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Fall Forum 2019
The Structural Engineers Foundation of Washington hosted its 9th successful Fall Forum on Nov. 6 at Benaroya Hall. “Trends in Worldwide Urban Growth: How Washington Stacks Up” was given by Antony Wood, CEO of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. About 250 people attended the lecture, including architects, engineers, contractors, university students, and even young children! The SEFW mission is to promote the profession of structural engineering to all audiences, especially the general public, and the Forum perfectly presented statistics, challenges, and thoughtful concepts so everyone learned something. Antony was engaging and often humorous, offering information about Washington state that was unique, thought-provoking, and even downright fun.
The pre-function networking reception recognized the 37 corporate donors and allowed sponsors and guests to meet Antony Wood and the other SEFW organizers.
The audience of 250+ included architects, engineers, university students, and even younger children and families.
SEFW Director Cary Kopczynski introduced Antony Wood at the start of the Forum.
Speaker Antony Wood gave an insightful presentation on worldwide growth, including commentary on Washington cities and communities.
SEFW Chair Tom Corcoran welcomes the audience to the 9th Annual Fall Forum.
In regards to worldwide growth, Antony discussed trends, drivers, and challenges. He identified that tall buildings are getting taller, can be found in more locations around the world, are being built with more diverse functions (i.e., they are no longer just commercial office towers), and more. A few decades ago if you would have predicted the tallest building, you would have said it would be a steel office building in the United States. Now, we know that isn’t the case – it will be a composite, mixed-use building, probably in the Middle East or Asia.
Antony said more than 1 million people are urbanizing every week worldwide, and they need homes in the city. He cited a Seattle Times article that said Seattle is the #1 city for growth in this decade, at 18.7%, which is higher than any of the largest 50 U.S. cities.
One of the biggest challenges in urbanization is that the infrastructure in cities cannot support the growth that is happening. In order for cities to be successful, all of the things that need to be in place to support residents and businesses (think doctor’s offices, school, government services) need to go UP into towers as well.
Antony rattled off all of the big companies in the Seattle area – Starbucks, Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon – and said the city truly should be about 6 times its current size. Some of the more interesting parts of the lecture were where he analyzed the number of local tall buildings and projects on the books and identified unique conclusions about our growth climate. Per CTBUH research, Seattle is the 4th highest in tall building construction, even higher than Chicago! Only New York City and Miami have more tall buildings built in the last several years. What does this mean for our area? Antony believes it means Seattle is a hub of innovation.
One other interesting commentary concerned architecture. Antony is a professor of architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and he said that he truly feels like 95% of all architecture in tall buildings are badly designed. Why? A successful tall building does more than just be tall or look impressive, it incorporates function and takes on a responsibility beyond just the building itself. These successful towers do things like incorporate vertical gardens, use tall timber, or creatively utilize the roof space.
The lecture was video recorded and will be available at www.sefw.org and www.vimeo.com/sefw in just a few weeks. Anyone who missed the event is welcome to watch to learn more about worldwide urbanization, growth in Washington, and CTBUH.
About our speaker:
Antony Wood, RIBA, PhD, has been Chief Executive Officer of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat since 2006. Prior to this, he was CTBUH Vice-Chairman for Europe and Head of Research. His tenure has seen a revitalization of CTBUH and an increase in output and initiatives across all areas.
Based at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Antony is also a Research Professor in the College of Architecture and a visiting professor of tall buildings at Tongji University Shanghai. Prior to joining the Council and IIT, Antony was an Associate Professor/Lecturer in Architecture at the University of Nottingham in the UK, where he was an active member of various research teams.
Prior to becoming an academic, Antony worked as an architect in practice in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and the UK. It was during this time that he developed his passion for tall buildings.
He currently resides in Oak Park, Illinois, with his wife and two children.
About our supporters:
THANK YOU to the current sponsors for the 2019 Fall Forum:
PLATINUM
Contech Solutions
PCS Structural Solutions
GOLD
Cary Kopczynski & Company
DCI Engineers
Integrus Architecture
Magnusson Klemencic Associates
Seattle Structural
SILVER
Coffman Engineers
CT Engineering
Degenkolb
DLR Group
GLY Construction
KPFF Consulting Engineers
Lane Powell
Malsam Tsang Structural Engineering
Miles Sand and Gravel
Quantum Consulting Engineers
Shannon & Wilson
Swenson Say Faget
Verco Decking
WSP
BRONZE
Brown & Caldwell
BTL Engineering
CG Engineering
Cornerstone General Contractors
Coughlin Porter Lundeen
DEWALT
Douglas Engineering
Flyhomes
Howard S. Wright | a Balfour Beatty company
Lund Opsahl
Mark & Linda D'Amato
Mayes Testing / Terracon
MLA Engineering
SidePlate Systems
Simpson Strong-tie
Ted & Barb Smith
Thornton Tomasetti
Wetherholt and Associates
COOPERATING ORGANIZATIONS
American Council of Engineering Companies of Washington
American Institute of Architects, Seattle Chapter
American Institute of Architects, Southwest Chapter
ASCE Seattle Section
Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
Northwest Concrete & Masonry Association
Puget Sound Engineers Council
Seattle Architecture Foundation
University of Washington Department of Architecture
University of Washington Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Washington Aggregates & Concrete Association
Washington Association of Building Officials
Washington STEM
FRIENDS OF THE FOUNDATION
Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute
Northwest Concrete & Masonry Association
Cale Ash
Chris Bernards
Arne Carson
Mike Dunn
David Goodyear
Charlie Griffes
Dick Hemmen
Craig Keller
Joyce Lem
Claudia Maggiani
Marga Rose Hancock
Greg Schindler
John Tawresey
Tom Xia