Jason A. Porto

Experience

Jason Porto has a broad-based background in design, analysis, and evaluation. He has designed and detailed various buildings—from large-scale commercial structures to single family homes—and has applied his computer modeling skills to the analysis, evaluation, and design of existing building upgrades. Mr. Porto has also performed evaluations of existing structures and detailed repairs for damaged structural framing members.

Since joining WJE in 2014, Mr. Porto has continued to apply his expertise on projects involving structural evaluations, seismic retrofits, litigation consulting, peer reviews, and repair design. He has designed unique solutions for existing and new structures built with steel, concrete, timber, and reinforced and unreinforced masonry.

In the eight years prior to joining WJE, Mr. Porto was a professional engineer on both commercial and residential design projects utilizing a wide range of materials.

REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS

Structural Analysis

• Will Rogers Memorial Center - Fort Worth, TX: Site investigation and field verification of existing condition and configuration of 1920s-era steel trusses; creation of computer models for analysis of trusses to verify strength to support new, heavier scoreboard load
• Testarossa Winery - Los Gatos, CA: Detailed computer analysis of wood roof trusses to determine cause of failure

 

Seismic Repair and Retrofit

• Marchant on the Greenway - Berkeley, CA: Seismic analysis and detailing for multiple retrofits and upgrades to three-story, reinforced concrete commercial building
• Hibernia Bank Building - San Francisco, CA: Complex detailing and analysis of new stair systems to be installed in a restored 19th-century bank building with emphasis on preserving the historic character
• Grace Baking Seismic Anchorage - Richmond, CA: Seismic evaluation and design of new steel members to be anchored into an existing concrete foundation for the support of new mechanical equipment
• TubeMogul Office Upgrade - Emeryville, CA: Analysis of new loads and reconfiguration of the existing seismic resisting system for two new mezzanines added to wood-framed corporate office

 

Steel Structures

• The Carlisle - San Francisco, CA: Evaluation of exterior metal stud decay and analysis and design of repair details
• Southland Mall Structural Alterations - Hayward, CA: Analysis and design of new gravity and seismic structural steel elements required to retrofit an existing shopping mall to make room for a new theater
• Port Silo Repair - Buchanan, Liberia: Development of calculations and preparation of construction drawings for new steel-framed penthouse atop a restored, reinforced concrete iron ore silo

 

Wood Structures

• Sierra Court Glulam Failure - Dublin, CA: Evaluation and analysis of glulam roof beam failure; subsequent design and analysis of repair design
• Toyon Deck Investigation - Kentfield, CA: Evaluation of exterior wood-framed deck to determine the cause of wood deterioration
• Montrachet Stair Damage - Napa, CA: Site investigation and detailing of emergency shoring for decayed wood framing in exterior stair towers

 

Litigation Consulting

• Armstrong Townhomes - San Francisco, CA: Evaluation of damage to exterior, wood-framed elevated walkways; analysis and design of shoring and repair details
• St. Onge - Oakland, CA: Review of construction documents for single-family home retrofit to determine if the standard of care was met in dispute between the structural engineer and the contractor

Professional Affiliations

American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)
American Welding Society (AWS)

Registrations

Civil Engineer in CA and CO
Structural Engineer in CA

Education

University of California, Berkeley
Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, 2001

University of Colorado Boulder
Master of Science, Civil Engineering, 2007