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MarchApril 2008 Spotlight: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. 50 Years and Counting  New York State Capitol roof scaling - Photo courtesy of SGH Today, SGH has five offices nationwide, employs more than 350 staff, and works with the nation’s top building design firms and developers. SGH often seeks out the more challenging or interesting projects to keep its staff motivated. For example, the firm has influenced the design or restoration of many recognizable structures, including Spaceship Earth, the 160-foot-diameter geodesic sphere at the entrance of Epcot Center; New York’s Grand Central Terminal; and the Hultman Aqueduct in Massachusetts. Further, masonry design (construction and reconstruction) always has been a major part of the SGH’s project portfolio.  Brent Gabby “The ability to design and investigate masonry structures is fully integrated throughout our services and areas of practice,” Gabby said. “In addition, several members of our staff specialize in masonry and have developed extensive expertise in this area.” What makes the firm unique, Gabby said, is the integration of the SGH staffs’ skill sets, knowledge, and the firm’s services across all of its projects. “Our experience in building envelope engineering extends to materials, sealants, masonry and stone, glass and metals; roofing, wall systems, and below-grade waterproofing; and building systems interaction and integration to achieve optimal performance,” Gabby said. “Our knowledge of waterproofing design, air infiltration, and thermal and moisture drive allows us to develop high-functioning designs that address the interaction of building envelope and structure to deal with a variety of conditions.”  SGH Staff - Photo courtesy of SGH The Milwaukee City Hall rehabilitation project is one of the larger projects the firm is working on currently. For this $70-million project, SGH is replacing lost architectural terra cotta pieces; replacing much of the 1890s-era, original brick; and rehabbing the slate roofs and copper spires. “We started the project in 2003, and we will likely go through 2008-2009 before it is completed,” Gabby said.  Milwaukee’s City Hall tower - Photo courtesy of SGH Engberg Anderson, the Milwaukee-based architectural firm of record for the City Hall project says that: “Architecturally, Milwaukee’s City Hall is a unique representation of late Gilded Age Revival architecture, and the only American city hall to be constructed in the Flemish Renaissance style. It remains one of the largest city halls in the country.” Finding masonry materials for such rehab projects is an interesting issue, Gabby said. By comparison, brick can be easier to find and replace because there are many more sources of the materials – those companies that still may be in business and those manufacturers who can make replacement bricks. Natural stone is a different issue altogether, he said. “For instance, we restored a couple of towers at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine,” Gabby said. “It was a pre-Civil War chapel that has two, 120-foot granite towers that were falling apart. We knew that we had to find replacement granite.” Clearly, SGH is willing to go that extra mile (even when it doesn’t necessarily have to) to complete its projects and satisfy its clients. To that end, the firm constantly is researching and investing in technology to benefit its work in designing masonry structures. “When dealing with masonry structures, one highly beneficial new development is hygro-thermal modeling,” Gabby said. “This modeling technique allows us to better understand – and communicate to our client – how a masonry wall ‘breaths’ as vapor and moisture move through the wall system.” These computer modeling programs, he said, allow engineers to model how a wall will behave given certain scenarios of warm, humid inside air and cold, dry outside conditions. Such modeling programs have been around for about seven to 10 years. “They allow designers to build a better mousetrap,” Gabby said, “and if a building envelope actually fails, to understand how it failed.”  Bowdoin Chapel, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine - Photo courtesy of SGH By staying on top of change itself, as well as embracing technology, influencing construction guidelines and completing high-profile projects, SGH and its current group of employee/owners (about 80 shareholders) has upheld the goals of its founders, while growing the firm and earning numerous industry accolades and awards. To say that SGH has another 50 years of impressive growth ahead would not be an understatement. MD To have our Spotlight shine on your firm, please contact the editor, Cory Sekine-Pettite at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please include the word “spotlight” in the subject line. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites  |
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