ZFA Structural Engineers

At ZFA, we are eager for the next structural challenge and our recent project for a charter high school in Northern California did not fall short! The task? To create a new permanent home for the school. The challenge? Transforming a 115,000-square-foot commercial building—75% occupied and requiring a mandatory seismic upgrade—to meet current code requirements. With the school set to occupy only 30,000 square feet, we had to design a seismic retrofit with limited access to just a quarter of the floor plan, all while minimizing disruption to existing tenants. Curious about how we did it? Check out STRUCTURE Magazine's article in last month’s edition, written by ZFA’s Nik Blanchette, SE, @Steve Heyne, SE, and Chris Warner, SE, to find out the solutions! https://lnkd.in/dfa99uMf

We are excited to celebrate the five-year anniversaries of three of our engineers: Joe Giesa, David L., and Ryan Krostag, PE. Over the past five years, they have contributed to many exciting projects in the Santa Rosa and Napa areas, ranging from custom residences and winery facilities to schools, historic structures, and sculptures. Their contributions extend beyond projects, including involvement in internal task groups focused on keeping our structural calculations and operations current, exploring innovative non-technical tools to enhance our daily work, and actively participating in professional organizations. ZFA would like to recognize the dedication and hard work that this five-year milestone represents, and we look forward to celebrating the next!

June 29 at McNears Beach proved to be a fun company picnic day with beautiful weather! ZFA offices came together to enjoy an afternoon of competitive cornhole, our annual contest of savory desserts, and great food and drinks. Kids were busy jumping in the bounce house and celebrating their win against the pinata. It’s a tradition to visit this site in San Rafael and we look forward to many more!

This year marks NorthBay Biz Magazine’s 35th installment of a reader’s choice award that determines the best businesses in Sonoma, Marin, and Napa counties. The contest received more than 15,000 votes. ZFA is proud to be awarded the BEST OF Engineering Firm from the 2024 reader’s poll! ZFA’s Kevin Zucco, Leslie Patterson, and Drew Fagent, S.E. accepted the award on May 23 at the annual celebration. Thank you to all for your support, we couldn’t do it without you!  Results are shown here: https://lnkd.in/gyv2EiEw

ZFA’s Christian Salvador Botto recently had the opportunity to connect with engineers, government employees, and emergency decision makers during a virtual, three-hour training to Puerto Rico on FEMA E-74: Reducing the Risks of Nonstructural Earthquake Damage. Christian is from El Salvador and often recalls the devastating 1986 earthquake that destroyed downtown San Salvador. As a structural engineer working in the San Francisco Bay Area, he feels privileged to be able to use his native language to lead FEMA’s web-based training seminars (funded by the National Earthquake Technical Assistance Program). Christian enjoys the challenge of translating technical presentation slides for the audience and has completed three sessions, which are delivered in Spanish to 100+ attendees and allow time for Q&A. The FEMA E-74 presentation last month focused on recognizing the seismic importance of properly securing non-structural building components (MEP systems, furniture, fixtures, and equipment), and what can be done to minimize injuries and costs. A range of mitigation strategies were discussed—including low-cost solutions that can be accomplished by maintenance personnel, such as fastening tall/heavy bookshelves to wall studs—to more complex hospital bracing that requires construction professionals. For more information about FEMA’s training program, please visit: https://lnkd.in/gdiuU36K Recientemente Christian Salvador Botto, de ZFA tuvo la oportunidad de conectarse con ingenieros, empleados públicos y gerentes de emergencias durante un taller virtual de tres horas para Puerto Rico sobre FEMA E-74: Reducción de los riesgos de daños no estructurales por terremotos. Christian es de El Salvador y a menudo recuerda el devastador terremoto de 1986 que destruyó el centro de San Salvador. Como ingeniero estructural que trabaja en el Área de la Bahía de San Francisco, se siente privilegiado de poder usar su lengua materna para dirigir los talleres de capacitación de FEMA (financiados por el Programa Nacional de Asistencia Técnica para Terremotos). Christian disfruta el desafío de traducir diapositivas de presentaciones técnicas para la audiencia y ha completado tres talleres, que se presentan en español a más de 100 asistentes y permiten tiempo para preguntas y respuestas. La presentación del FEMA E-74 de el mes pasado se centró en reconocer la importancia sísmica de sujetar adecuadamente los componentes no estructurales de edificios (sistemas MEP, muebles, accesorios y equipos), y técnicas para minimizar las lesiones y los costos. Se presentó una variedad de estrategias de mitigación, incluidas soluciones de bajo costo que puede lograr el personal de mantenimiento, como sujetar estanterías altas/pesadas a los montantes de la pared, hasta refuerzos hospitalarios más complejos que requieren profesionales de la construcción.

