presented a national award to a design team, including an Iranian-American structural engineer, for its work on a dramatic cantilevered corporate headquarters in Michigan.
Mehdi Setareh is with the School of Architecture and Design at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, more commonly known as Virginia Tech.
He is an expert in structural vibration problems. He used his expertise to help design and build the headquarters of the Lamar Construction Company in Hudsonville, Michigan, in collaboration with Integrated Architecture, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The 5,200-square-foot glass and steel structure houses offices and perches16 feet above the company’s workshop and warehouse in such a way that it almost appears to be hovering in air. The overhang is 113 feet long, which makes it the longest cantilevered office building structure ever built.
Because of the unusual design, the architects needed to ensure that vibration was minimized so the building would be secure and comfortable for people working there.
“I was in charge of the design to prevent vibration problems the building could have because of the unusual and complex geometry,” said Setareh.
Setareh earned his bach-elor’s degree at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, his master’s degree at the University of Surrey in Guildford, Surrey, England, and his doctorate at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
