Structural innovator calls on industry leaders to create a funding collective for public-domain research to speed advancement in the built environment

The steel sector is so excited about structural engineer Ron Klemencic’s composite steel superstructure, expected to speed office tower construction, that at least three steel fabricators are studying it, many months before erection is set to begin on Seattle’s 850-ft-tall “proof of concept.”

Structural engineer Ron Klemencic remembers May 2, 2011, as the “most devastating day” of his career.

Second-gen megabuilder engineered Chesapeake Bay, Bosphorus tubes

After decades of reports about stagnant or slipping construction productivity, a new U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics study, “Measuring Productivity Growth in Construction,” shows gains in several construction sectors. 

Paul Matt, 85, who died on June 30, had a 65-year career building more than 450 structures, including Southern California icons such as the Skirball Cultural Center, The Broad, the Petersen Automotive Museum, the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Beverly Hills and the Wilshire Boulevard Temple restoration.