Birthplace
Basel, Switzerland
Education
CE, Columbia University, New York, NY, 1962, Applied Mechanics
MSCE, Columbia University, New York, NY 1956
BSCE, City College of New York, 1951
Registration: Professional Engineer
CA (CE) 1974; NCEES 1962; MA 1964; VT 1999
Chartered Engineer, United Kingdom; European Engineer (EUR ING)
Brief Professional History
Chairman Emeritus (2006- ), Chairman (2002), Principal (1964), Weidlinger Associates, Consulting Engineers (1956-2006)
Asst. Operations Officer, 453rd Eng. Construction Battalion, US Army, Korea (1952-54)
Structural Consultant, New York, NY and Chicago, IL (1951-55)
Years of Experience
Weidlinger: 50; Other Firms: 9
Teaching/Lecturing Experience
Adjunct Professor, School of Architecture, Columbia University, New York, NY (1962-80)
Visiting Critic in Architecture, Yale University, New Haven, CT (1960-65)
Distinguished Professor, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY (1980-81)
Lecturer, University of Idaho, Rutgers University, Princeton University, Harvard University, Catholic University, University of Florida, University of Minnesota, University of Rochester
Affiliations
National Academy of Engineering; American Society of Civil Engineers (Fellow)
Institution of Civil Engineers (Fellow); American Institute of Architects (Honorary Member)
American Concrete Institute; International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (Executive Council);
International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineering
Awards
Honorary Member, IASS, 2009
Eggleston Medal, Columbia University, 2008
Townsend Harris Medalist, City College of New York, 2007
Named as “Structural Enginnering Legend in Design”, Structural Engineering Magazine, 2003
Founder’s Award, Salvadori Center, 2003
IASS Tsuboi Award for paper, “The Innovation of Lightness”, 1995
ASCE, Innovation in Civil Engineering Award, 1994
Medal of Excellence, Engineering News Record, 1992, 2000
Lincoln Arc Welding Award, 1961, 1981, 1991
Prestressed Concrete Institute Award, 1963, 1971, 1992
AIA Institute Honor Award, 1985; New York Chapter, AIA Award of Merit, 1976
Patents Triangulated Roof Structure, 1993; Triangulated Cable Dome with Retractable Roof, 1994
Triangulated Roof Structure, 1995
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
Books
Structural Design in Architecture, with Mario G. Salvadori, Prentice Hall, 1967: Translated into Spanish (1970), Japanese (1969) and Korean (1975). Second Edition, 1980.
Engineering & Humanities, J. H. Schaub and S. K. Dickson, ed., chapter: Structure and Sculpture, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1982.
Why Buildings Fall Down, with Mario G. Salvadori, WW Norton, 1992. Paperback edition, 1994. Japanese (1993), Korean (1993), Italian (1997), Rumanian (1998) Chinese (2008). New edition (2002)
Why the Earth Quakes: The Story of Earthquakes and Volcanoes, with Mario Salvadori, WW Norton, 1995. Paperback edition, 1997. Japanese (1996), Italian 1998
Earthquake Games with Mario Salvadori, Margaret K. McElderry Books, Simon & Schuster, 1997, Japanese (1998), Scholastic paperback, (2000).
Beyond the Cube, J. Francois Gabriel, ed., chapter: Tetrahedral Purity: The Javits Center. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1997
Engineering the City, with Richard Panchyk, Chicago Review Press, 2000
Why the Wind Blows, A History of Weather and Global Warming, Upper Access Inc. 2007, Japanese (2008)
Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tsunamis, with Mario Salvadori, Chicago Review Press, 2009
Forensic Structural Engineering, 2nd Ed. Robert T. Ratay, Editor-in-chief; Chapter 8, Design Errors, Construction Defects and Project Miscommunication, with Najib Abboud and Anurag Jain, McGraw Hill, Incl. 2009
Controversies in Science and Technology, Vol 4, D.L.Kleiman, Editor; Chapter 2, Our Fragile Infrastructure: Adapting to Global Warming, Oxford University Press, 2014
Illustrations Architecture and Engineering: An Illustrated Teacher’s Manual on Why Buildings Stand Up by Mario Salvadori and Michael Tempel, The New York Academy of Sciences, 1983.
Your Child’s Sensory World by Lise Liepmann, The Dial Press: 1973.
