 | |
| Formerly | DeSimone + Chaplin & Associates (1969-1986) DeSimone, Chaplin, Dobryn & Associates (1986-1998) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Structural engineering |
| Founded | 1969; 56 years ago (1969) |
| Founder | Vincent J. DeSimone |
| Headquarters | New York City |
Area served | Boston Chicago Dallas-Fort Worth Foxborough Houston Las Vegas Miami New Haven New York City San Francisco London Medellín Abu Dhabi Dubai |
| Owner | Stephen V. DeSimone |
| Website | www |
DeSimone Consulting Engineering is a structural engineering firm founded by Vincent J. DeSimone in 1969 inNew York City.[1] The firm providesstructural engineering services to architects, owners and developers, and performs structural analysis and design for all types of buildings at all project phases. DeSimone also launched a Property Loss Consulting division in 2016. The company has offices inBoston,Chicago,Dallas-Fort Worth,Foxborough,Houston,Las Vegas,Miami,New Haven,New York City,San Francisco,London,Medellín,Abu Dhabi, andDubai.[2] DeSimone has designed over 10,000 projects in 40 states and 45 countries.[3][4][5]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with: foundation, early accomplishments, offices. You can help byadding to it.(August 2023) |
DeSimone + Chaplin & Associates was founded inNew York City in 1969 by Vincent "Vince" J. DeSimone and James "Jim" Chaplin, both graduates fromManhattan College who where working atLev Zetlin & Associates (LZA) (now Thornton Tomasetti).[6][7][8] By 1964 Vincent was running the day-to-day operations of LZA, while Chaplin was their best structural engineer.[9]
In 1986 the firm was renamed toDeSimone, Chaplin, Dobryn & Associates after a third principle, Carlos M. Dobryn, was brought into the firm, a veteran atSkilling, Helle, Christiansen, and Robertson.[10][11][6] But by 1998 the firm was rechartered asDeSimone Consulting Engineers aPLLC.[6]
Vince stepped down as CEO in 2002, making way for his son, Stephen V. DeSimone. Vince would work as President of the firm until his passing in 2016 from a battle with cancer.[7][1][12]
| This sectionneeds expansion with: transfer of power, growth, awards. You can help byadding to it.(August 2023) |
On August 11, 2016, it was announced that DeSimone would be moving their headquarters from 18 West 18th Street to140 Broadway, leasing the entire 25th floor. Although the amount the firm paid wasn't disclosed, it is estimated to have been ~$1,625,000.[a]Cushman & Wakefield facilitated the lease, stating that DeSimone moved to the newDowntown location to be closer to clients.[13]
The firm has made a concerted effort to break into the engineering field in theUnited Kingdom, opening aLondon office in May 2022.[14] However, struggled to gain significant clients due to the lack of the firms brand recognition in the United Kingdom. In an effort to remedy this, the firm acquired DP Squared on 1 August 2023, one of the leading British structural engineering firms inManchester, andNorthern England as a whole.[15]
The Architect's Newspaper named DeSimone Consulting Engineering the best structural engineering firm in theNortheastern United States for 2023.[16]
CEO Monthly named Stephen DeSimone the 2024 "Most Innovative Structural and Façade Consultancy CEO" due to his leadership style, commitment to the company's vision, and his capability to navigate the changing engineering industry landscape.[17]
On November 17, 2025, DeSimone announced a brand "refresh" where they replaced their wordmark logo which had been in use since 2002 with a new logo designed byMichael Bierut andPentagram over a two year period along with a newtagline "Bridging science and humanity" lifted from a quote by Vincent DeSimone.[18]
DeSimone is recognized for its work with exoskeleton buildings, including the award-winning residential building on theUpper West Side of Manhattan at 170 Amsterdam Avenue.[19] The 20-story residential high-rise features a concrete exoskeleton with a diagrid design and was developed using newly available modeling technology. The building's exoskeleton moves the structure to the exterior, allowing for flexible floor plans free of columns. A specialized concrete mix was used for the exterior structure which was made to look like limestone. Fiberglass was also used also used on the exterior.[19] DeSimone was nominated and received a Diamond Award for Structural Systems from theAmerican Council of Engineering Companies in 2016 for their work on 170 Amsterdam.[20]
