EXPERTISE // PEOPLE

Ian R. Chin

Vice President and Senior Principal

 
Experience

Ian Chin has significant experience in solving problems in exterior facades on buildings. He is also a structural engineer who is relied upon to determine the cause of problems in the structural systems of buildings. Mr. Chin has authored many published papers and has made numerous presentations on the evaluation of problems in facades and structural systems in buildings. He has also provided testimony as an expert witness on many of his projects.

Mr. Chin’s projects include low- and high-rise buildings; structural steel buildings; conventionally reinforced and prestressed concrete structures; timber-framed structures; stone, brick, terra cotta, concrete block, EIFS, and stucco exterior facades; windows; and glass and metal curtain walls. He has designed repairs, developed construction documents, and provided field observation services for these structures and facade systems.

REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS

Facade Assessment

  • Duneridge Resort - Wrightsville Beach, NC: Investigation of EIFS failure
  • Reliance Building - Chicago, IL: Terra cotta investigation
  • 425 Notre Dame Building - New Orleans, LA: Evaluation of windows
  • Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Torgersen Hall - Blacksburg:  Hokie stone veneer investigation
  • Indiana University, Art Museum - Bloomington: Concrete facade evaluation

 

Failure and Damage Investigation

  • John Hancock Center - Chicago, IL: Evaluation of suspended scaffold failure
  • One Meridian Plaza - Philadelphia, PA: Post-fire evaluation of high-rise building
  • Playskool Warehouse - Chicago, IL: Prestressed concrete failure
  • Weyerhaeuser Building - Bowling Green, KY: Structural steel frame collapse

 

Pavement Investigation

  • University of Chicago - IL: Evaluation of stone pavers in main quadrangle

 

Peer Review

  • AT&T Tower - Minneapolis, MN: Peer review of glass curtain wall
  • Yale Medical School Building - New Haven, CT: Peer review of facade

 

Litigation Consulting

  • Anchorage Towers - Baltimore, MD: Brick facade (umpire for experts)
  • Post Office - Chicago, IL: Construction collapse (jury trial)
  • Playskool Warehouse - Chicago, IL: Prestressed concrete failure (jury trial)
  • R. J. Reynolds Building 611–616 - Winston-Salem, NC: Brickwork facade (arbitration)
  • Plaza in Clayton, MO: Reinforced concrete structure (arbitration)

 

Repair and Rehabilitation Design

  • Amoco Building (now Aon Center) - Chicago, IL: Marble facade investigation and recladding design using granite
  • R. J. Reynolds Building 611-16 - Winston-Salem, NC: New brickwork facade
  • Duke University Chapel - Durham, NC: Repair design of vaulted stone ceiling system
Professional Affiliations

ASTM International
Brick Institute of America, masonry consultant
Chicago Committee on High-Rise Buildings (CCHRB), past chair
City of Chicago Committee on Standards and Tests
Structural Engineers Association of Illinois (SEAOI)

Registrations

Architect in AZ, CT, IL, IN, MA, MI, MN, MT, NC, NJ, NV, NY, OH, SC, TX, VA, and WI
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards Certificate (NCARB)
National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES)
Professional Engineer in NC, OH, and WI
Structural Engineer in IL and NV

Education

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Bachelor of Architecture, Architecture, 1969
Master of Science, Structural Engineering, 1971