By Evan Thomas KC'S BLOG • • • 0 Comments

5 Famous Civil Engineers You Should Know

Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923): A renowned French civil engineer and architect, Gustave Eiffel is remembered as “the Magician of Iron.” Can you guess which famous iron structure this magician cast? Indeed, his masterpiece is the Eiffel Tower. During and after its construction, thinkers of the time criticized the tower’s ambitious design. Some even protested the tower, claiming Eiffel was blatantly disregarding the principles of physics to create an artistic form. However, his design for what was then to be the tallest tower in the world accounted for the real-world conditions that it would need to withstand:

Is it not true that the very conditions which give strength also conform to the hidden rules of harmony? … Now to what phenomenon did I have to give primary concern in designing the Tower? It was wind resistance. Well then! I hold that the curvature of the monument's four outer edges, which is as mathematical calculation dictated it should be … will give a great impression of strength and beauty, for it will reveal to the eyes of the observer the boldness of the design as a whole. – Gustave Eiffel

Thanks to both Eiffel’s genius and his boldness, the Eiffel Tower today enjoys a coveted spot on the list of the Seven Wonders of the World, and it remains a veritable global icon.

 

George Stephenson (1781-1848): George Stephenson revolutionized transportation and urban infrastructure by creating the world’s first public inter-city railway line that used steam locomotives. This British Engineer, often referred to as “The Father of Railways,” is also credited with devising the historic measurement of the rail gauge at four feet eight-and-a-half inches, which became the standard railway gauge measurement worldwide.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859): A celebrated experimenter and risk-taker, Isambard Kingdom Brunel was the man behind the Great Western Railway, the company that connected London to the west part of England. His unconventional thinking led him to many firsts: from being the first engineer to envision building a tunnel under a river to playing a key role in the development of the first propeller-driven iron ship.

 

Thomas Andrews (1873-1912): Thomas Andrews was the principal architect for the infamous RMS Titanic. He was aboard the ship during its maiden—and only—voyage in 1912, and when the ship hit an iceberg, he calculated that it would sink within a few short hours. Survivors’ accounts tell of Andrews bravely alerting passengers of the imminent danger, urging women and children to board the severely limited number of lifeboats. Andrews was also said to have suggested more than twice the number of lifeboats the Titanic was given and a double hull and watertight bulkheads during planning and construction, suggestions that were rejected. He perished in the ship’s sinking, a harsh lesson in the consequences of industrial hubris, prioritizing profit over safety.

 

John Augustus Roebling (1806-1869): A Prussian immigrant renowned for his suspension bridge designs, John Augustus Roebling discovered a method of twisting iron together to create a “wire rope,” which he manufactured and used to construct durable suspension bridges. One of the most famous projects he designed was the Brooklyn Bridge. Unfortunately, he sustained an injury in an on-site accident that resulted in a fatal case of tetanus before the bridge could be completed.

Bonus! – Emily Warren Roebling (1843-1903) and Washington Roebling (1837-1926): Emily Warren Roebling broke down gender barriers while building the Brooklyn Bridge. Hailing from the Hudson Valley, she studied engineering in Europe alongside her husband Washington Roebling, the son of John Augustus Roebling. Washington took over as Chief Engineer following his father’s death, but he soon developed caisson disease and became too ill to work. Emily then stepped in as “the first woman field engineer.” She carried out many of Washington’s duties, overseeing construction until the bridge’s completion in 1883.

 

By Evan Thomas COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT • • • 0 Comments

Road Cleanup 2017

Twice a year, the KC Circleville office comes together to perform roadside clean-up services along Goshen Turnpike. The cleanup is an important act of service for KC, as we continuously strive to better our surrounding community and promote environmental health. Here are some pictures of our employees from our Spring and Fall 2017 cleanups.

By Evan Thomas KC'S BLOG • • • • • 0 Comments

KC Circleville’s Fall Cleanup

This Friday, October 13th, 2017, the KC Circleville team will take to the streets (in our case, to Goshen Turnpike) to participate in our bi-annual cleanup event where members of our team will split into groups of four, garbage bags and trash grabbers in hand, to whisk away discarded soda bottles, pieces of plastic, cigarette butts, and all other materials that harm surrounding plant and animal life and encourage dangerous bacteria and parasites to thrive. The cleanup is an important act of service for KC, as we continuously strive to better our surrounding community and promote environmental health.

