Insights

Salas O’Brien is pleased to announce the addition of Gary Petrak to the firm’s leadership team in Southern California. Petrak comes to Salas O’Brien from GLP Engineering in Santa Ana, a firm he led for over 25 years serving the commercial, educational, hospitality, restaurant, and retail markets. “Gary is a proven and trusted leader in […]

We have heard from many educational administrators who are committed to reopening but are uncertain about the best, most cost-effective path to welcoming staff and students back safely. Salas O’Brien can help. Several best practices for mitigating disease transmission have been issued by the scientific community, but those recommendations haven’t been universally adopted by or […]

We’re excited to announce that our Madison Municipal Building project in Wisconsin earned a regional 2021 ACEC Engineering Excellence Grand Award. Our designs brought modern MEP systems that perform 50% more efficiently than code baseline to this historic building, helping the project achieve LEED platinum and Energy Star status.

While many companies are fading from the Downtown Los Angeles landscape, Salas O’Brien has strengthened our roots there and reaffirmed our commitment to provide local support to our projects and clients in the area by establishing a physical presence closer to the heartbeat of the city.

We designed more than 5,400 projects for over 1,600 clients, representing almost $5 billion in construction costs. Our designs also saved more than 70 million pounds of greenhouse gases and will every year in perpetuity.

By Darin Anderson, CEO My goal for Salas O’Brien has always been that everyone would want to work here, even if we can’t practically offer every single person a position. We want to be the kind of place where opportunity abounds for everyone. But that raises a question: what kind of a company should you […]

Each member of our talented team exemplifies our Ownership Values every day as they live out the Salas O’Brien Difference and display leadership, achieve results, and grow relationships. A few leaders have displayed exceptional commitment and effectiveness, and every year we recognize these outstanding team members for their accomplishments. Each person below was nominated by […]

Salas O’Brien announced today that Richmond-based Dunlap & Partners Engineers has joined the company, further adding to Salas O’Brien’s technical expertise and creating an combined firm of 39 offices with more than 1,000 team members and 260 registered professionals. The Dunlap team adds significant expertise in markets including institutional, healthcare, and corporate, and when combined […]

Salas O’Brien announced today that Toronto-based Stephenson Engineering has joined the company, further adding to Salas O’Brien’s technical expertise and creating an integrated firm of 38 offices with more than 950 team members and 250 registered professionals. With a portfolio including many prominent buildings on the Toronto skyline, the Stephenson team adds significant structural engineering […]

We close our correspondence with two simple words: Energetically yours. Those two words say so much about our history, our culture, and our intention as a firm. Cofounder Dan O’Brien started using the sign-off soon after creating the company and joining forces with Roy Goodman, Carl Salas, and John Salas to set Salas O’Brien on […]

Many firms throughout the United States can provide commissioning, but only Salas O’Brien provides Common-Sense Commissioning®. Our unique, scalable approach tailors the scope and services we provide to the most appropriate level, based on factors like budgetary constraints, short-term facility goals, and long-term outcomes regarding equipment life, operational costs, and energy use. Our first step […]

Precautions to prevent the transmission of coronavirus via direct and indirect contact like social distancing, handwashing, and mask wearing have become commonplace based on recommendations from the scientific community. But more may be needed, especially given the mounting evidence that SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is airborne and can be carried by aerosols.

COVID-19 has changed the American, and indeed, the world’s productive landscape. Physical conference rooms have given way to virtual meeting spaces. Families and friends have turned to virtual game nights, video chats, and streaming services for entertainment and socializing. Online commerce has become more important than ever, and students and teachers have depended on digital […]

Building condensation is probably the last concern on most facility managers’ minds. And with good reason: condensation goes largely unnoticed when roofs are constructed out of heat-absorptive and heat-retentive materials. Heat retained by the roof rapidly dries out any moisture, creating a cycle of accumulation and evaporation that keeps serious issues at bay. When the […]

Salas O’Brien is thrilled to announce that Oakland, CA-based KPW Structural Engineers has joined the company, significantly expanding our structural engineering services and advancing an ambitious plan to create the best engineering, facility planning, and commissioning firm in the world.