Robert Silman Associates | Structural Engineers

Robert Silman Honored with 2011 Master Builder Award

This fall Bob Silman was awarded the 2011 Master Builder Award by the Carpenters' Company of the City and County of Philadelphia. The award is given annually to a distinguished architect, engineer, builder, or developer, and past recipients have included the Founder of Habitat for Humanity International, Millard Fuller, and architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, among many other luminaries in the field. As part of the events surrounding the awards ceremony, Bob presented an illustrated lecture on Fallingwater at the two-day conference in Philadelphia, "Master Builder Dialogues: Preserving America".

RSA CANstructs, Helps Fight Hunger

November 2011 – This year all three RSA offices participated in CANstruction, a program that raises awareness and donates food to thousands of needy families.

The TiCANic - RSA-NY embarked on an epic voyage that will go down in CANstruction lore as one of the greatest feats of structural ingenuity to ever be attempted, as well as one of the fastest builds in RSA history. The team arrived with a well-developed plan of attack which streamlined production of the sculpture, utilizing everyone's individual talents and skills. From Ben Rosenberg's lightning fast pizza ordering skills, to Victoria Ponce de Leon's unpack and stack skills and Matt Lytle's frustrating ability to be jovially demeaning. Cantilever technology pioneered by Justin Den Herder and Alex Baumel was used to add an air of drama to an already stunning 3'-2" corbel. All in all the structure took less than 6 hours to build, thanks to everyone's hard work.

CANstruction2011 RSADC Take A Byte Out of Hunger

Take a Byte Out of Hunger - An apple a day, keeps...well, you know. RSA-DC envisioned an iconic representation of the early, now perhaps "retro", days of computer technology. Six levels of multi-colored, multi-fruit-'n-vegetabled cans unite to form a three-dimensional sculpture reminiscent of the original pixelated color computer screen. A variety of cans allowed designers to creatively stack and combine label colors, while promoting a healthy, balanced, computer-age diet. This year, DC CANstruction provided 47,000 pounds of canned goods - that's enough for 49,000 meals!

PUMA CAN City - RSA-Boston provided the structural engineering services for Puma City’s North America project. Comprised of 24 shipping containers, Puma City required an innovative approach to modeling and structural design. The standard shipping containers were strengthened with structural steel to reinforce and stiffen around the openings and cantilevers. Puma City’s 40-foot-long shipping containers are artfully stacked and staggered to create large throughways and cantilevers and provide over 11,000 square feet of mobile retail space. Puma City visited Boston’s Fan Pier in 2009 as its only U.S. stop of the Volvo Ocean Race. When the race moved on, the containers were loaded up and shipped directly to the next port of call. RSA has scaled down the structure as an homage to the full-scale project, , creating PUMA CAN City. Like its full-scale counterpart, PUMA CAN City requires special structural reinforcing, in this case in the form of stiffened masonite panels. The sculpture amounts to over 3,660 cans of coconut milk, shelled beans, mixed vegetables, and ready-to-eat pasta ? nearly 3,440 pounds of food!

Banta Builds a House

In March James Banta went to Nicaragua as a volunteer with Bridges to Community. He was one of eleven volunteers from NY, PA, and Washington, DC who helped build a house for the Garcia Gomez family in Las Ceibitas, Masaya. They are a family of five: Jose and Celia are the parents of Angela (15), Scarleth (11), and Selenia (9). In addition to being excellent students the girls help their mom and dad with the family business of making shoes (approximately 40 pairs a day!)

Bridges brings people of different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds together in Nicaragua to live and work, typically for one week, with local community members on health, education, and housing projects. His group built the new house with local masons, the family to live in the new house, and their relatives and neighbors.

For almost 20 years, Bridges to Community, based in Ossining, NY, has been working in Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the western hemisphere. In the wake of natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes, or political and economic exploitation, Bridges serves as a community development partner dedicated to cultural exchange, sustainable development, and being an agent of change both locally and globally. Over 3000 people have volunteered with Bridges including school groups, faith-based groups, and business/professional groups, such as Banta’s.

The process of working, learning, and reflecting was fostered during the week in Nicaragua, and volunteers usually feel like they get much more from their trip than they give. One does not need to have any construction experience to be a valuable team member on a Bridges trip. Anyone interested in Bridges should contact Banta.