Exhibitions and Television Appearances
“The Engineer’s Art,” Centre George Pompidou, Paris, 1997
Domes, Building Big Series, PBS, 2000;
Why the Towers Fell, NOVA, 2002;
Engineering Disasters, Modern Marvels, 2002;
Why Buildings Collapse, ABC News, 2002;
The Leaning Tower of Pisa, History Channel, 2002;
Why Structure Fail, History Channel, 2003,
WTC Conspiracy Theories, Discovery Channel, 8/2007
Profile, Fran Stoddard, Vermont Public Television, 10/2007
9/11, The Towers & The Pentagon, Discovery Channel, 8/2008
Earth Promise, 21 influential people in the Green World; www.earthpromise.com, 5/2009
Representative Project Experience
Milestone Projects
Rose Center for Earth and Space, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY
NY Hall of Science Interactive Exhibit Playground, Queens, NY
Baruch College Academic Complex, New York, NY
Bank of China HQ Building, Beijing, China
CIBA-GEIGY Life Science Building, Summit, NJ
Rockefeller University’s Campus Community Bridge, New York, NY
World Bank HQ Complex Addition, Washington, DC
Georgia Dome Stadium, Atlanta, GA
La Plata Stadium, La Plata, Argentina
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York, NY
Marriott Marquis Hotel and Theater, New York, NY
Expert Testimony and Forensic Investigation
Comcast Stadium, cracking of rakers and code compliance investigation
Tropicana Garage, Atlantic City, collapse
Patriots Stadium, delay claims
PNC Stadium, delay claims and standard of care
Lakes of the Meadow, et al v. Arvida/Walt Disney World, Construction did not conform to design
World Trade Center collapses
Metreon, Inc v. Bovis Construction Corp et al, Failure to meet design requirements & delay claim
Superdome, Sydney, Australia
Montreal Stadium, roof failure
Atlanta Arena, collapse of stands
University of Northern Iowa v. Commerce & Industry Insurance Co., Failure of the Fabric roof of the UNI Dome
Two Times Square, collapse of scaffolding,
Pool, failure of waterproofing
One Meridian Plaza, structural condition after fire
RCA Dome, roof control system
Marriott Marquis Hotel, structural bracing for crane
UNI Dome, condition after storm caused deflation
Javits Center, delay due to cast node defects
Office Building Projects
Canary Wharf, FC4 and FC6, London, England
Banque Lambert, Bruxelles, Belgium
EPA Research and Administrative Facility, Research Triangle Park, NC
SUNY/Buffalo Natural Sciences and Math Complex, Amherst, NY
Rockefeller Laboratory, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Research Center, New York, NY
Merck, Sharp and Dohme Headquarters, Valley Forge, PA
Cali International Financial Center, Jersey City, NJ
Southern Bell Headquarters Building, Atlanta, GA
Leighton House Residence Tower, New York, NY
85 Broad Street Tower, New York, NY
One Financial Center, Boston, MA
DHUD HQ Building, Washington, DC
US Embassy Complexes:
Nicosia, Cyprus; Damascus, Syria; Montevideo, Uruguay;
Athens, Greece; Baghdad, Iraq; Tokyo, Japan
Institutional Projects
Children’s Museum, New York, NY
Asia Society Headquarters, New York, NY
Polytechnic University – Dibner Library, Brooklyn, NY
Prototype Design for 6 Elementary Schools, Bronx and Brooklyn, NY
Cooper Union Residence Hall, New York, NY
Hostos College Allied Health Complex, New York, NY
NYU Dormitory Towers, New York, NY
Long Span and Transportation Projects
Shanghai Stadium Roof, Shanghai, China
Schalke Stadium Retractable Dome, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Carrier Dome Fabric Roof Upgrade, Syracuse, NY
Flatbush Avenue and Utica Avenue Station Rehabilitations, Brooklyn, NY
Motorgate Parking Structure, Roosevelt Island, NY
White Plains Transportation Center Rehabilitation, White Plains, NY
Roosevelt Avenue and 74th St. Intermodal Station Expansion, Queens, NY
Section of WMATA Metro, Washington, DC
NAFEC Hangar #1 Restoration, Lakehurst, NJ
Papers and Articles
“From Shells to Tensile Structures: A Personal History, Nexus Networks Journal, 2016
“Final Phase of La Plata Stadium Construction, Structure Magazine, 2014
