Magnusson Klemencic Associates is an American structural and civil engineering

consulting firm A consulting firm or simply consultancy is a professional service firm that provides expertise and specialised labour for a fee, through the use of consultants. Consulting firms may have one employee or thousands; they may consult in a broad range ...

with its headquarters in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. The company has completed projects worth more than $99 billion in 48 states and 54 countries. Significant MKA projects through its history include the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

, the Columbia Center,

Aqua Aqua is the Latin word for water. It is used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to: Arts * Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color Business * Aqua (skyscraper), an 82-story residential skysc ...

, the Doha Convention Center Tower, the Olympic Sculpture Park, and

Salesforce Tower Salesforce Tower, formerly known as Transbay Tower, is a 61-story skyscraper at 415 Mission Street, between First and Fremont Street, in the South of Market district of downtown San Francisco. Its main tenant is Salesforce, a cloud-based softwar ...

History

Magnusson Klemencic Associates was founded in 1920 as the W.H. Witt Company in Seattle. In 1929, Witt died in a railroad crossing accident and the company passed to partners Harold Worthington and George Runciman (who was referred to as "a leading structural engineer in Seattle"). During this time the firm designed several notable Seattle buildings, including the Joseph Vance Building and the 1223 Spring Apartment Building. After the end of World War II the building industry in the United States picked up and the firm grew in size. In 1955 the firm was renamed Worthington and Skilling, reflecting the addition of

John Skilling John Skilling (October 8, 1921 in Los Angeles, California – March 5, 1998 in Seattle, Washington) was a civil engineer and architect, best known for being the chief structural engineer of the World Trade Center (1973–2001), World Trade Cen ...

as a partner. John Skilling, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, remained a partner in the firm for over 45 years. Notable projects under Skilling's leadership include the

, IBM Building, and the Columbia Center. During the design of the World Trade Center the firm maintained offices in Seattle as well as

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In 1960 the firm name changed to Worthington, Skilling, Helle & Jackson, reflecting the addition of Helge Helle and Joe Jackson as partners. In 1967, John V. Christiansen and

Leslie E. Robertson Leslie Earl Robertson (February 12, 1928 – February 11, 2021) was an American engineer. He was the lead structural engineer of the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center in New York City, and served as structural engineer on numerous ot ...

would become partners and the firm would be named Skilling, Helle, Christiansen, Robertson. However, in the early 1980s partner Robertson split the New York City office from the firm to become Leslie E. Robertson Associates. And in 1983 the firm name changed to in 1983, Skilling Ward Rogers Barkshire and Bill Ward was named a partner. In 1976 Jon Magnusson joined the firm, having recently graduated from

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

. By age 30 Magnusson was a principal, and in 1987 the firm was renamed Skilling Ward Magnusson Barkshire. At age 34 Magnusson was CEO of the company. In 2003 Magnusson was recognized as an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Ron Klemencic joined the company in 1992, having spent the previous six years at KPFF Consulting Engineers in Seattle. He was eventually promoted to president, and in 2003 the firm changed its name to Magnusson Klemencic Associates, the first time since 1955 that the name did not reflect John Skilling's leadership. To date, the tallest building designed in the firm's history is the 1,808 ft Doha Convention Center Tower, currently under construction. Below is a summary of the firm's name changes since its inception. *1923-1955: W.H. Witt Company *1955-1960: Worthington & Skilling *1960-1967: Worthington, Skilling, Helle, & Jackson *1967-1983: Skilling, Helle, Christiansen,

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Places ...

*1983-1987: Skilling Ward Rogers Barkshire *1987-2003: Skilling Ward Magnusson Barkshire *2003–present: Magnusson Klemencic Associates

Notable staff

Magnusson Klemencic has employed many notable engineers. John Skilling, Leslie Robertson, and Jack Christiansen, three of its former partners, are members of the National Academy of Engineering, the most prestigious honor that can be given to an engineer. In his Election Citation, John Skilling is described by the NAE as a "pioneering building engineer." Other awards include Engineer of the Year, awarded by the Structural Engineers Association of Washington, which has been given to several MKA engineers, including Bill Ward, John Skilling, John Hooper, Jon Magnusson, and Michael Valley. Current Chairman and CEO Ron Klemencic received the 2018 ENR Award of Excellence for "daring to innovate, for spearheading the age of cooperative R&D and for his relentless pursuit of a better and more constructible built environment." In 2019, Ron was honored with the ASCE Outstanding Project and Leaders (OPAL) Award. The OPAL Award recognizes one leader in each of five categories—Design, Education, Government, and Management—with Ron earning the award for his innovation, leadership, and lifetime achievement in the design category. Ron was the volunteer chairman of the nonprofit Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat from 2001 to 2006. He serves as a director for the Charles Pankow Foundation and with a grant from them, he led the development of performance-based seismic design for structures.

