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State Leadership
President Heather Kline (SP)
Vice President Jared Plank (SW)
Treasurer Owen Kohashi (SE)
Secretary Jessica Jenness (SE)
Past President Tyler Winkley (SE)
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Trustees
Emily Sackmann (SP)
Evan Olszko (SW)
Heather Kline (SP)
Matt Leslie (SC)
Jared Plank (SW)
Jessica Jenness (SE)
Owen Kohashi (SE)
Patrick Lindblom (SE)
Teresa Krell (SC)
| | June 26th Seattle Chapter Social | | Register for the SEA Northwest Conference Today! | | |
Author: Brian Parsons, Planning Committee Chair
Registration is open for the 2025 SEA Northwest Conference! We look forward to seeing you all in Spokane! Please see the links below for registration and hotel information. We are also excited to announce that CSi, Inc., will be hosting an unforgettable social event after the conference on Thursday evening that you won’t want to miss! More information to come soon.
The NW Conference is also accepting applications for sponsorships and exhibitors. Please contact Matt Hoit at matt@hoitengineering.com for further information.
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SEAW, ASCE Learn More of
Seattle Waterfront Program
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Author: Patrick Lindblom, Seattle
On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, the Seattle Chapter of SEAW and the ASCE Seattle Section got together at Ivars Acres of Clams at Pier 54 to mingle and share our interest in the built environment. It was a fitting location to enjoy each other’s company as well as learn about the decade-long effort to reinvigorate the Seattle Waterfront.
Jessica Murphy from Seattle’s Department of Transportation (SDOT) and Construction Manager for the Waterfront Seattle Program gave a long-term history of the Seattle Waterfront. Tracing back to the rail cars and shipping industry that originally utilized the waterfront, through the Nisqually Earthquake’s spurring on the demolition of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, her presentation ultimately gave in-depth examination of the crowning feature of the Waterfront Project – the Overlook Walk.
Dozens of new features are included in the Seattle Waterfront Program, including the Seawall Rebuild, the Pier 58 Waterfront Park, the Marion Street Bridge, and the Colman Dock Rebuild, but the most inviting element is the Overlook Walk. The Overlook Walk is an incredible public space that connects Pike Place Market with the waterfront and creates a welcoming outdoor space as well as housing the new Seattle Aquarium facility. The design and construction of this amazing structure was complicated from the outset by having multiple stakeholders, and users, and general contractors all working around, on top of, and feet from adjacent neighbors as well as over top of the heavily trafficked Alaskan Way. It was fascinating to hear how the varying entities worked in concert with each other to bring this bridge to life.
We have invested heavily in the Seattle Waterfront; with the Highway 99 Tunnel, the Elliott Bay Seawall, and now with the completion of the Overlook Walk, the Waterfront is beckoning for people to come down from the high rises downtown and enjoy one of the key features of our beautiful city.
| | Jessica Murphy of SDOT presents on the Seattle Waterfront Program to SEAW and ASCE. Photo by Romulos Ragudos. | | Aerial photo of the new Overlook Walk in Seattle. Photo courtesy Jessica Murphy. | | |
Recognizing 75 Years of
SEAW Wind Engineering Committee Work
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Author: Scott Douglas, SEAW Seattle Chapter Past President
Through the end of 2025, in celebration of SEAW 75th Anniversary, the Equilibrium is featuring articles on SEAW’s history, including our SEAW committees and their significant contributions to SEAW and our profession. Last month’s article featured the accomplishments of the SEAW Snow Load Committee, now part of the SEAW General Code Requirements Committee (GCRC). This month the featured committee is the SEAW Wind Engineering Committee (WEC).
The SEAW WEC was originally part of the SEAW Lateral Forces Committee, with John Hooper as Chair. Two groups comprised the Lateral Forces Committee: the Earthquake Engineering Group, now the Earthquake Engineering Committee (EEC) and the Wind Engineering Group, now the Wind Engineering Committee (WEC). Jerry Barbera was Chair of the SEAW Wind Engineering Group.
In the late 1980s the SEAW Wind Engineering Group recognized a genuine need for a publication that would advance the knowledge of wind engineering concepts, enabling professionals to better understand the theory and background behind the development of wind codes, and thereby providing a means to reduce losses resulting from wind damage. At that time the Uniform Building Code (UBC) was the governing code most of the states west of the Mississippi River, including Washington State. The internet did not exist, and very few if any publications were available to provide guidance and understanding for the proper application of wind loads.
In 1991, the SEAW Wind Engineering Group published the Wind Commentary to the Uniform Building Code, 1991 Edition. Authors included Jerry Barberra, Howard Burton, Garry Frederick, Ed Huston, Ed Lebert, John Loscheider, Bill Mooseker, Dorothy Reed, Don Scott, Tony Tschanz, and Greg Varney. Thirteen chapters provided commentary to the wind sections of the 1991 UBC, and four chapters covered other related topics such as hurricanes, tornadoes, drift, wind tunnels, and non-building structures. The publication also included thirteen illustrated example problems.
Hurricanes Andrew, Iniki and Omar helped prompt the publication of a second edition of the Commentary, the Wind Commentary to the Uniform Building Code, 1994 Edition. Chun Lau joined the majority of the first edition authors to write the second edition. After publication of the first 1991 Edition Commentary the authors received many wind engineering questions. This prompted an additional chapter in the 1994 Commentary, Interpretations Concerning Wind Forces on Unusual Building Structures.
| | Various covers of wind commentary documents throughout the 75-year SEAW history | | |
With the merging of the UBC and the two other model building codes into the 2000 International Building Code (IBC), the third (2004) edition of the SEAW Commentary on Wind Code Provisions was prepared. Authors were Don Scott, Jerry Barbera, Asili Ahmad, Scott Beard, Ed Huston, Ed Lebert, John Loscheider, Bill Mooseker, and Tony Tschanz. The third edition was published in two volumes as SEAW/ATC-60 by the Applied Technology Council. Volume 1 contained the main body of the commentary, which included discussion of the UBC wind load criteria that was still mandated by numerous AHJs, and the wind provisions of the 2003 IBC incorporating the majority of the ASCE/SEI 7-02 Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures wind load procedures. Volume 2 contained eight example problems using the IBC and ASCE/SEI 7 wind load provisions.
