Project Description

Leslie E. Robertson

P.E., C.E., S.E., D.Sc., D.Eng., NAE, Dist. M.ASCE, AIJ, JSCA, AGIR, Chartered Structural Engineer

Education

University of California at Berkeley, B.Sc., 1952

Professional Experience

1958 to Date – Leslie E. Robertson Associates, R.L.L.P.
1957 to 1958 – Raymond International
1954 to 1957 – John Blume & Associates
1952 to 1954 – Kaiser Engineers

Mr. Robertson is responsible for the structural design of hundreds of buildings and structures about the world, including the Shanghai World Financial Center, the World Trade Center (New York), the United States Steel Headquarters (Pittsburgh), the Bank of China Tower (Hong Kong), Puerta de Europa (Madrid) and the IZOD Center, as well as exceptional museums in Berlin, Portland (Maine) and Seattle, and the Miho Museum Bridge (Japan).

With his innovations in structural engineering, Mr. Robertson has set new standards in the design and construction of tall buildings. A pioneer in the application of computers to design, he has advanced the art and the science of structural engineering theory. Mr. Robertson’s work on skyscrapers, domes, bridges and long-span roofs has transformed engineering theory into practical technological breakthroughs that free architects to build the stuff of dreams.

Professional Licenses

• Structural Engineer – California
• Professional Engineer – New York. Licensed or eligible in all 50 states. N.C.E.E.
• Civil Engineer – California. Licensed or eligible in all 50 states.
• First Class Architect and Professional Engineer, Japan
• Chartered Structural Engineer, United Kingdom.

Honors and Awards

Responsible for the structural design and construction of three of the world’s tallest buildings, Mr. Robertson received the 1993 Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Science and Technology for his structural design of the World Trade Center that withstood the 1993 terrorist bombing. As well, he was awarded the World Trade Center Individual Exceptional Service Medal for his work in the re-construction of the twin towers.

Mr. Robertson received the first Henry C. Turner Prize for Innovation in Construction Technology. The National Building Museum and Turner Construction Company established the prize for notable advances and high achievement in the process of construction. The award recognized Mr. Robertson’s 50-year career as a structural designer, which has significantly advanced the engineering and construction of tall buildings around the world. He also recently received the prestigious Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) award from the American Society of Civil Engineers for his lifetime achievement in the category of design.

Mr. Robertson received the Gengo Matsui Prize, the AIA Institute Honor and honorary membership with the AIA, New York; and was recognized as ENR’s Construction ”Man of the Year’. Mr. Robertson was recently named one of Engineering News Record’s “125 Top People of the Past 125 Years”. He is one of twenty structural engineers (nine of whom are living) who made ENR’s list of 125 Top People. Additional honors include:

• Elected to the National Academy of Engineering in recognition of his expertise and contributions to the field of structural engineering.
• Doctor of Engineering: Lehigh University
• Doctor of Science: The University of Western Ontario
• Doctor of Engineering: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Doctor of Engineering: University of Notre Dame
• International Award of Merit in Structural Engineering, IABSE (2011)
• Recipient of the ASCE Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) Award for lifetime contributions in design, 2003
• The Top 25 Newsmakers of ENR, 1993 and 1997
• 1991 John F. Parmer Award: Structural Engineers Association of Illinois
• 1989 Institute Honor: American Institute of Architects
• State-of-the-Art in Civil Engineering Award: ASCE
• Raymond C. Reese Research Prize: ASCE
• AISC’s J. Lloyd Kimbrough Award, 2001
• Honorary Member: American Institute of Architects, New York Chapter
• Structural Engineers Association of New York, Honorary Member
• Honorary Member and Medal: National Society of Romanian Engineers (AGIR)

Professional Activities and Teaching Experience

• Professor: Princeton University, 2002-2005
• The Gordon Smith Lecturer, Yale University, 2003
• The Felix Candela Lecturer Ð M.I.T., Museum of Modern Art, New York, Princeton University, 2002-03
• Board of Directors: The Skyscraper Museum
• Member: Architectural Institute of Japan
• Commencement Speaker: Penn State University, 2002
• The Frank Howard Distinguished Lecturer: George Washington University, 2002
• Distinguished Engineering Alumnus, University of California at Berkeley
• Fellow: The MacDowell Colony, 1996; Board of Directors, 2004-2005
• Honorary Fellowship and Medal: Tokyo Society of Architects & Building Engineers
• Architects, Designers, Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR), Board
• Committee on Bombing Preparedness: Japan Institute of Architects
• Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems Committee on Federal Construction Design Criteria
• Fellow: American Society of Civil Engineers
• Past Chairman: Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
• Fellow: New York Academy of Sciences; Committee on Human Rights
• Board of Directors: The Architectural League of New York< • Fellow: Singapore Structural Steel Society • Member: Japan Structural Consultants Association • Past Chairman: Wind Engineering Research Council Patents

• U.S. Patents: Viscoelastic Damper for Buildings (#3,605,953) Elevator Cable Dampers (#5,103,937)
• Japanese Patents: Long-Span Structural System (#11800161)
• Euro Patents: Cable Stabilization System (#DE 692 19 464.9-06)

Publications

Mr. Robertson has written over 700 papers on structural, earthquake and wind engineering.

