Brendan Daly – Coordinated Business Systems
Tom Ditty – Superior Consulting Services
Meghan Elliott – Preservation Design Works
Luke Frederickson – High Point Networks
Stephen Glasper – Brookside Barbers
Ellen Haberman – Brookside Barbers
Michelle Kidder – Pro Staff
Krysta Larson
Jack Montgomery
Dallas Oldre – Associated Financial Group
Irene Peterson
Ray Rogers – Lyon’s Pub
Julie Sager – CES Imaging
Grant Strom – Managed Design
Matt Thomas

House of Hope is a Gothic structure originally designed in 1914 by Ralph Adams Cram. Repair of the church’s bell tower, which had been damaged by water infiltration, involved deconstruction of its decorative structures and
the use of supplementary reinforced concrete walls and columns to provide lateral support for more than 1300 stone pieces. Harnett was the structural engineer on the project.

The Washburn Crosby Elevator No. 1 project consisted of extensive stabilization of the elevator and replacement of the bin roof with precast concrete panels. The original structure was built in 1906-1908 by Haglin-Stahr
Company of Minneapolis, using a patented slip-form method to construct its 15 reinforced elevator bins. The No. 1 Elevator is now part of the Mill City Museum and owned by the Minnesota Historical Society.

Brian is a highly skilled structural engineer and project manager, whose approach is to streamline design and construction through the use of strong delivery platforms such as building information modeling (BIM). Having begun his career working for a general contractor, he is an exceptional construction administration phase engineer, who places strong emphasis on constructability. Brian leads the Phoenix office mining team, including management of the firm’s ongoing work with BHP Pinto Valley Copper Mine in Arizona, as well as other projects.

As marketing director, Joan works with all of the firm’s offices, touching every aspect of marketing and communication. She manages project and client information systems, brand integrity, and web presence, while using her writing and design skills to effectively inform and educate others about our business.

Associates are a vital part of our leadership team, representing our culture and values and demonstrating excellent technical and management capabilities.

John grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, graduating from Marshall High School in 1941. In the fall of that year, he enrolled in the Institute of Technology at the University of Minnesota. His education was interrupted by military service between 1943 and 1946, but when he returned to civilian life, he resumed his education and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1947 with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering.

In 1955, John started his own firm. Partners Jack Borgman and Rollie Johnson subsequently joined him to form our present company, Meyer Borgman Johnson. John’s enthusiasm for structural engineering and the building industry, in general, was infectious. He knew people as well as he knew his craft and mentored many a young structural engineer or architect, bringing insight and clarity to the challenges of building design and project management.

During his career, John served as president of ASCE in Minnesota, president of the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers, officer of the Minnesota Association of Consulting Engineers (now ACEC/MN), president of the University of Minnesota Institute of Technology Alumni Society, and was a member of various building code committees.

John was the structural engineer of record for many notable projects in the Twin Cities area. His passion for restoration and adaptive reuse of historic structures led him to contribute immensely to the preservation of some of Minnesota’s most important landmarks. With his knowledge of historical structural practices and materials and his skill as a structural engineer, John helped reclaim many historically significant structures for the continued use and enjoyment of future generations. In 2008, he was recognized for these contributions by the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

A few of John’s landmark projects, both historic and new, include the Minnesota State Capitol, Landmark Center in St. Paul, Minneapolis City Hall, Fort Snelling Commandant’s House and Officers’ Quarters, the St. Paul World Trade Center, Loring Green Towers, and multiple projects at the University of Minnesota. The list is incredibly long!

Long after his “retirement” at age 80, John continued to show up regularly for work, taking on projects and mentoring staff. Anyone who worked on Saturdays eagerly waited for John to arrive with the donuts.

Although he accomplished so much in his lifetime, when praised for his many achievements, John was humble, self-effacing, and always eager to deflect the focus onto the contributions of others. He was a strong leader in the sense that he quite naturally elicited the cooperation of everyone with whom he worked.

We remember his youthful enthusiasm and energy at work and play. His memory continues to inspire us as professionals and, also, personally. Words cannot express how sorely we will miss John.

Related News:
Hartnett Presents at Wood Conference
Preserving Historic Minnesota

Biomimicry is the observation and imitation of mechanics in nature put to use in the world of human design. Doss-Smith will consider natural mechanisms, such as the tension of spider webs, spore dispersal of the Horsetail Fern, and color adaptation in the shell of the Hercules Beetle as providing possible solutions to controlling humidity in vacant historic structures.

The Association for Preservation Technology International is a cross-disciplinary, membership organization dedicated to promoting the best technology for conserving historic structures and their settings. APT members, who hail from more than 30 countries, include preservationists, architects, engineers, conservators, consultants, contractors, craftspersons, curators, developers, educators, historians, landscape architects, students, technicians, and other persons directly involved in the application of methods and materials to maintain, conserve, and protect historic structures and sites for future use and appreciation.

Doss-Smith is a structural technician in Meyer Borgman Johnson’s Minneapolis office. As a LEED accredited professional, he is a champion of sustainable design and practices in relation to both preservation and new structures.

Read an abstract of the presentation here.

Elliott promotes the advancement of preservation culture on several fronts. She is redevelopment co-chair of the historic 1883 National Purity Soap Factory for use as an art gallery. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Project for Pride in Living (PPL), a non-profit housing developer with an extensive track record of building rehabilitation. As an adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota College of Design, she teaches historic building conservation in the School of Architecture to graduate and upper level undergraduate students. From 2008-2011, Elliott served on the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC), where she regularly interpreted and applied the Secretary of Interior Standards to buildings in the historic warehouse district and throughout Minneapolis. She is also a member of the Management Committee of the Construction History Society of America, a national organization dedicated to the study of the history and evolution of all aspects of the built environment.

Read her article Square Buildings and Round Bars: C.A.P. Turner and the Minneapolis Warehouse District in Construction History Society of America newsletter, Issue 13, October 2010.

Read an abstract of her presentation Testing the Limits: Long-Term Deflection of the C.A.P. Turner Flat-Slab Floor to the Construction History Society of America, 2009. Please, e-mail melliott@mbjeng.com to read the full paper.

Meghan’s paper, entitled “Construction History–C.A.P. Turner and the Minneapolis Warehouse District,” will focus on the structural design philosophy and innovations of American engineer C.A.P. Turner (1869-1955), specifically, his “mushroom” system. Included in her talk will be examples that demonstrate advantages and uses of Turner’s system, as well as causes for failure and methods of retrofitting buildings constructed using the system. She will, also, discuss the importance of construction history as a field of study, giving examples from the Minneapolis Warehouse District.

Meghan is an associate, structural engineer, and leader of the preservation engineering group at Meyer Borgman Johnson.

APT Charleston 2012 is the 44th annual convention hosted by APT, a cross-disciplinary, membership organization dedicated to promoting the best technology for conserving historic structures and their settings. APT members, who hail from more than 30 countries, include preservationists, architects, engineers, conservators, consultants, contractors, crafts persons, curators, developers, educators, historians, landscape architects, students, technicians, and other persons directly involved in the application of methods and materials to maintain, conserve, and protect historic structures and sites for future use and appreciation. Attendees can register at www.aptconference.org. Best rates are available prior to August 6.