Foundations Engineering Expert Abe Gutman Dies Suddenly at 73

Abraham “Abe” Gutman, 73, an internationally recognized structural engineer and concrete foundations expert whose projects included New York City’s 6-million-sq-ft

Gutman

World Financial Center and foundations for the 3.3-million-sq-ft Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, and who also was senior vice president and a 45-year veteran of design firm Thornton-Tomasetti, died suddenly on April 9 of an undisclosed cause.

Gutman was one of the firm’s first principals and was named a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers.He was actively involved in structural integrity inspections and analyses of World Trade Center subgrade levels following the 9/11 attack in 2001.

Nadine M. Post, ENR's former editor-at-large for buildings, is an award-winning journalist with 45 years of experience covering trends, issues, innovations, controversies and challenging projects. Post has written about many industry giants, including 10 ENR Award of Excellence winners. And she has covered disasters, failures and attacks, including the 1993 bombing and the 2001 destruction of the World Trade Center. Project stories include the redevelopment of the World Trade Center; the 828-meter-tall Burj Khalifa; Los Angeles’ Disney Concert Hall; and Seattle's Bullitt Center and Rainier Square Tower. In 1985, Post wrote McGraw-Hill's book Restoring the Statue of Liberty (1986) for the restoration’s architects—Richard S. Hayden and Thierry W. Despont.

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