News & Insights
VIDEO: Engineering resilience into every structure
Why this matters now
Severe weather, seismic awareness, longer asset life expectations, and changing code requirements have raised the bar for structural performance. Owners are no longer asking only whether a structure meets code. They are asking how it will perform under wind events, flood conditions, and extreme heat or cold, and how it will adapt over time. Insurers, lenders, and tenants are asking the same questions.
What leaders are weighing
Owners and design teams are weighing the cost of designing beyond minimum code against the long-term cost of vulnerability. They are deciding how to balance resilience features with first cost, schedule pressure, and architectural intent. There are tradeoffs around materials, redundancy, foundation strategies, and whether to design for graceful damage or full continuity of operations. For portfolios in high-risk regions, the decisions extend across many assets at once. The right path depends on use, location, and how the owner thinks about risk and reputation.
How Salas O’Brien is helping clients respond
Our structural team helps owners think about resilience as part of the design process rather than as an add-on. We bring deep experience across markets and conditions, and we help clients evaluate options with clear-eyed cost and performance modeling. We support new design, assessments of existing structures, and strengthening strategies that respect operational realities. Hear Russ Leffler, David McMillan, and Mohsen Mansouri talk through how resilience shows up in structural design.
Russ Leffler, PE, SE, MLSE
Russ Leffler provides leading-edge structural engineering services to meet the needs of future-forward projects through integrated design. He is a registered professional engineer in over 35 states in the US and Alberta, Canada. His broad technical expertise includes high tech facilities, industrial structures, seismic engineering, blast resistant design, and large public works projects. Russ is an expert in the use of cold-formed steel and other next-generation sustainable materials. He serves as a Principal at Salas O’Brien. Contact him at [email protected].
David McMillan, SE
David McMillan is a multi-state licensed structural engineer with over 30 years’ experience in the design and construction industries. His portfolio includes residential, commercial, retail, healthcare, technology, life sciences/pharmaceutical, data center projects, and seismic retrofits. David’s healthcare experience comes primarily from comes primarily from working with OSHPD/HCAI, the agency overseeing hospital projects in California. He serves as a Principal at Salas O’Brien. Contact him at [email protected]
Mohsen Mansouri, PE
Mohsen Mansouri has more than 35 years of experience in the structural review, restoration, and design of a wide variety of structures, including commercial, residential and institutional facilities, parking garages, bridges, and other concrete projects. He also has significant experience in asset management, feasibility studies, small projects, sustainability consultation, and design services. Mohsen serves as a Principal at Salas O’Brien. Contact him at [email protected].