“Transluscent Dome for Argentine Soccer Stadium, Structure Magazine, 2013
“Construction of the La Plata Twinstar Dome”, with A. Brzozowski, G. Freeman, T.F. Jing, IASS Symposium, London, UK, September2011
“Changing Times as a Catalyst for Opportunities”, IASS Symposium, London, UK, September 2011
“The Pal-Kal Affair, Examining the Versailles Hall Collapse”, Structural Engineering International, Zurich, Switzerland, April 2011
“Preserving our Water Resources”, Civil Engineering, January 2010
“Mario G. Salvadori”, Memorial Tribute, Vol 13, National Academy of Engineering, 2010
“Saving the Blue Planet”, IASS Symposium, Valencia, Spain, October 2009
“Robert College Seismic Upgrade”, with Anurag Jain and Can Simsir, IASS Symposium, Valencia, Spain, October 2009
“Paul Weidlinger”, Memorial Tribute, Vol 12, National Academy of Engineering, 2008
“A Rush to Judgment”, 4th International Conference on Forensic Engineering, Symposium, Nov 2008
“Our Changing Climate, Fabrics in an Era of Global Warming”, Fabrics Architecture, May/June 2008
“Eminent Structural Engineer: Dr Mario Salvadori, Structural Engineering International, Vol 17, No 2, Zurich, Switzerland, May 2007
“A Rush to Judgement”, 4th International Conference on Forensic Engineering, Symposium, Nov 2008
“Our Changing Climate, Fabrics in an era of global warming”, Fabrics Architecture, May/June 2008
“Eminent Structural Engineer: Dr Mario Salvadori, Structural Engineering International, Vol 17, No 2, Zurich, Switzerland, May 2007
“The Arch, Born in the Sewer, Raised to the Heavens” Nexus Network Journal, Basel Switzerland, October 2006
“A Unique Large Scale Fabric Canopy in a Hurricane Zone”, with TF Jing et al, IASS Symposium, Beijing, China, October 2006
“The Decline of Spaceship Earth, IASS Symposium, Beijing, China, October 2006
“Unusual Arrangement” Civil Engineering, November 2005
“The Ultimate Skyscraper” IASS Symposium, Bucharest Romania, September 2005
“Simply Serene” Modern Steel Construction, December 2004
“From Shells to Membranes” IASS Symposium, Montpellier, France, September 2004
“Great Structural Engineering Firms,” The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings, Wiley, 2003
“The Anatomy of the World Trade Center Collapses, A Structural Engineering Investigation”, with N. Abboud et al, Proc. Of the Third Forensic Engineering Congress, ASCE, San Diego, October 2003
Anatomy of a Disaster: A Structural Investigation of the World Trade Center Collapses”, SFPE-SEI Proc. Conference on Designing Structures for Fire, Baltimore, September 2003
“Bridging the Gap, IASS Symposium, Nagoya, Japan, October 2001
“Engineering in the 21st Century, IASS Symposium, Nagoya, Japan, October, 2001
“The Pusan Dome, Structural Design of Retractable Roof Structure,” Kazuo Ishii, ed., WIT Press, Southampton, October 2000.
“Staggered Truss System Earns an A+ ,” Modern Steel Construction, November 2000.
“Double Domed”, Civil engineering, April 2000
“Tenstar Canopy, A New Form of Roof,” IASS Symposium, Madrid, Spain, September 1999.
“Twinstar Dome for La Plata,” IASS Symposium, Sydney, Australia, October 1998.
“Innovation of Structural Form,” IASS Symposium, Sydney, Australia, October 1998.
“High Translucency Structural Fabric,” Structural Engineers World Congress, San Francisco, July 1998.
“The La Plata Tenstar Dome,” Structural Engineers World Congress, San Francisco, July 1998.
“The Pusan Dome and Retractable Structure,” Structural Engineers World Congress, San Francisco, July 1998.
“A Museum for the Heavens,” Civil Engineering, May 1998.
“Shanghai Stadium, China’s First Fabric Roof, IASS Symposium, Singapore, November 1997.
“Engineering of Architecture,” Panstadia International, London, April 1997.
“Interstitial Structure for the Ciba-Geigy Laboratory,” IASS Symposium, Stuttgart, Germany, 1996.
“Computers and the Conceptual Design of Structures,” IASS Symposium, Stuttgart, Germany, October 1996.
“The Limit of Spatial Structures” IASS Symposium, Beijing, China, May 1996.
“Retractable Lightweight Structures,” IASS Symposium, Milano, Italy, June 1995.