Here are KC’s reasons for being committed to cleaning up our surrounding environment:

  1. We care about our wildlife: Deer, squirrels, beavers, oh my! These animals, in addition to black bears, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, otters, and bats, are all native to New York State, and when we litter, we are putting them in danger. Animals can mistakenly eat and ingest the litter, often causing fatal blockages, and also get caught in and be injured and strangled by plastic rings and soda cans.
  2. We care about our water: Litter can make its way into groundwater and eventually into wells, where many people receive their drinking water. “Stormwater pollution,” according to org, “is one of the greatest threats to […] clean water supply.” They continue, “Rain washes pollution from streets, parking lots, and lawns into storm drains, and then directly into our streams, rivers, lakes, and the ocean.”
  3. We care about climate change: Did you know an excess of waste releases methane gas that, when released into the atmosphere, traps heat? Our employees, during past cleanups, have found a myriad of materials, like plastic bottles, plastic bags, and aluminum cans, that could and should be recycled. Removing them from the side of the road is a positive step toward reducing these harmful gases.
  4. We care about community and team building: Conducting a group cleanup, whether it happen among co-workers or volunteers within a local community, is a great way to come together to accomplish an important and gratifying task. While our office may be divided into individualized departments with our own separate schedules and responsibilities, our cleanup allows employees who otherwise would not work together to participate in a team building activity that betters our environment.

Want to help your surrounding community? Here are some helpful tips for organizing a cleanup of your own.

Happy cleaning!

By Evan Thomas KC'S BLOG • • • 0 Comments

Engineering Evaluation of a Treatment System for Village of Warwick Well #3 Project

This project entailed performing an engineering evaluation to determine the best option for providing an additional water source to the Village of Warwick. Options evaluated for the backup source included Well #3 or the development of another new well. Well #3 has an average yield capacity of 250 GPM and can yield up to 400,000 GPD. Well #3 was known to be GWUDI and needed either treatment or pumping to the microfiltration plant before use as a primary source.

Additional options included the development of alternate wells, construction of an entirely new treatment plant, and construction of a water main connecting the new well with the existing treatment plant. KC performed a preliminary investigation and presented a recommendation to the Village. KC also prepared a prelimary design concept, capital and life cycle cost analysis, and an engineer’s report for the preferred option.

By Evan Thomas KC'S BLOG • • • 0 Comments

Remembering the Towers: Engineering Facts about the World Trade Center

Today, KC wishes to commemorate and honor the great engineering feats of the Twin Towers and to celebrate and look ahead to the new feats accomplished with the design and construction of the new World Trade Center. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all victims, survivors, and heroes of the September 11, 2001 attack as we look at the engineering integrity of the World Trade Center. Below are noteworthy engineering facts about the past, present, and future of the World Trade Center.

The Past

  • Development of the original World Trade Center began in 1946. “The original proposal,” according to the WTC Memorial and Museum, “was for only one 70-story building.” However, by the final iteration of the towers' design, the structures doubled in quantity and grew to contain 110 stories each.
  • Design of the towers began in the mid-1960s and construction began in the early 1970s.
  • Leslie E. Robertson, an American engineer who also worked on the Shanghai World Financial Center and the Bank of China Tower, was the lead structural engineer of the towers.
  • The towers contained 200,000 tons of steel, weighed 1.5 million tons, had 43,600 windows, and 239 elevators.
  • Construction of the towers ended in 1971.
  • The total construction cost of the towers was $900M.

The Present

  • Design of One World Trade Center began in 2005. Formerly referred to as the Freedom Tower, One World Trade Center is the building’s ultimate name as decided in 2009 and was designed by architect David Childs from Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, LLP, the original architecture firm who proposed the towers back in 1958.
  • Construction of One World Trade Center completed on May 10th, 2013 and opened to the public on November 3rd, 2014.
  • One World Trade Center is 1,776 feet tall, which, according to Reader’s Digest, is “a direct reference to the year the Declaration of Independence was signed.”
  • Reader’s Digest also reports that One World Trade Center “is one of the safest, technologically advanced, and environmentally sensitive [buildings] in the world,” quoting Port Authority design consultant Eduardo del Valle who described its makeup: “[The tower] has a concrete core, with very thick concrete walls […] The podium has some heft blast-resistant walls at the base.”
  • The total construction cost of One World Trade Center was roughly $4B.
  • The structure is now home to companies such as The Port Authority of NY & NJ, Mediacom, BMI, The New York Academy of Sciences, Condé Nast, and many more.

The Future

The World Trade Center complex is the ultimate hub of life—it contains not only office space and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, but “over half a million square feet of new retail,” is surrounded by over 80 restaurants, and hosts a wide array of events year-round. The complex only continues to grow with new companies signing leases to occupy the building, like Spotify, a popular music streaming app, who signed a lease in February of this year, and SNY, the TV broadcasting station for New York sports teams, who signed their lease in March. Beyond its recreational attractions and business offerings, the design of the new tower is said to be setting “a new standard in design” through its masterful combination of green architecture, heightened safety measures, and historic significance. And with this historic significance, which has made the structure one of the most internationally-recognized buildings in NYC, perhaps the WTC will make a true stamp upon the structural engineering landscape. Perhaps the ways in which the tower exceeds NYC safety and environmental standards will, in fact, set new, even higher standards for NYC buildings and beyond.