Photo by Dan Franson, Album design by Wilzen Bassig and Elli Terwiel
Photo by Dan Franson, Album design by Wilzen Bassig and Elli Terwiel
Happy holidays from Verdant Structural Engineers! It’s been a great year here at VSE and our team is now ten members strong.
In 2019 we designed projects ranging from a 500 sq ft straw bale ADU to a 5 story hybrid structure made of wood, CMU, steel, and concrete.
We’ve also just rolled out our new website updates (big thanks to Wilzen and Elli for this work!); check ‘em out here!
Kelsey and her wife welcomed their second daughter, Audrey Michelle. Now at almost five months old, she already has two teeth, loves sticking everything in her mouth, and is a very happy and easy going baby.
Francisco joined VSE in January of 2019. Francisco is originally from Chile. He studied Civil Engineering at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, where he later worked as a Teaching Assistant for seismic engineering courses. He has always been interested in seismic design, inspired by personal experience in Chile, which is known for its seismic activity. In his spare time, you can find Francisco (his friends call him Pancho) enjoying the outdoors, hiking and fishing around the Bay Area with his dog and wife.
Last November, Francisco celebrated his wedding to Erica, his partner of 8 years, in the Chilean wine country. The wedding brought together family and friends from Chile, the US, and even Japan and Ireland.
Nora joined VSE in May of 2019. Nora graduated from Cal Poly, SLO with a BS degree in Architectural Engineering and a minor in Dance. She earned an MS degree in Civil Engineering from UCLA. After earning her Civil Engineering license in CA in 2007, she transitioned from design work to field work. In addition to field work, Nora has also worked as an Adjunct Engineering Instructor for the Los Angeles Community College District, and after her move to the East Bay, she taught at Contra Costa College. In her spare time, Nora enjoys spending time in nature, looking for treasures at thrift shops, and exploring the Bay Area.
Copper joined VSE in June 2019 as our newest Executive Office Greeter (with colleagues Whiskey and Frida). He was educated at Bravo!Pup and has also had homeschooling. He greets everyone in the morning with bounding enthusiasm and protects the office from people trying to make deliveries. His hobbies include: chasing balls, chewing sticks, and making new dog friends.
Elli graduated from Queen's University in Canada with a Masters of Management in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MMIE), which is a joint program between Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business and the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. She was able to study VSE as a part of her final thesis project, looking at how we can better serve our customers and further our company value of "green engineering is always better engineering".
Wilzen recently became the newest member of VSE to acquire his LEED Accreditation in late 2019. According to usgbc.org: “The LEED Green Associate credential designates individuals who have a documented, up-to-date understanding of the most current green building principles and practices.”
Rebecca passed exams to become a Certified Bookkeeper (CB) with the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB). This has given her a better understanding of what VSE’s accounting software is doing “behind the scenes”.
VSE was a contributor the Straw Bale Building Detail book published by the California Straw Building Association (CASBA) earlier in 2019. VSE extends a big thank you to all of those involved.
With the assistance of other VSE members, Anthony collaborated in and lead various full-scale wall tests on cob wall systems in conjunction with California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and Quail Springs Permaculture in the spring of 2019. Some of these tests were the first of their kind known globally on the wall system.
Members of VSE contributed design, calculation and drafting work to the development of the first Cob Construction appendix currently proposed to the International Residential Code (IRC). This work was done in conjunction with the Cob Research Institute (CRI), with Anthony acting as the lead engineer on the project. Results of the final ICC vote are likely near the end of December and more information can be found here: https://www.cobcode.org/
Anthony Dente testifying at ICC Hearings, Las Vegas, NV, October 2019
Efficiently documenting the embodied carbon quantity trade-off that specific, daily, structural detail and material choices carry is a growing focus at VSE. Along these lines, Anthony had the pleasure of being a working group member for the development of the first low carbon concrete building code commissioned by the County of Marin, California and organized by the Embodied Carbon Network and the Ecological Building Network. VSE would like to thank all of those involved in that effort. Out of participation in this work came VSE’s revised concrete specification, aimed to capitalize on low-cost or no-cost adjustments to design and contracting teams’ approach to concrete mixes, which can result in significant embodied carbon emission reduction.
Kevin and Anthony authored a paper, and Elli designed the accompanying poster, for the EarthUSA 2019 Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico on the Current State of Cob Structural Testing and Design. EarthUSA is a great event put on and attended by passionate and skilled natural building practitioners. This was our first time and we recommend it! The paper can be found on our website.
We would love to talk to you more about any of these updates and of course about your new projects. We look forward to hearing from you in the new year!