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Soil Specialist Puts Supertall Buildings on Solid Ground
Noted geotech engineer lays groundwork globally
Predicting the extreme pressures that tall structures will place upon the Earth often rests upon the shoulders of Clyde N. Baker Jr., who for over 50 years has helped engineers design foundations for the world’s tallest buildings. His half-century push for more efficient supports culminated last year in the 2,000-ft-tall Chicago Spire, under construction since the summer. If finished, its bearing pressures would exceed local allowances by 50%, and may even be the highest in the world .
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Tudor Van Hampton/ ENR
Baker has advised engineers on world’s tallest structures. |
The 40-time marathon runner calls his field “a narrow speciality,” but Baker, 77, has set the pace for the application of soil mechanics and testing since he entered the job in 1954. Baker has had a major hand in raising Chicago’s allowable bearing loads for large foundations nearly 5000%, from 6 tons per sq ft in the mid-1950s to 250 tsf for the almost-completed Trump International Hotel & Tower and yet again, to 300 tsf for the Santiago Calatrava-designed Spire.
Baker’s reach extends abroad, too. From his early days at the challenging site of Chicago’s John Hancock Center to today’s tallest buildings, the ability to analyze soil conditions, back up predictions with proven tests and convey opinions with an expert-yet-easygoing style has elevated Baker and his firm, STS Consultants, recently acquired by AECOM, to one of the world’s most sought-after geotech consultants. They have worked on the current four tallest buildings in the world plus the up and coming Burj Dubai.
During this career, Baker has enabled designers to build super-high, but also super-confidently, as they pack in more valued space at less cost to developers.
By Tudor Van Hampton
The Newsmakers, by name:
(click on a name to go directly to that person's profile)
- José Abreu
Aviation Director for Miami International Airport
- Mike Allegra
Assistant General Manager for Utah Transit Authority
- Clyde N. Baker
Geotech Engineer of his firm STS Consultants
- Mike Budd
President of Permasteelisa Central-South, Miami
- Ed Clayton
Ooutage Planning Manager for Alabama Power
- Jeff Dailey
Chief Engineer for North Texas Tollway Authority
- Drew A. Gangnes
Director of Civil Engineering for Magnusson Klemencic Associates, Seattle
- William J. Gilbane Jr.
President and COO, of Gilbane Building Co
- Tim Horst
President of Bechtel's open shop arm, Becon Construction Co., Houston
- Ron Johnson
Associate Partner for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, Chicago.
- Jon Khachaturian
Founder of Versabar
- Soo-Hong Kim
Developer
- William R. Knocke
Head of the Charles E. Via Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech University
- Cary Kopczynski
Structural Engineer for firm Kopczynski in Bellevue, Wash.
- William A. Lichtig
Shareholder with Sacramento-based McDonough Holland & Allen PC
- Michael Markus
General Manager for Orange County, California Water District (OCWD)
- Amy Jo McKean
Lead Engineer at Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline Inc.
- C.C. Myers
Owner of C.C. Myers Inc.
- Daniel H. Nall
Director of Advanced Technologies for Flack+Kurtz, New York City.
- Bob Nilsson
Senior Advisor of Turner International LLC, New York City
- David J. Shillingford
National Equipment Register
- Catherine Stansbury
Project Anti-Corruption System (PACS)
- Neill Stansbury
Project Anti-Corruption System (PACS)
- Peter G. Vigue
Chairman of employee-owned Cianbro Corp.
- Bruce W. Wilkinson
Chief of Houston's McDermott International
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