Larger than Life Structural Engineering
Our structural engineering team offers clients an array of services, from niche material handling and racking to the growing trend of mass timber utilization. With their in-depth knowledge and experience, our structural team has an outsized impact on the success of all building types — education, commercial, government, healthcare, industrial/manufacturing, residential, and retail — to meet your every need. You can count on us not only for the structural integrity of your project, but also to support you through every phase of design and construction, with expert advice and flexible solutions that will stand the test of time.
Structural Engineering Services
Licensed in all 50 states and most Canadian provinces, our structural design expertise covers the gamut of services for both new and existing buildings, including:
- Adventure/obstacle course systems
- Bridge design
- Historic retrofits
- Industrial design
- Mass timber (CLT, NLT, DLT, GLT, MPP)
- Material handling and racking
- Roof anchor/fire escape certification
- Seismic design, review, and upgrades
- Structurally insulated panels
- Tilt-up concrete
- Water/wastewater
Cushing Terrell provided multidisciplinary design services, including structural engineering, for the Montana Heritage Center, which is set to open in 2025.
Bringing You the Best in…
Adventure Projects
If your goal is to capitalize on your space and activate adventure, the Cushing Terrell structural team has the expertise to make it happen. From obstacle courses in just about any kind of environment to climbing walls and ziplines, we work with clients to enhance amenities, create destinations, enable physical training, and deliver exhilarating experiences for users.
Known for their ability to deliver out-of-the-box solutions, our structural team’s clients for adventure projects include those in the hospitality, government/military, education, commercial, and civic/cultural markets. As this industry has evolved quickly over the past 20 years, our team’s expertise has also continually evolved and adapted so we can best meet the needs of our clients.
Bridge Design
Whether you’re looking to incorporate a bridge structure to connect buildings, trailheads, shores, or roadway infrastructure, our team has experience designing bridges for a variety of project types including those for pedestrians, multi-use, vehicles, and specialized use. With the goal of ensuring safety, functionality, and pleasing aesthetics, we can help you realize a successful project through knowledge and services that include: site analysis, load assessment, material selection, seismic analysis, codes and standards, maintenance and durability, and environmental impacts.
Our clients include federal and non-federal government, military, commercial, healthcare, and residential.
Mass Timber
Relatively new in North American building design, mass timber is rapidly growing in popularity. Architecturally, mass timber is aesthetically pleasing, has biophilic qualities, offers excellent acoustic control, and is sustainable with a low-carbon footprint. Structurally, mass timber weighs less than traditional building materials, is robust in strength, and naturally fire-resistant. From a construction standpoint, mass timber can be erected faster, shaving months off construction schedules.
With a variety of types, mass timber is suitable for many different structures. And with expertise in all types, our team provides feasibility studies, cost analyses, and help with decision making to pair the building type with the best building material choice.
Material Handling and Racking
When it comes to shipping and manufacturing facilities, industrial warehouses, retail stores, and distribution centers, material handling and racking systems are key features. These systems often comprise shelving, racks, mezzanines, walkways, and conveyors, and must be designed for optimal and efficient storage and movement of goods of all shapes and sizes.
Our material handling team is made up of structural engineers who can handle jobs large and small and understand the need to deliver solutions and systems within tight timeframes. Licensed in all U.S. states and most of Canada, this team can meet you where you are and thrives on the challenge of designing cost-effective systems and workflows to help keep your businesses operating at optimal speed.
Seismic Design
Critical for the majority of projects across the Western United States, seismic assessments are not limited to a particular project type, size, or material but are based on the different seismic classes and soil types for each location. While many of our structural engineers have geotechnical backgrounds, we have the added bonus of geotechnical engineering support through our civil group, as well as our multidisciplinary team’s expertise in areas with high fault activity.
When it comes to ensuring your project can flex where needed, protect occupants, and quite literally stand up to what Mother Nature throws your way, our team has the intricate knowledge of how to design for safety and longevity, while partnering with architectural leads to realize the aesthetic vision for each project.
Tilt-Up Concrete
A “tilt-up” building is a type of construction where concrete wall panels are cast onsite then lifted (or tilted) into place. The finished product is similar to precast concrete, which is manufactured off-site. The advantages of tilt-up concrete construction include speed, cost savings, efficiency, and durability.
Our structural team can serve as the Engineer of Record on projects as well as take on specialty work. We come in as the specialist, for example, when a client wants a composite wall panel system in which EPS foam is sandwiched between two layers of concrete to increase a building’s thermal performance. This type of product also reduces the amount of concrete required and is becoming more popular with an increasing awareness of embodied carbon.