Office Buildings / Mixed-Use Projects

• Lotte Jamsil Super Tower, Seoul, Korea
• Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai, China
• Nakheel Tall Tower, Dubai, UAE
• Mabarak Center, Lahore, Pakistan
• Shenyang International Finance Center, Shenyang, China
• AIG Tower and Pedestrian Footbridge (now AIA Central), Hong Kong
• World Trade Center, New York, NY
• Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong, China
• US Steel Headquarters, Pittsburgh, PA
• PPG Headquarters, Pittsburgh, PA
• AT&T (now SONY) Corporate Headquarters, New York, NY
• Federal Reserve Bank, Minneapolis, MN
• Capital Place, Fort Bonifacio, Manila, Philippines
• Megaworld Place, Manila, Philippines
• Harbour City Retail/ Office/ Apartment Complex, Hong Kong
• Pacific Place, Hong Kong
• Taikoo Place Development, Hong Kong
• Bilbao Emblematic Buildings, Bilbao, Spain
• International Trade Center, Barcelona, Spain
• Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Shanghai, China
• LDC-K111 Hanoi Road Development, Hong Kong
• Puerta de Europa, Madrid, Spain
• Torre Picasso, Madrid, Spain
• Sentra BDNI, Jakarta, Indonesia
• Graha Kuningan, Jakarta, Indonesia

Hotel / Residential

• Ritz-Carlton, Astana, Kazakhstan
• Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles
• Mabarak Center, Lahore, Pakistan
• Ma Tau Kok Development, Hong Kong
• Sai Wan Ho Development, Hong Kong
• Conrad Centennial Hotel and Retail, Singapore
• Grange Court, Singapore

Museums / Galleries and Related Facilities

• Sculpture, Doha, Qatar
• Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar
• NASCAR Hall of Fame and Museum, Charlotte, NC
• National Constitution Center, Philadelphia, PA
• Latvian National Library, Riga, Latvia
• Miho Museum and Bridge, Shiga-Raki, Japan
• Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland, OH
• Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
• Suzhou Museum, Suzhou, China
• Macau Science Center, Macau, China
• AT&T (now SONY) Exhibitions Building, New York, NY
• Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY
• Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine
• Anchorage Museum of Art, Anchorage, AK

Long Span / Convention Centers / Theaters

• Miho Museum Bridge, Shigaraki, Japan
• Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, TX
• Palm Beach Opera House, Palm Beach, FL.
• Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD
• San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, CA
• IZOD Center (formerly Continental Airlines Arena), East Rutherford, NJ
• New Cleveland Playhouse, Cleveland, OH

Educational Facilities

• College of Law Building, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
• Choate Rosemary Hall Science Center, Wallingford, CT.
• Arts and Media Building, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.
• Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton
University, Princeton, NJ.
• Uris Library Addition, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

Retail

• Neiman-Marcus Store, San Francisco, CA
• AT&T (now SONY) Retail Building, New York, NY
• HAWA Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Peer Reviews / Structural Audits

• Busan Lotte Tower, Busan, Korea
• Guangzhou East Tower, Guangzhou, China
• International Commerce Centre, Kowloon Station, China
• International Finance Center 1 & 2 and Four Seasons Hotel, Hong Kong Station, China (Office & Hotel Towers)
• Parc1 Mixed-Use development, Seoul, Korea
• Emirates Headquarters, Dubai, UAE
• Trump International Hotel & Tower, Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE
• Icon Hotel, Dubai Promenade, Dubai, UAE
• One Central, The Mandarin Oriental, Macau, China
• Torre de Cristal, Madrid, Spain
• Mary Avenue Pedestrian Bridge, Cupertino, California
• San Jose Arena, San Jose, CA
• Hong Kong Building Code Review
• Tung Chung Station Development, Hong Kong (Residential Towers)
• The Floridian, Hong Kong (Residential Towers)
• Tseung Kwan O Lot 55, Hong Kong (Residential Towers)