design Award by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). Learn more about NHMU's design on our project page .
LERA Published in Structure Magazine
Doug González, Associate Partner and Joseph Yamin, Associate published an article in STRUCTURE Magazine titled "Challenging Foundation Built in the Heart of New York City."

In it, they detail the structural challenges of building a new 830,000-sf state-of-the-art hospital facility in a dense urban site that includes below-ground Amtrak rail tunnels. Read the full article here . 

View in-progress images on our blog post .
ArchDaily Visits I.M. Pei's Museum of Islamic Art and Suzhou Museum
The writers behind ArchDaily's #donotsettle online video project recently visited the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar (top right), likening it to their previous experience of the Suzhou Museum in Suzhou, China (bottom right). LERA led the structural design of both buildings, designed by famed architect I.M. Pei.

Designs in Progress
LERA Active in Multiple Ongoing CUNY Projects
LERA is the structural engineer for a number of active projects for the City University of New York, including:

- Kingsborough Community College Performing Arts Center Renovation (pictured);
- Medgar Evers College Carroll Building;
- Lehman College Bookstore Relocation & Department of Social Work Expansion;
- Staten Island Center for Big Data Business Analytics;
- Macauley Honors College New Media Jobs Incubator;
- Brooklyn College Science and Resilience Institute;
- Queens College Outdoor Athletics Field & Science and Environmental Labs

SUNY Upstate Cord Blood Bank Opens in Syracuse, NY
SUNY Upstate's Cord Blood Bank, a new 20,000-sf state-of-the-art lab storage and research facility, has begun operations. The design, provided by architect Francis Cauffman with LERA as structural engineer, features a transparent glass wall around the perimeter.

Interior Construction Begins at Prince Tower as Construction of Lodha World One Towers Progresses
Interior construction has begun at Prince Tower, one of three towers that make up Lodha's World One Towers high-rise luxury residential complex. The tallest of the three towers is set to be the tallest residential building in the world upon completion. Learn more on our project page .
Oberoi Exquisite Towers Complete
Exquisite by Oberoi Realty, located in the Oberoi Garden City section of Mumbai, India, is now complete. The three high-rise towers that make up this luxury residential complex feature a full compliment of modern amenities, such as swimming pools, a running track, a skating rink and bamboo and landscaped gardens.

Exquisite by Oberoi Realty won the 2014 Construction Week India Awards High-Rise Project of the Year.

Learn more on our project page .
Temple University Library Begins Construction
Construction is underway for the new Temple University Library, set to revitalize Temple's North Philadelphia campus. LERA is the structural engineer of the 225,000-sf, state-of-the-art library, with architectural design provided by the Snøhetta/Stantec JV. Learn more on our project page .

New Solar Installations Power NYC Public Schools
LERA was the structural engineer for the recently completed installation of solar panels on the rooftops of seven existing school buildings in New York City for the New York Power Authority. The design and installation of the solar panels was provided by Standard Solar.

View more images on our project page .
Throwback Favorite: Morimoto Opens in NYC
For this issue's Throwback Favorite, we turn back the clock to January 2006, when acclaimed Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto opened his first restaurant in New York City. Located under the Highline and designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect, Tadao Ando, the 12,000-sf restaurant features a 1,500-sf kitchen, a sparkling sculptural wall made of 17,000 water bottles, a steel facade archway and the largest traditional Japanese noren curtain ever made at the time.

LERA was the structural engineer for the interior renovation, which heavily features architecturally exposed concrete in the columns and floating stairs. Learn more on our project page .
LERA Immerse Launches New Website and YouTube Channel
LERA Immerse, LERA's Virtual Reality consulting service that uses custom VR tools to enhance the design and coordination process, has launched a new website and YouTube channel.

Visit www.leraimmerse.com to learn more!
PEOPLE
2016 Promotions!
Several proud LERA staff were rewarded for their outstanding contributions in 2016 with a promotion.

Pictured (from left to right): Anthony Mea, IT Network Administrator, Associate; David Chang, Associate; Stephen Pfund, Associate; Aakash Badjatya, Associate

Not pictured: Mumbai Promotions: Anand Gaikwad, Associate; Deepesh Gupta, Associate; Sreeram (Jeevan) Charugalia, Associate; Anshul Jain, Senior Engineer; Karanpal Singh, Senior Engineer; Pravin Malgari, Senior Engineer. Shanghai Promotions: Li Ma, Associate.
Douglas González to Present at NCPTT Summit on April 20th
Douglas González, Associate Partner, in conjunction with Kristen Olson of Vertical Access, will present at the 3D Digital Documentation Summit on April 20th in New Orleans, LA. Doug's talk, titled "Combining Hands-On Inspection, Nondestructive Evaluation, and Drone-Based Data Acquisition in the Investigation of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Monument," will detail LERA's historic preservation techniques and approach.