ZFA’s DEI Committee held its first ever discussion as an optional lunch activity last month. Staff in all five offices participated, ranging from designers to executive principals, and from engineers to accounting and marketing professionals. Each office met in-person, while being connected to other offices virtually. With a blend of generations, from Gen Z innovators to seasoned Baby Boomers, employees examined how the differences in generations are apparent in the workplace, brainstorming ways to leverage this diversity to strengthen ZFA’s mission and better serve our clients.

As part of our company’s ongoing DEI initiatives, ZFA has partnered with the Society of Women Engineers Golden Gate Section (SWE-GGS) by contributing to its annual scholarship fund. This scholarship assists young women from the Bay Area who are graduating from high school and going on to pursue degrees in engineering. We are excited to announce that Sasha Cacho and Fatimah Hussain are the two recipients of the 2024 ZFA SWE scholarships. ZFA is honored to support them in pursuing their STEM ambitions and wishes them the best in their engineering studies! For more about SWE-GGS scholarships, visit: 2024 Scholarship Information - Golden Gate (swe.org)

ZFA offices will be closed on Thursday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day.

Please join us in congratulating Alexander Alaura Reyes, SE for 10 years of exceptional service at ZFA! As a licensed structural engineer, Alex focuses on custom residential projects, demonstrating a deep appreciation for the intricate level of communication and detail required to create the best residences for our clients. His expertise spans a wide range of materials, and he is most proud of a recent project in Sonoma that was built with a combination of site-built elements, modular boxes, and modular flat panels. Alex contributes to discussions about sustainable designs and building science with the Bay Area Building Science Collaborative, and internally serves as the chair of ZFA’s Operations, Technology, and Steering Committee (OTSC). His life outside of work is busy with a diverse list of hobbies—including photography, weightlifting, hiking/camping, barbecuing, fantasy football, and studying film history. Recently married, he continues to find balance between his professional and personal passions. Alex is successful in delivering high-quality engineering designs and collaborating with the ZFA team and outside firms to deliver remarkable projects. His ever-positive attitude, ability to be an active listener, and easygoing nature help fuel our company culture that seeks to allow each individual in our company to shine. We look forward to seeing him continue to grow at ZFA. Thank you, Alex, for a decade of outstanding contributions!

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐲! On Sunday, June 23, we shine a spotlight on the incredible women at ZFA who are shaping the future through their dedication to engineering. We asked them to share why they chose this career and what they love about their work. Here’s what they had to say: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠? “It’s 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐮𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐞 every day for each project, which keeps things interesting.”  “I’ve always dreamed of being an engineer, but it took me a while to find the confidence to pursue it. As a kid 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, especially with toilet paper rolls!” “𝐌𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 for building homes led me to the Design Studio at ZFA!” 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 “Being able to see 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 is incredibly rewarding.” “𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 - my work transforms architectural visions into reality by combining physics and engineering expertise.” “Figuring out how all of these 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 can come together to create something tangible.” “Creating 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 and 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 is what makes my job so fulfilling.” We are proud to support and celebrate the talented women in engineering who make a difference every day.