Profile

Founded in 1997 on the principle of close collaboration as an essential basis of design, Guy Nordenson and Associates (GNA) is a New York–based structural engineering practice that has established itself as an effective partner in the design and construction of complex and challenging projects. These include recently completed projects such as the Menil Drawing Institute in Houston TX with Johnston Marklee, the International African American Museum in Charleston SC with Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, the expansion of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston with Steven Holl Architects, the Corning Museum of Glass Contemporary Art + Design Wing in Corning NY with Thomas Phifer and Partners and the Kimbell Art Museum Expansion in Fort Worth TX with Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Additional projects in design or construction include the Frick Collection Facility Expansion and Renovation in New York with Selldorf Architects, the Emanuel Nine Memorial in Austin TX with Handel Architects, and Calder Gardens in Philadelphia PA with Herzog & de Meuron. Since 2007 GNA has also been active in developing strategies for climate change and coastal adaptation and storm surge mitigation through research initiatives, publications, exhibitions, and in consultation with stakeholders at the local and national level.

GNA’s progressive approach is based on the rigorous analysis of multiple alternatives and the crafting and execution of structural design in partnership with a wide network of specialist fabricators and experts. Our commitment to innovative solutions can be seen in our development of refined structural systems and pioneering use of both new and common materials.

People

  • Guy Nordenson, Partner

    is a practicing structural engineer and professor of architecture and structural engineering at Princeton University. He studied at MIT and the University of California at Berkeley and began his career as a drafter in the joint Long Island City studio of R Buckminster Fuller and Isamu Noguchi in 1976. From 1978, he practiced structural engineering in San Francisco and New York. In 1987, he established the New York office of Ove Arup & Partners and was a director until 1997 when he opened his independent practice.

    Nordenson was the structural engineer for the Jubilee Church in Rome, Simmons Residence Hall at MIT, Santa Fe Opera House, Toledo Glass Pavilion in OH, National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC and over 200 other projects. Recent projects include the expansion of the Corning Museum of Glass and the Frick Museum in NY, and the Museum of Fine Arts expansion, Glassell School of Art, Rice Moody Center, and Menil Drawing Institute all in Houston TX. In New York he also oversaw the design and installation of David Hammons’ Days End sculpture in the Hudson River.

    He has had a decades’ long relationship with the MoMA as curator, member of the acquisitions committee and as the structural engineering of the 2004 MoMA expansion. His drawings and working models have also been included in the collection and MoMA has published Tall Buildings (2004), Seven Structural Engineers, the Felix Candela Lectures in Structural Engineering (2008) and Structured Lineages: Learning from Japanese Structural Design (2019). The AIA sponsored research project “On the Water | Palisade Bay” (Hatje Cantz 2010) served as the inspiration and background research for the 2010 MoMA workshop and exhibition “Rising Currents” organized by Barry Bergdoll.

    Other books include: from Lars Muller Publishers Patterns and Structure (2010) and Reading Structures: 39 Projects and Built Works (2016); Structures of Coastal Resilience (Island 2018); and Four Corridors: Design Initiative for RPA’s Fourth Regional Plan (Hatje Cantz 2019).

    From the late 1970’s Nordenson was active in earthquake engineering research and code development in California, and long-range national planning for FEMA and the USGS. He initiated and led the development of the New York City Seismic Code from 1984 to its enactment into Local Law 17/95 in 1995. Since 2007 he has been engaged in climate adaptation and coastal resilience research and has been active on numerous committees and task forces. He was Commissioner and Secretary of the New York City Public Design Commission from 2006 to 2015 and is a member of the NYC Panel on Climate Change. He is fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

  • Gina Morrow, Associate Partner

    joined the firm in the fall of 2015. She holds a BA from Vassar College (2011) and an MArch from Princeton University School of Architecture (2015). She is adjunct faculty at The Cooper Union where she teaches a course in structural drawing with GNA colleague Xiaoxiao Wu. In the past she has also taught at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Before graduate school, Gina worked as an editorial assistant at Princeton Architectural Press. Her recently completed projects include David Hammons’ 325 foot Day’s End sculpture installation at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Currently she is working on a house in Austin TX and the Rothko Chapel Campus Expansion in Houston TX.

  • Xiaoxiao Wu, Associate Partner

    joined the firm in June of 2015. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering from Tongji University in Shanghai, China (2014) and a Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2015). During her studies she interned at the Engineering Research Institute of Shanghai Construction Group where she analyzed high-rise building performance, as well as the Shanghai Mechanized Construction Group where she assisted the construction site manager. Her recently completed projects include the Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Greenway in Austin TX and David Hammons’ 325 foot Day’s End sculpture installation at the Whitney Museum of American Art. She is currently working on Studio Museum in Harlem in New York NY, International African American Museum in Charleston SC and Rothko Chapel Renovation and Visitors Center in Houston TX.

  • Brett Schneider, Senior Associate

    is educated as both an architect and an engineer. After earning his bachelor’s degree from Williams College, Schneider pursued joint master’s degrees in architecture and structural engineering at Princeton University. Schneider is currently an Assistant Professor at the Rhode Island School of Design (Division of Architecture and Design) where he teaches both design studios and structural engineering. He has also taught as a visiting faculty member at Parsons The New School for Design (School of Constructed Environments), the College of Architecture, Art and Planning at Cornell University, and the GSAPP at Columbia University. Recently completed projects include the Menil Drawing Institute in Houston TX, the competition-winning Chicago Horizon pavilion and Day’s End sculpture installation at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

  • David Himelman, Senior Associate

    joined the firm in December of 2015. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Vassar College (2011) and an Master of Architecture from Harvard University Graduate School of Design (2015). He has worked in several architecture firms including Leong Leong, where he worked on the concept design for a 150-room hotel in San Francisco CA, Johnston Marklee Associates and Interboro Partners, gaining experience as an architectural designer and working on a wide range of project types. His recently completed projects include the Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Greenway in Austin TX. Current projects include MSGR Residential Annex at the US Embassy in Paris FRANCE and the International African American Museum in Charleston SC.

  • Hélène De Mello
  • Eric Larsen
  • Theodora Grosomanidi
  • Xinyi Guo
  • Dina Onish
  • Alexandra Steelman

Employment

Guy Nordenson and Associates is a young and collaborative office with exciting domestic and international projects in both building and bridge design. We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and great opportunity for growth and development. We are currently seeking exceptional candidates for the following positions:

  • Senior Project Engineer

    — Guy Nordenson and Associates seeks a hands-on senior-level engineer with a minimum of 5 years of experience in structural design, analysis, detailing, and construction of buildings and/or bridges to lead a design team as the Project Engineer. Project management experience, proficiency with structural analysis programs including SAP2000 and ETABS, and an excellent knowledge of design codes is required. Must have a Masters Degree or higher in Civil Engineering with a Structural Engineering focus, a Professional Engineering license, and authorization to work in the US.

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to jobs@nordenson.com

Contact

29 Broadway
18th Floor
New York, NY 10006 USA

t. 212 766 9119
f. 212 766 9016
mail@nordenson.com