DeSimone is also the structural engineering firm forOne Thousand Museum inMiami, Florida.[citation needed] Designed byZaha Hadid, the building is the first skyscraper by the Pritzker-winning architect in the United States.[21] DeSimone developed a curved "root" exoskeleton structure to support the building. The record setting auger cast piledeep foundation system was installed by HJ Foundation, part of thekeller Group. Like with The Grove at Grand Bay project, placing the buildings support systems on the exterior allows for increased space inside and reduces the amount of materials used.[22] The exoskeleton structure was originally purely cosmetic, but DeSimone was able to integrate the design into the structural engineering, creating the exterior support structure out of hollow, precast, concrete panels.[23]
DeSimone engineered the first trulytwisting towers in the US with The Grove at Grand Bay towers inMiami, Florida designed by the DanishstarchitectBjarke Ingels.[24] Grove at Grand Bay features two 20-story buildings with 98 apartments that feature 12-foot high ceilings and 14-foot deep balconies. The twisting element of the buildings has a total rotation of 38 degrees, and provides panoramic views of theBiscayne Bay and the Miami skyline.[25][unreliable source?][unreliable source?]
LikeOne Thousand Museum, the auger cast piledeep foundation system for this building was by HJ Foundation, part of theKeller Group. The twisting nature of the columns posed a number of structural challenges. The main challenge was to resist torsion generated in the tower core due to the sloping column geometry. The horizontal component of the gravity load in the columns is resolved in the slabs by transferring it to the interior core shear walls, which are the only consistently vertical structural elements in the building.[25] DeSimone was nominated and received a Platinum Award for Structural Systems from theAmerican Council of Engineering Companies in 2016 for their work on The Grove at Grand Bay[20]
DeSimone has served as structural engineer for manyskyscrapers and is currently working on a supertall building,125 Greenwich Street designed byRafael Viñoly which tops out at over 1,000 feet.[26] DeSimone is also the engineering firm behind99 Hudson Street, an 889-foot residential tower under construction inJersey City, New Jersey.[27] Upon completion, it will be the tallest building in the state of New Jersey and the 4th tallest residential tower in the United States.[28]
DeSimone has worked on projects with many of the world's most renowned architects and architectural firms includingZaha Hadid,[29]Bjarke Ingels,[30]Richard Meier,[31]Robert A.M. Stern,[32]Foster and Partners,Rafael Viñoly,Rem Koolhas,[33]Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA),[33]Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM),Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF),[32]Arquitectonica,[34] and SLCE.[35]
DeSimone is performing structural engineering services forSaudi Arabia'sNeom, namely,The Line.[36]
DeSimone is aU.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) National Member organization.[37] DeSimone's work on P.S. 62, The Kathleen Grimm School for Leadership and Sustainability, New York City's firstnet zero energy school, has received numerous awards including the 2016 AIANY COTE Award, Best Green Project by the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, Architizer A+ Awards – Primary and High Schools 2016, and Engineering News Record (New York Region) – Best Green Project 2016.[38][39][40][41]
DeSimone's first acquisition would be the April 28, 2020 purchase of Henderson Rogers Structural Engineers.[42][43] TheHouston based firm was previously owned byRyan Binkley'sGenerational Equity and specialized in aviation, education, commercial, sports and healthcare facilities.[42] The company was established in 2005, and since that time had worked on over 3,300 projects, for over 400 clients. At the time of the acquisition the firm was being led by principle engineer and president K. Elaine Rogers.[44] DeSimone stated that they had acquired the firm to expand their reach intoTexas and theAmerican south as a whole.[42]
