Collaborator Profile: David Strandberg, Strandberg Engineering

Three Gables- Architect: Aidlin Darling Design, Structural Engineer: Strandberg Engineering, Builder: Grassi & Associates, Photographer: Matthew Millman

In seismically challenged California, engaging a structural engineer is essential. Grassi is fortunate to collaborate with San Francisco's Strandberg Engineering. David Strandberg started his eponymous firm in 2013. He began his career at SOM and later formed a company with Peter Yu. Today, Strandberg Engineering commissions range from high-end residences to large commercial structures. One of the homes they worked on with Grassi was a rural homestead in Napa Valley, designed by Aidlin Darling Design. The collaboration continues with projects from  Field Architecture and Walker Warner. Grassi caught up with David to learn more about the structural engineer. 

GAA: You grew up in Richmond, VA, but have lived in San Francisco for over 20 years now; how was it exchanging the Southeast for the Northwest?

DS: There were two times in my life when I felt like I found my people. One was when I started my Master's program in architecture. The other was when I moved from Blacksburg, VA, to San Francisco, CA. I quickly fell in love with the people of San Francisco, the architecture, the food, and the natural landscape of the city and northern California as a whole.  

GAA: What drew you to structural engineering? 

DS: While pursuing my undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering, I took a ceramics class at the School of Architecture. I had worked for a potter in high school, so that was already a developing interest of mine. That ceramics class was how I found architecture. It was my portal into the world of architecture. I ended up staying on to do my Master's in Architecture. While I was working on my architecture degree, I decided to take my engineering courses in the School of Engineering instead of the School of Architecture. I enjoyed the courses, and the work came easily to me, so I stayed another year to earn my Master's in Structural Engineering. In short, architecture is what drew me to structural engineering.

Modernist Legends: John Merrill, Nathaniel Owings, and Louis Skidmore, 1953

GAA:  What was it like getting your career start at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill?

DS: SOM was a great place to start a career. Given my interest in both architecture and structural engineering, it was a natural fit. Working as a structural engineer within an architecture firm allowed me to engage with architects directly as a young engineer. There was a culture of mutual respect between the trades within the office that has stuck with me ever since. There was also a culture of hard work that has cursed me ever since.  

GAA: What was it like working in London for SOM as a structural engineer? 

DS: Working in London was amazing. I was also able to work in Chicago for SOM for a few months, but 9/11 happened during that time, and the mission of starting a structural group in London was abandoned after being there for less than a year. Soon after returning to SF, I connected with Peter Yu, and we started Yu Strandberg Engineering.

GAA: What are the challenges of building in seismically active California? 

DS: Earthquakes govern so much of what we do. Half of our time is spent designing the building's lateral system, and the other half is spent developing the gravity system. Earthquakes make our work as engineers much more interesting, and they also contribute to California being one of the best places in the world to practice structural engineering. 

GAA: What are Strandberg Engineering's core values? 

DS: We recently conducted an exercise on a Principal's retreat and, as an office, to define our core values. We came up with the following: empathy, collaboration, respect, and creativity. Empathy is something that we stress as a practice of understanding and caring for how our work impacts the builder, the client, the architect, and the earth.

GAA: What has been your favorite project and why?

DS: I love all of our projects. That's like asking me for a favorite color or fruit.  They're all beautiful.

GAA: Along with your Master's Degree in Civil Engineering, you have a Master's Degree in Architecture. What are your favorite architectural styles? 

DS: My favorite architecture is less "style" based and more a function of the thoughtfulness of the design and care in the execution, which is timeless.

David Strandberg