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Biography
Josh Dortzbach, PE, SE, is one of the founding partners of Forefront Structural Engineers, Inc., Chicago, IL. Forefront focuses on innovative design of high-rise and long-span structures, with clients around the world. Josh grew up in Kenya, east Africa, which helped to develop his appreciation for cross-cultural interaction and grew his creative approach to design.
Education
B.S. Civil Engineering with a Structural Emphasis
Illinois Institute of Technology, 1997
B.A. Liberal Arts Engineering
Wheaton College, IL, 1997
Recent Projects
Market Square | Cleveland, OH: This 800,000 SF mixed-use project will be the largest volumetric Mass Timber building in the United States when completed. It is designed with two separate buildings set upon a two-story, below-grade concrete podium. Lateral resistance for the buildings is provided by exposed concrete core walls while mass timber framing is optimized at the upper levels and transferred through the concrete framing at the lower levels.
ISR Dining Hall | Urbana, IL: The project involves the new construction of approximately 106,000 square feet to replace the existing dining facility at the Illinois Street Residence for the University of Illinois. The original facility is integrated within a couple residence halls of different construction types and requires the strategic combination of new construction and strengthening/modification of the existing structure.
INTRO Atlanta | Atlanta, GA: This new mass timber residential tower sits 4 stories below grade and is socketed into the rock profile with another 20 stories above grade. A 30-inch transfer concrete slab at Level 4 permitted the use of a highly optimized mass timber grid for the floors above, while also allowing an ideal concrete grid below for lower level programming. The use of striking “V” shaped concrete columns at the base allow for an efficient load transfer between the upper and lower levels.
El Centro Northeastern Illinois University | Chicago, IL: New 65,000 SF higher education building designed with composite steel framing. The design solutions contain iconic elements with dramatic cantilevers and a modern expression with structure emphasized throughout the architecture. The structural system employs sloping columns, cantilevered girders and diagrid framing to achieve the floating ends of the building.
The Edison | Milwaukee, WI: The Edison, located at 1005 North Edison Street in Milwaukee, WI., is set to become the world’s tallest mass timber tower at 31 stories and 365-ft. The building has a total of 308,913 residential rentable square feet and 378 residential market-rate units (studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom) as well as approximately 7,200 square feet of complementary retail space.
Morton Salt Re-Development | Chicago, IL: This adaptive re-use project involves the conversion of a historic salt storage facility into a modern office building and event center. FSE performed an iterative structural analysis that determined how to save the original deteriorated salt sheds, add a new mezzanine and integrate new office space within this 120,000 GSF building complex. Through a combination of field investigations and parametric structural modeling, FSE developed a customized solution to convert this facility and give it new life.