“Wind Load Design of the Georgia Dome,” with Tian-Fang Jing, ASCE Convention, Atlanta, GA, October 1994.
“The Lightest Retractable Roof,” IABSE Symposium, Birmingham, UK, September 1994.
“Floating Saddle Connections for the Georgia Dome,” with Tian-Fang Jing, Structural Engineering International, Journal of IABSE, August 1994.
“The Innovation of Lightness,” IASS Bulletin, 1994.
“Protecting Buildings Against Terrorism,” with Eve Hinman, Fire Engineering, December 1993.
“Interstitial Precast Prestressed Concrete Trusses for Ciba-Geigy Life Science Building,” with Tony Yoshizawa, PCI Journal, November/December 1992.
“Hypar-Tensegrity Dome, Construction Methodology,” IASS Symposium, Toronto, Canada, July 1992.
“Analysis of the Georgia Dome Cable Roof,” AEC Conference on Computing, Dallas, Texas, June 1992.
“Non-linear Analysis of Cable Dome,” proceedings, ASCE Structures Congress, San Antonio, Texas, April 1992.
“The Proportional Eye,” proceedings, ASCE Structures Congress, San Antonio, April 1992.
“A Case of the Shakes,” Civil Engineering, February 1992.
“Floating Fabric Over Georgia Dome,” Civil Engineering, November 1991.
“The Hypar-Tensegrity Dome, A Nonlinear View,” proceedings, Second Civil Engineering Automation Conference, ASCE, New York, November 1991.
“Hypar-Tensegrity Dome, Optimal Configurations,” IASS Symposium: Spatial Structures at the Turn of the Millennium, Copenhagen, September 1991.
“Cable Dome Weldments,” James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Awards Program, August 1991.
“Aesthetics and Structural Form,” University of Idaho lecture, April 1991.
“Hypar-Tensegrity Dome,” proceedings, International Symposium on Sports Architecture, Beijing, China, November 1990.
“Precast Facade Panels – Past and Current Examples,” proceedings, Architectural Precast Concrete Cladding – Its Contribution to Lateral Resistance of Buildings, PCI, Chicago, Illinois, November 1989.
“Hybrid Structures,” Architecture, June 1989.
“The Optimum Skyscraper,” proceedings, ENSIDESA Seminar, Alicante, Spain, April 1989.
“Exploring Composite Structures,” Architecture, March 1988.
“Load Test Verification of Space Frame Roof Design,” Space Structures, Spring 1988.
“Space Frame Reserve Capacity,” proceedings, International Colloquium on Space Structures, Beijing, China, October 1987.
“New Approaches to Long Span Structures,” Architecture, March 1987.
“The Problem with Public Projects”, Civil Engineering, March 1987.
“Solving the Tough Problems in Designing the Javits Center,” proceedings, National Design Engineering Conference, September 1986.
“New York Convention Center Space Frame,” IASS Symposium on Spacial Roof Structures, Dortmund, 1984.
“Space Frame Columns,” James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Awards Program, August 1981.
“Building the Empire City,” The Sciences, December, 1980.
“A Sense of Structure and Sculpture,” Crom Lectures on Civil Engineering Design, 1980
“A Sense of Structure,” ASCE Convention and Exposition, October 1979.
“Bobcat Bridge,” AE Concepts in Wood Design, April-May 1978.
“High-Rise Panel Structures,” Journal of the Structural Division, ASCE, with Istvan S. Varga, May 1972.
“Optimum Floor Depth,” Architectural and Engineering News, November 1968.
“Some Structural Implications of Exposed Concrete,” Journal of the American Concrete Institute, July 1968.
“Building,” The Encyclopedia Americana, 1968.
“Architectural Education, A Look Back and a Look Forward,” Architectural and Engineering News, June 1965.
“The Role of the Computer in Engineering Practice,” Architectural Record, with Charles P. Lecht, August 1963.
“All Welded Grid Trusses,” James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation Awards Program 1961, Digest in Progressive Architecture, December 1961.
“Precast Grid Wall for Banque Lambert,” Journal of the American Concrete Institute, February 1961.
“La Concha Shell,” Informes de la Construccion, with Raymond Parnes, January 1961.
“Thin Shells,” Architectural Record, June 1959.
“Air-Supported Nylon Membranes Roof Theater,” Engineering News Record, August 20, 1959.
“Conoid with Corrugations Makes an Unusual Roof,” Engineering News Record, December 5, 1957.