In conjunction with the third edition of the 2004 Commentary SEAW published SEAW’s Handbook of a Rapid-Solutions Methodology (RSM) for Wind Design. This publication presented a simplified procedure for common structures to the more involved and time-consuming IBC and ASCE/SEI 7 Analytical Method.
The SEAW WEC has also produced three White Papers which can be found on our SEAW Website Codes/White Papers — SEAW. The recommendations in White Paper WEC #3-2025, Special Wind Regions in Washington State, have been submitted for adoption as an amendment to the 2024 Washington State Building Code and ASCE 7-28.
Once again, as we review the 75-year history of SEAW, we hope to emphasize that SEAW has always been at the forefront in the advancement of our profession. Throughout our 75 years SEAW has consistently made a difference. We are more than justified to celebrate our 75th Anniversary!
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Review Code Changes to I-Codes,
Snow Codes and Guard Loadings
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Author: Scott Douglas, GCRC
The SEAW General Code Requirements Committee (GCRC) held its third meeting April 8th. The following items were discussed at the meeting:
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SBCC & IBC - SBCC Proposals for the 2024 IRC will open April 12th and close June 16th. For 2027 IBC proposals the Group B Committee Action Hearing will be in Orlando from April 27 to March 06. Proposed changes to the Group B I-Codes can be found at: IBC-Structural Committee Action Hearings (CAH #1)
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Washington State Snow Loads – The Committee continues to review the ASCE 7-22 snow load criteria and determine if any wordsmithing to align with the SBCC 2024 Snow Load proposal is warranted. A shout out to Ed Huston and Terry Lundeen for providing a copy of the FEMA/SEAW Report on An Analysis of Building Structural Failures Due to the Holiday Snow Storms – Dec. 1966–Jan. 1977 – Washington State. A GCRC Google Drive folder is being created for access to this report and other GCRC Committee materials.
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Guard Loadings – A code change proposal to address the issue of guard loadings in crowded areas has been submitted for the 2027 IBC as code change proposal S74-25 (IBC-Structural Committee Action Hearings (CAH #1) . For ASCE 7-28 Richard Green and Scott Douglas will be meeting with the Subcommittee on Dead and Live Loads to discuss this code change proposal.
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Participation – All SEAW members, whatever their experience, are encouraged to become members of the SEAW GCRC. Please contact either of the GCRC co-chairs, Scott Douglas sdouglasscott@gmail.com, or Herb Ahten hahten@vercodeck.com to join and receive additional information and announcements on Committee activities and actions.
Next Meetings
Tuesday May 6th from 12:00PM to 1:00PM
Meeting will be virtual via the following Zoom link here
Meeting ID: 891 3707 1395 Passcode: 276907
Tuesday June 10th from 12:00PM to 1:00PM
Meeting will be virtual via he following Zoom link here
Meeting ID: 889 2022 6869 Passcode: 265262
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| PE Structural Depth Examination Changes | | |
Author: Evan Jordan, SEAW
On April 28th, the Washington State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (BRPELS) published a memo released by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). The memo described that beginning for the Spring of 2026, the total time for the Vertical Depth and Lateral Depth sections for the Principles and Practices of Structural Engineering (SE) Exam will be increased by 60 minutes.
The memo did not describe any additional changes regarding price, content, or the distribution of the additional time between the computer-based-testing (CBT) tutorial, break, or examination time.
The full memo published by BRPELS can be found at the following link.
SEAW’s State Board of Directors has been actively working with BRPELS and other SEAs to support improvements to the PE Structural Exam since the switch to CBT. The Board will continue to provide updates to our community as we are able.
| | Celebrate 75 Years of SEAW! | | |
SEAW General Codes Requirements Committee Meeting via ZOOM
May 6th, 2025 | 12:00PM - 1:00PM
Disaster Prep/Response Committee Meeting via ZOOM
May 20th, 2025 | 12:00PM - 1:00PM
SEAW Spokane May Social
May 22nd, 2025 | 4:00PM - 6:00PM
SEAW SW Summer Social at the Rainiers at Cheney Stadium, Tacoma
May 28th, 2025 | 5:05PM - 7:05PM
SEAW General Codes Requirements Committee Meeting via ZOOM
June 10th, 2025 | 12:00PM - 1:00PM
SEAW Seattle June Social at Eventide Lake Union, Seattle
June 26th, 2025 | 5:00PM - 8:00PM
19WCSI at University of California, Berkeley
September 15th - 19th, 2025
SEA Northwest Conference / SEAW 75th Anniversary Celebration at DoubleTree by Hilton, Spokane
September 25th - 26th, 2025
SEAW 75th Anniversary Evening Event, Museum of Flight, Seattle
October 23rd, 2025
| For additional SEAW event dates and information, visit SEAW Calendar Online. |
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Venkat Ashrith Jutoor Radhakrishna Setty
MKA
Member PE – Seattle Chapter
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| | Please consider making a line-item donation to SEFW as part of your dues renewal. Special designation can be placed on the donation, so it can be applied to scholarships, disaster preparedness or research opportunities. SEFW fulfills its mission with the assistance of donations from individuals and corporations. More information on SEFW and its mission to promote structural engineering can be found at www.sefw.org. Thank you for your support! | | | | |