On September 2, 2020, DeSimone Consulting Engineering announced they had purchased RRC Engineering, a Massachusetts-based structural engineering firm specializing in the design ofdata centers todiversify the firms holdings and to offer RRC's engineers further resources.[45] RRC Engineering was founded by itseponymous Robert Chartrand in November 2002.[46][47] Prior to its merger into DeSimone, its profile boasted numerous data centers around the country, as well as the headquarters of theMobile Press, theWinston-Salem Journal andBob's Discount Furniture, as well asTufts University's Equine Center as part of its University of Veterinary medicine.[48] RRC would become DeSimone'sFoxborough branch whose principle engineer would remain Robert Chartrand.[49]
On May 11, 2022, DeSimone announced its acquisition of theCoral Gables based engineering firm Fourzero.[50] Part of the firm's larger expansion into Florida, and southeastern market, Fourzero was founded in 2013 and led by 20 year industry veteran Federico Balestrazzi, who had an extensive record of working with DeSimone's Miami office.[50] Fourzero specialized infaçade operations, namely in design, testing, manufacture, estimating, and installation.[50] Fourzero also specialized in designinghurricane-proof structures expanding DeSimone's design capabilities inHurricane Alley.[50]
On January 6, 2023, DeSimone Consulting Engineering announced they had acquired Dowco, aLangley,British Columbia, basedsteel detailer for an undisclosed amount.[51][52][53][54] Dowco was founded in June 1970 by Hugh Dobbie, Joe Ord and Jack Wilson (whose last initials spell DOW). The company had been an early adopter ofcomputer-aided design (CAD) and even developed early software as well as running CAD classes. Prior to its acquisition in 2023, Dowco itself underwent several mergers and acquisitions, including Adveno Consultants in 1982, Total Structural Detailing in 2004, FabTrol Systems Inc. in 2008, SDE Steel Detailing and Consulting in 2013, RISA Technologies in 2015, and Acuna y Asociados in 2016 and had offices inChile,India and thePhilippines.[55] DeSimone had acquired the firm in order to have in-house detailers, as opposed to contracting other firms, in order to limit risk to their clients.[54][56][57]
On 1 August 2023, DeSimone acquired DP Squared, a civil engineering firm established by Darren and Deborah Paine in 2004.[58] The firm was headquartered inHebden Bridge, which will transform into DeSimone'sNorthern England branch, and has become DeSimone's second branch in theUnited Kingdom, besides their London branch. DP Squared was known for its environmental andLEEDs initiatives, and for being the structural engineers forDeansgate Square.[59][60] The firm was noted byNew Civil Engineer for punching above their weight, with a relatively small team that has been responsible for the structural engineering of 5 of the 6 tallest buildings inManchester. They also noted the firms commitment to creating a friendly and inclusive work-space environment.[61] DeSimone acquired the firm to expand their profile in the United Kingdom, mostly due to DP Squared working on projects similar to those DeSimone is known for, and also due to their name recognition in the British civil engineering field.[15]
On October 17, 2023, continuing the firm's push to establish themselves in the United Kingdom, DeSimone acquired theCheshire based constructionconsultancy Decipher.[62] The group was founded in 2001 and was continuously led by its founder Paul Gibbons.[63] As with DP Squared, Decipher will continue to operate as a brand name of DeSimone, with the moniker "a DeSimone company".[64][65]
On October 2, 2024, DeSimone acquired theDayton, Ohio based MER Engineers that specialized in precast andtilt-up design and detailing in an effort to expand DeSimone's offered services to clients.[66][67] Founded as Steinbicker & Associates in 1982, the firm has worked across the US, Canada, and Caribbean.[68] MER will continue to operate out of Dayton as a DeSimone brand.[69]
On April 2, 2025, DeSimone acquired theSan Francisco based KP Elevator Consultants whose services included due diligence, concept development, and final construction of Elevators for new construction and renovation. The firm would be merged into DeSimone's existing San Francisco office. DeSimone and KP Elevator had collaborated on several projects, such as 290 Coles St. inJersey City and is part of DeSimone's continuing strategy to diversify its offerings to clients.[70] KP Elevator's founder was Kelly Houlihan, a 37-year industry veteran and will work at DeSimone as the principle of the new Vertical Transportation team.[71]