Meet Some of Our Structural Engineers
Andy Kassavetis is a structural engineer in Portland, Oregon, who specializes in historic renovation and retrofit projects. He works with clients across the country to revitalize old and historic building stock, helping to ensure structures are fit for modern use and habitation, not only through expert design, but also extensive testing. He’s particularly interested in seismic retrofits and disaster resilience, working to safeguard the investments of our clients and keep users and occupants safe and protected.
Jamie Garcia is a structural engineer in Bend, Oregon. While Jamie’s expertise covers a variety of project types across multiple markets, she has a passion for wood structures — everything from small pole barns to large mass timber structures. She loves a challenge and projects that require a high level of thought and coordination. Her specialty, cross laminated timber (CLT), falls under the mass-timber umbrella, encompassing many different building material types, each with its own unique characteristics and applications.
Cole Moller is a structural engineer in Billings, Montana. He’s worked on a variety of project types across the Western United States, and one of his specialties is seismic design. Cole considers geographic location, seismic classes, materiality, and the connections between materials to ensure buildings can take and dissipate a force in a prescribed manner. Key to a successful project, he says, is a close working relationship between architectural and structural designers to make sure everything aligns for the ultimate in collapse prevention.
Scott Ratterman is a structural engineer in Portland, Oregon. He specializes in heavy timber and glulam (glued laminated timber) projects. Heavy timber comprises big, solid, sawn pieces of wood thus is different from engineered wood products (mass timber). Both types, however, are strong, durable, and sustainable. Scott is an expert in traditional timber framing as well as specialty arched glulam structures. Where might you see Scott’s work? Custom homes and commercial buildings such as wineries, churches, and event spaces.
Kevin Feldman is a group director of structural engineering based in Billings, Montana. His expertise spans a wide range of building types and services, from assessments and renovations to new construction. His project work has covered diverse geologic and climate regions, including areas with heavy snow, high winds, and heightened seismic activity. Known for providing exceptional service to his clients and bringing a wealth of overall experience, Kevin’s specialties include healthcare and industrial facilities and bridge design.
Rolf Armstrong is a director of structural engineering and leads Cushing Terrell’s office in Bend, Oregon. Rolf’s extensive structural experience includes educational, institutional, commercial, and residential projects. Rolf has been instrumental in establishing a variety of office locations and building teams in those locations. He’s knowledgeable in all things related to structural systems and often found establishing client and partner relationships, helping to grow the firm’s engineering-direct opportunities.
Project Highlights
Featured work from our structural engineering services portfolio.
Bridge Superstructure
Creating a stable — and beautiful — walkway.
This bridge superstructure was designed for Google at their workplace in Sunnyvale, California.
A complex project in many respects: The bridge was assembled the same way it was fabricated, on its side, and then lifted upright and set into its final place on-site; the walkway and concrete ladder structure were shipped to the site and assembled in place; and the cables, which prevent bouncing/vibration as people walk across the narrow 7′ walkway, required precise tension calculations.
Cushing Terrell’s knowledge of bridge design and performance transcends a single team and includes expertise in structural, electrical, and mechanical engineering as well as field testing and instrumentation.
Reworking and Improving
The beloved Alberta Bair Theater gets a structural upgrade.
“For a structural engineer, reworking and improving the technical rigging spaces at the Alberta Bair has to be my favorite. Not a typical office setting but was able to create a vastly improved environment for the technical staff at the theater.”
-Dane Jorgensen, Structural Engineer
The structural design task at Alberta Bair Theater was to re-frame the fly loft and provide upgraded capacity and total flexibility to accommodate motor load anywhere on the floor. Given there were no as-builts, the existing suspended concrete roof was removed in order to gain capacity.
Detailing, Structural, and Steel
Giving structural elements architectural flair.
The renovation of Glacier Park International Airport updated the aging terminal with a contemporary mountain aesthetic inspired by national park lodges. Backlit steel panels reflect the natural landscape and set the stage for arriving visitors under a steel, glass, and stone canopy. Heavy timber trusses are supported on multi-story stone piers, framing views of the surrounding mountains through patterned glass walls.
The structural design addressed many complexities. High groundwater, seismic requirements, and high snow loads were all factored into the design. The project incorporated structural steel, concrete, concrete masonry, and heavy glue-laminated timber framing. Overall compatibility with the existing structure and framing, as well as expected lateral movements between the them, played a role in determining new components and phasing requirements.
Connect with Our Structural Team
Learn more about how our structural engineering services can support your projects.