Antonio Rodriguez Will Speak at Future of Design NYC on April 29th
On April 29th, Antonio Rodriguez, Senior Associate will be a featured speaker at IABSE's Future of Design NYC conference at the Manny Cantor Center in New York City. Antonio will speak about what he sees as the role of technology in the future of design, and will discuss the work being done by LERA Immerse, LERA's Virtual Reality consulting service.

LERA to Present at 2017 PTI Convention on May 2nd
At the 2017 PTI Convention in Atlanta, GA, Douglas González, Associate Partner and Michael Hopper, Associate will give a presentation on the complex engineering that went into the design and construction of the Novartis Radiation Oncology Research Office Building, a seemingly simple 5-story office building that utilizes extensive post-tensioning to achieve open-plan workspaces and 30-ft to 40-ft cantilevers at the perimeter and corners.

Benjamin Cornelius to Speak at Design Professional Roundtable on May 10th and DRI Construction Law Webinar on June 22nd
Benjamin Cornelius, Partner, will participate in Donovan Hatem LLP's Design Professional Roundtable on May 10th at the Boston Harbor Hotel in Boston, MA. The theme of the discussion will be "Good Neighbor Design Practices."

On June 22nd at 2:00pm EST, he will co-present a webinar with Kriton A. Pantelidis of Welby, Brady & Greenblatt LLP, titled " Risks of Property Line Construction for Design Professionals ," for the Defense Research Institute Construction Law Committee.
LERA Has 3 Abstracts Accepted to Kine[SiS]tem'17 Conference
LERA will feature heavily at the upcoming Kine[SiS]tem'17 - From Nature to Architectural Matter International Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, having had three separate abstracts accepted:

1)  " Virtual Reality as a Powerful Decision Making Tool "  will discuss the advantages of using VR in the design and coordination process;

2) " The Hidden Strength of Natural Patterns " will discuss structural systems derived from patterns in nature; and

3) " A Move Towards Transformable Architecture: Mechanisms for Adaptability " will discuss research into transformable architecture.

Benjamin Cornelius to Present at CASE Risk Management Seminar
Benjamin Cornelius, Partner was invited to present at the 2017 CASE Risk Management Seminar in Chicago, IL on August 4th. His talk, titled "Four Strategies Forensic Engineers Use to Unravel Construction Disputes," will use real and fictitious case studies to discuss key strategies to investigating and analyzing construction claims.


Alfonso Oliva Presents at The Center for Architecture
On April 4th at The Center for Architecture in New York City, Alfonso Oliva, Associate & Director of LERA+, LERA's in-house research and development group, presented on his computational design work and his investigations into the links between creativity, knowledge and technology, for which he conducted a series of interviews with creative individuals and professionals from ages 5 to 75.

Richard Garlock Presents at NASCC: The Steel Conference
On March 24th, Richard Garlock, Associate Partner was a featured speaker at NASCC: The Steel Conference in San Antonio, TX. In his presentation, titled "World Trade Center | Tower 4: Cultivating the Design Solution," Rich discussed the structural complexities of the design of 4 World Trade Center , winner of the 2017 AISC IDEAS2 Presidential Award for Excellence in Engineering.

Rich was also there to accept the award on behalf of the design team. An official award ceremony will be held at 4 World Trade Center in New York City. Stay tuned to our social media channels for more information!
Carrie (fourth from right) with her fellow award winners.
Carrie Villani Honored as a Pioneering Woman in Real Estate
On March 8th, Sokol Media named Carrie Villani, Director of Marketing one of twelve Pioneering Women in Real Estate during their 16th Annual Awards Gala held at Club 101 in New York City. The awards program acknowledges individuals and firms who support and exemplify progress for women in the Real Estate industry. Read more about it on our blog post .

Carrie was also named to the board of Construction Real Estate Women (CREW) New York for 2017 as Communications/PR Chair.
SawTeen See Lectures at Stanford University
On February 14th, SawTeen See, Managing Partner was invited to lecture to students in the structural engineering graduate program at Stanford University.

