Announcing: 2027 Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards Gala |
March 6, 2027 | 6 p.m. - SAVE THE DATE
Mark your calendars for SEA-MW's 21st annual Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards Gala to recognize outstanding achievements of DC-region structural engineering firms. This year's gala will be held at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco in Washington, DC. Proceeds from the gala support SEA-MW's scholarships as well as other programming throughout the year. |
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Call for Exceptional Projects!
Intent to Enter Deadline: August 24
SEA-MW's ESE Awards acknowledge projects that demonstrate exceptional innovation, creativity, and constructability, as well as individual structural engineers who have made outstanding contributions. The gala is attended by member firms and other industry leaders. Use the link below to learn more and submit a project for consideration. |
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August 25 | 5:30 p.m. | Committee Event
Sustainability Spotlight: Under Armour HQ
How do ambitious sustainability goals become successfully built projects? Join the SEA-MW Sustainable Design Committee for a presentation by Douglas Schweizer, Liz Resenic, and Ira Cohen, who will share how cross-disciplinary collaboration enabled one of the largest mass timber office buildings in the US while achieving bold embodied carbon, operational carbon, and wellness goals. Light snacks and beverages will be provided. |
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September 18 | 9 a.m. | Career Event
2026 Next Step Career Forum
Save the date! This annual event provides a forum for SEA-MW member firms to connect with undergraduate and graduate students in the area. It also provides students with insight into careers in structural engineering. Details and registration coming soon for both students and firms! |
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September 23 | 6:30 p.m. | Member Meeting
Good Vibrations? Measuring, Feeling, and Fixing Building Motion
Join SEA-MW for our fall kick-off meeting! This interactive program will provide a practical framework for understanding and evaluating vibration in buildings. Using live demonstrations with seismographs, wired and wireless accelerometers, an active mass damper, and potentially a laser vibrometer, attendees will see how vibration is measured, processed, and interpreted in real time. |
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Spotlight on Sustainability |
Understanding Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)
An environmental product declaration (EPD) is a document describing the environmental impacts of a product such as a concrete mix, structural steel, or even architectural products such as carpet. EPDs are used by designers, owners, and regulators to compare products and determine the impact of a project. They also provide the information necessary to complete a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), which is becoming more and more common.
They should be generated per ISO 14040/14044, ISO 14025, EN 15804, or ISO 21930 standards. ISO 14025 ensures verification by a third party, is very common, and often required. The data is collected and calculated according to standardized Product Category Rules defined in ISO 14025. EPDs are generally valid for 5 years from creation.
There are two main types of EPDs: Industry Average and Product Specific. An Industry Average Type III EPD is developed by industry organizations (AISC, NRMCA, etc.) and represents an aggregated environmental impact of the respective material, while a Product Specific Type III EPD is developed by a specific material manufacturer (Nucor, Vulcan, etc.) and measures the environmental impact of a single product.
The most basic information in an EPD is the global warming potential (GWP), measured in kilograms of CO2-equivalent (kg-CO2eq). This puts a number to the embodied carbon that can be allocated to a particular product. Whole Building Life Cycle Analyses, such as those now required by LEED v5, will also track additional impact categories that have other effects on the environment.
A great resource to find published EPDs in the DMV area is the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) by Building Transparency. For more information, please reach out to any member of the SEA-MW Sustainable Design Committee. |
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Project Spotlight
This feature highlights SEA-MW's 2026 Excellence in Structural Engineering Award winners and finalists.
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Merit Awardee: New Construction $40 to $100 Million
Inova Health Center – Oakville at Potomac Yard
Ehlert Bryan
Inova Health Center at Oakville is a four-story, 100,000 SF healthcare facility in Alexandria, Virginia. The project establishes a new architectural identity for Inova while meeting the complex demands of modern healthcare. The superstructure is a concrete frame built above a below-grade parking garage delivered by a separate developer, architect, and general contractor. The superstructure was engineered for vibration-sensitive medical equipment, including imaging suites, CT scanners, and many hung medical booms. The building’s façade design combines curtainwall, curved GFRC panels, large horizontal and vertical GFRC fins, and a tension-cabled glass screen wall supported several feet in front of the envelope. Steel outriggers at each floor brace the system and the internal catwalks. Cantilevered steel frames project up to 15 feet above the roof to support parapets and extend beyond the concrete frame to support the large cable forces. Misaligned façade joints were resolved with cantilever slab arms above and below the floor plates. The structure supported the project’s LEED Gold certification through low-carbon concrete mix designs, detailing to reduce thermal bridging, and efficient member sizes. |
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