AIA Award Winners 2014

November 19, 2014 – We congratulate our architectural team members on receiving honor awards from AIA Minnesota: Snow Kreilich Architects for Brunsfield North Loop Apartments and Lake Minnetonka Retreat Home, and HGA Architects and Engineers for Northrop Auditorium Renovation at the University of Minnesota. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve as structural engineer of record on all three projects.

National Treasure

October 23, 2014 – Mid-century Modern buildings in the Petrified Forest National Park, whose structural restoration is being aided by MBJ engineers, were recently designated a national treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. To preserve these iconic structures, MBJ’s engineers are designing structural remedial solutions for foundations, masonry load-bearing walls, and slab-on-grade structures. Originally designed by architects Richard Neutra and Robert Alexander, these buildings express the architectural aesthetic of an age when National Park tourism was at an all time high. Read about the history of these buildings here.

Dan Murphy ICRI Presenter

September 25, 2014 – MBJ Principal Daniel Murphy, P.E., was a presenter at the International Concrete Repair Institute (Minnesota) Fall Technical Session, September 25, 2014, speaking on the topic of “Cold Weather and Concrete.” His presentation covered the challenges of placing concrete during the winter months, temperature effects on cure time and elasticity, and special cold climate considerations such as temperature fluctuation and salt corrosion. For more information, contact Dan at dmurphy@mbjeng.com.

Preservation Conference Mexico

September 24, 2014 – Kevin Vazquez and Elizabeth Manning, members of MBJ’s preservation engineering group, will speak at the Ninth International Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions (SAHC) conference in Mexico City, Mexico, October 14-17. Their presentations are entitled “Moving a Listed House in Mexico City for Preservation” and “Tube-Jack Testing: Regular Masonry Wall Testing,” respectively. During the four-day conference, experts and young researchers alike will address topics of cultural heritage, environmental sustainability, life cycle, occupant safety and comfort, and technology as these apply to historical constructions world-wide. Both Elizabeth and Kevin hold Erasmus Mundus Advanced Masters Degrees in Structural Analysis of Monuments and Historical Constructions.

Click on the presentation titles above to view abstracts of their papers. Post-conference (after 10/17/2014), you may e-mail Elizabeth and Kevin at emanning@mbjeng.com and kvazquez@mbjeng.com to receive the full papers.

Eight “Top Projects”

Meyer Borgman Johnson provided structural engineering services for eight of Finance and Commerce’s Top Projects this year. They include 222 Hennepin Mixed Use, Brunsfield North Loop, Izzy’s Ice Cream Café and Kitchen, Orchestra Hall Renovation, University of Minnesota Recreation and Wellness Center, (all in Minneapolis), Radisson Blu Mall of America in Bloomington, Unity-Unitarian Church in St. Paul, and the Duluth Airport Terminal in Duluth. We congratulate our team members. See our Awards page for links to some of the projects.

MBJ Projects in Architecture MN

April 23, 2014 – Several projects for which Meyer Borgman Johnson provided structural engineering are featured in this month’s Architecture MN magazine (May/June 2014). Check out these articles: Here’s the Scoop (Izzy’s Ice Cream shop in Minneapolis), Escape Artistry: Lake Minnetonka Retreat Home, and Place (photo focus on Eastman Nature Center, Dayton, MN).

Thanks, Food Drive Donors!

April 18, 2014 – Every March, Minnesota FoodShare campaigns to restock food shelves, and our staff joins in with a week of fundraising events, including a silent auction. We are grateful to those individuals and businesses who so generously contributed items for the auction. With their help, we were able to exceed our goal for giving this year.

Many thanks to the following individuals and companies for their support:

Ellen Haberman – Brookside Barbers
Steve Glasper – Brookside Barbers
Julie Sager – CES Imaging
Claudett McCune – Coordinated Business Systems
Nichole Thornton – Document Technology Solutions, Inc.
Bart Harvey – The First Impression Group
Ray Rogers – Lyon’s Pub
Grant Strom- Managed Design
Kim Evers – Meyer Borgman Johnson
Joan Glasper – Meyer Borgman Johnson
Dan and Krysta Larson – Meyer Borgman Johnson
Irene Peterson – Meyer Borgman Johnson
Matt Thomas – Meyer Borgman Johnson
Jack Montgomery (Illustrator) – Jack’s web site
Meghan Elliott – Preservation Design Works
Anthony Schiller – Pro Staff

Kathleen John Joins MBJ

March 13, 2014–Meyer Borgman Johnson is pleased to welcome Kathleen John as the firm’s Director of Business Operations, a new position intended to strengthen MBJ’s financial, production, and management functions. Kathleen brings to the job more than 20 years of experience in financial and operational leadership for domestic and international firms.Prior to joining MBJ, Kathleen served as chief operating officer for a large A/E/C firm with multiple offices in the Upper Midwest, strategically unifying its branch office business units into a single, smooth functioning operation, driving operational success through collaboration and lean methodologies. As president for a mid-size M/E engineering firm, Kathleen creatively worked with other firm leaders to grow the company by 50% in three years through her knowledge and relationships with customers across a wide range of industries. A graduate of Hamline University with a B.A. in Economics and Management, Kathleen also completed the Executive Mini-MBA program through the Management Center of St. Thomas University. In 2012, she was an invited participant of the Design Futures Council World Design Forum Global Think Tank held in London and Cambridge in the U.K. and in 2011 spoke as part of a panel discussion at the PSMJ Circle of Excellence conference in Chicago. She is an active member of ACEC/MN since 2007, serving on the organization’s board of directors, as well as several committees and task forces. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring internationally and investigating new technologies. Kathleen sees her role at MBJ as strategist and catalyst to enhance project excellence, profitability, and client care.