Notable projects

Since 1996, MKA projects have won the Grand Conceptor Award three times. The Grand Conceptor Award is the highest award given by the

American Council of Engineering Companies The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the oldest and largest business association of engineering companies. It is organized as a federation of 52 state and regional councils with national headquarters in Washington, D.C., compris ...

(ACEC). It is awarded to the best overall engineering project in the country each year. MKA was given the Grand Conceptor Award for the KeyArena (1996), the Seattle United States Courthouse (2006), and the Olympic Sculpture Park (2008).

Skyscrapers

The following is a partial list of notable skyscrapers designed by MKA. The World Trade Center was designed by partners of the firm, including Leslie Robertson, before he departed to found his own company, Leslie E. Robertson Associates. *

* Doha Convention Center Tower *

KAFD The King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) is a mixed-use financial district located near King Fahad Road in the Al Aqeeq area of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Managed by the King Abdullah Financial District Development and Management Company (KAFD DMC), ...

World Trade Center *

Leatop Plaza Leatop Plaza (; ) is a 66-storey, late-modernist supertall skyscraper in Guangzhou, China. Leatop Plaza is placed on the site parallel to the East entrance at the central axis of Zhujiang New Town. The office tower has a floor pitch of . The c ...

Russell Investments Center Russell Investments Center is a 42-floor skyscraper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the ninth tallest building in Seattle at , and on completion was the largest skyscraper to mark the downtown skyline in nearly 15 years. The sky ...

Highcliff Highcliff is a luxury apartment on a south slope of Happy Valley on the Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. The 75- storey building's construction (70 floors of which are liveable space) began in 2000 and was completed in 2003 under a design by ...

300 North LaSalle 300 North LaSalle is a 60-story mixed-use building, constructed from 2006 to 2009, located on the north bank of the Chicago River on the Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The building contains 1.3 million squar ...

* Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower * Louisville Museum Plaza * The Summit *

111 South Wacker Drive 111 South Wacker Drive is a high-rise office building located in Chicago, Illinois. Completed in 2005 and standing at 681 feet (208 m), the 51 story blue-glass structure is one of the tallest in the city. It sits on the site of the former U.S. ...

340 on the Park 340 on the Park is a residential tower in the Lakeshore East development of the neighborhood of New Eastside/ East Loop Chicago and was completed in 2007. The building briefly surpassed 55 East Erie as the tallest all-residential building in C ...

* One Rincon Hill *

* Rainier Square Redevelopment

Stadiums, public spaces, and other projects

Seattle Central Library The Seattle Central Library is the flagship library of the Seattle Public Library system. The 11-story (185 feet or 56.9 meters high) glass and steel building in downtown Seattle, Washington was opened to the public on May 23, 2004. Rem Koolhaas an ...

* Experience Music Project (EMP) Museum *

Levi's Stadium Levi's Stadium is an American football stadium located in Santa Clara, California, just outside San Jose in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has served as the home venue for the National Football League (NFL)'s San Francisco 49ers since 2014. T ...

, home of the San Francisco 49ers * Avaya Stadium, home of the San Jose Earthquakes * T-Mobile Park (formerly Safeco Field), home of the Seattle Mariners * Lumen Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Sounders FC *

Stockton Arena Stockton Arena is an indoor arena in Stockton, California. It opened in December 2005 and seats a maximum of 12,000 fans. It is the home venue of the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League. Former tenants include the Stockton Heat of the American ...

* Mineta San Jose International Airport * Olympic Sculpture Park * Omni San Diego Hotel *

Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre The Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre is a theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas ( USA). It is one of four venues that comprise the AT&T Performing Arts Center and was dedicated October 12, ...

* Chase Center * Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center * Presidio Tunnel Tops

References

External links

Magnusson Klemencic Associates Corporate Website
{{Authority control Construction and civil engineering companies of the United States Engineering consulting firms Companies based in Seattle Design companies established in 1923