People: Associate Principals
Bob Pekelnicky, LEED AP
- B.S. Civil Engineering with Honors
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2000 - M.S. Structural Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2001
Registration
- California – Structural Engineer, 2007
License No. S5083 - California — Civil Engineer, 2003
License No. C64989 - LEED Accredited Professional
Professional Affiliations
- American Society of Civil Engineers
Vice Chair & Secretariate Standards Committee on Seismic Rehabilitation
Secretary of ASCE 7 Seismic Task Subcommittee - San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association
Disaster Resilience Task Force
Disaster Recovery Task Force - American Institute of Steel Construction
Member of Blast and Impact Resistant Design Committee - Structural Engineers Association of Northern California
Member of Seismology Committee and Structural Standards
Committee - Member of Existing Buildings Committee
- American Concrete Institute
- Associate Member of Dynamic and Vibratory Loads Committee
- Associate Member of Performance-Based Seismic Design Committee
- Associate Member of Seismic Repair and Rehabilitation Committee
- Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
Awards and Honors
Joined the Firm:2001
Projects
Expansion, University of California, Santa Cruz
Recently named to Building Design and Construction magazine’s 40 Under 40 which recognizes “the brightest stars in the AEC universe,” Bob specializes in making community and business infrastructure resilient against earthquakes, explosions, and other hazards. He has applied his multi-hazard mitigation knowledge to various projects for government, high technology, and healthcare clients. His career has focused on taking new, innovative structural engineering concepts from research and applying them to practice to better meet clients’ needs. Bob has been instrumental in the San Francisco’s Planning and Urban Research (SPUR) disaster resilient city initiative and is very active in developing better performance based earthquake engineering methodologies, building codes and standards.
Little Known Fact:
I can stand on my head
Client or Design Philosophy:
Providing fist-class service means understanding that first-class service means something different to everyone. Only by actively listening and learning from each client on each project can we actually provide that first-class service.
Virtues:
I spend a lot of my free time outside of work engaged in helping other better their lives.
Vices:
Being a foodie – From eating out all the time to buying high end cookware and cutlery.
Favorite Project Story:
Around the end of August we were called to a meeting at a client’s office. When we got there, there were representatives from a general contractor, an architecture firm, and an MEP firm. We toured a building next door and were then taken into a conference room, where the client proceeded to tell us we were the design-build team and the project had to be designed built in 9 months. The existing building was a 500,000 sf warehouse that was to be seismically upgraded to an advanced damage control performance level and built-out to be a green-tech manufacturing facility complete with new four exterior structures. We had to complete the seismic upgrade design and construction documents for the more complicated half of the building in 7 weeks and then the remainder of the construction documents 6 weeks after that. Everyone was freaked out over how little time we had for everything, but everyone stepped up. At the height of it, I was managing 13 people broken up into 4 separate teams, while being supervised and mentored by a senior principal. The fast-pace was so exciting. We were able to meet every deadline and then keep working really hard to support the construction.
Special Interests:
Yoga, culinary arts, international travel.