In her lecture, titled "Innovative and Robust Tall Buildings," SawTeen discussed the complex structural engineering that went into the designs of the Shanghai World Financial Center in Shanghai, China; Lotte World Tower in Seoul, South Korea; and Merdeka PNB118 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
SawTeen speaking on the panel at CTBUH's 2016 International Conference in Shenzhen, China.
Jason Stone (middle) presents alongside David Wallance of FXFowle (right) and Jamy Bacchus of ME Engineers (left).
Jason Stone Presents at CTBUH Future of Construction Lecture Series
On January 19th, Jason Stone, Associate presented and was part of the panel at " Moving Parts: Modular Architecture in a Flat World ," an installment of CTBUH's Future of Construction Lecture Series. The event was hosted by the AKDO Showroom in Manhattan.

Part of a larger dialogue about modular design -- a mode of design based on the use of identical, affordable and easily fabricated building units -- Jason's presentation focused on the structural aspect of such buildings through the dissection of various design and research projects.
PRESENCE
LERA Sponsors 2017 IABSE Future of Design Conference
LERA is sponsoring the IABSE Future of Design NYC conference on April 29th at the Manny Cantor Center in New York City. This is the first time IABSE's flagship conference will be held in New York City.

LERA's Antonio Rodriguez, who leads the Virtual Reality efforts of LERA Immerse, will be a featured speaker.
LERA Sponsors CTBUH 2017 Annual Conference
LERA is proud to sponsor Connecting the City: People, Density & Infrastructure , CTBUH's annual conference being held in Sydney, Australia.
Meet LERA at the Healthcare Design Expo & Conference
LERA will be attending the annual Healthcare Design Expo & Conference on November 11 in Orlando, FL. Be sure to say hello if you'd like to discuss our current and future work in healthcare facility design .

PURPOSE
LERA Recognized in International Canstruction Competition
LERA's entry for the 2016 Canstruction Competition, "Hungry Like the Wolf," was awarded 1st Runner-Up for the Founder's Award in the Canstruction International Citywide Competition!


LERA Mumbai Competes in Engineering Cricket League
LERA's Mumbai office took part in this year's Engineer's Premier League, a competitive cricket league composed of teams from different engineering firms. Although they didn't take home the title, they sure had a cracking good time!

LERA New York Celebrates the Chinese New Year
Staff from LERA's New York office came together for the Chinese New Year to mark the Year of the Rooster with dinner at Auntie Guan's Kitchen in Manhattan, which featured a delicious selection of traditional Chinese dishes. 
LERA Mumbai Diwali & Holi Celebrations
Friends, family and colleagues of LERA's Mumbai office joined in this year's Diwali and Holi holiday celebrations. For Diwali, LERA hosted an event filled with great food and plenty of dancing; and for Holi, LERA's engineers and staff joined in the public festivities, which involve covering each other in an array of vibrant colors!

ENGAGEMENTS + HONORS + ACTIVITIES
Ksenia Tretiakova, Senior Design Engineer was featured in The NAWIC IMAGE's " Faces of the Industry " for their December-January issue.

Jason Stone, Senior Associate presented on modular architecture at the CTBUH Future of Construction Lecture Series on January 19th.

SawTeen See, Managing Partner was invited to lecture at Stanford University on February 14th.

On February 17th, Carrie Villani, Director of Marketing spoke on the panel for SMPS-NY's " Are You Stressed Because Your Proposal is a Mess? "

Carrie Villani, Director of Marketing was honored as a Pioneering Woman in Real Estate by Sokol Media on March 8th.

Richard Garlock, Associate Partner presented at NASCC: The Steel Conference on March 24th.

Alfonso Oliva, Associate presented " Algorithms: Exploring Creativity, Knowledge and Technology " at the Center for Architecture on April 4th.

Antonio Rodriguez, Senior Associate will speak at IABSE Future of Design NYC on April 29th.


Elizabeth Moss, Historic Preservation Specialist is on the panel of judges for the D+D Elevation Awards , open to entries until May 1st.

Carrie Villani, Director of Marketing will be part of FXFowle's team for AIDS Walk New York on May 21st.

On May 25th, Benjamin Cornelius, Partner, will co-present a webinar titled " Risks of Property Line Construction for Design Professionals " for the DRI Construction Law Committee.

Antonio Rodriguez, Senior Associate will be presenting a paper titled "The Power of Virtual Reality as a Decision Making Tool" at the  Kine[SIS]tem'17 Conference in Lisbon, Portugal on June 19th-20th.

Benjamin Cornelius, Partner, will present " Four Strategies Forensic Engineers Use to Unravel Construction Disputes " at the CASE Risk Management Seminar in Chicago, IL on August 4th.

LERA is sponsoring the IABSE Future of Design NYC conference on April 29th and the 2017 CTBUH Annual Conference on October 30th.
Leslie E. Robertson Associates 
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