Thornton Tomasetti

The Anythink Nature Library in Thornton, Colorado, puts the natural world at the heart of the library experience. The first nature-based library of its kind in the United States, it was created to give local residents new ways to learn about their surroundings and get more active outdoors.   Thornton Tomasetti provided structural design services to Davis Partnership Architects for the 33,000-square-foot building, which opened on August 8 within the 140-acre Aylor Open Space.   Inspired by the Colorado plains, the library’s sweeping curves, extensive glazing and central open-air garden help the building blend with the landscape. Beyond its book collection, the library includes environmental labs, gathering and play spaces, gardens and a cafe. Visitors can borrow outdoor gear, including birdwatching and gardening kits, games and kayaks.   The steel-framed structure’s complex geometry, with few straight lines or square corners, presented an engineering challenge. Parametric modeling helped refine the structural system and streamline coordination and detailing, including for a sculptural steel column at the entrance. To accommodate expansive soils and potential ground movement, the design also incorporates a structured ground-floor slab supported on deep foundations.   The library’s sustainable features include more than 300 rooftop solar panels, geothermal heating and cooling, water-saving fixtures and bird-safe glazing.

Salesforce Transit Center in San Francisco, California, is not your typical transportation hub. Spanning nearly four city blocks, the 1,430-foot-long structure houses 11 transit systems, including the future California High-Speed Rail, all topped by a 5.4-acre public park. But perhaps more importantly, it was designed not only to withstand extreme earthquakes but also to remain operational after a major seismic event.   In the latest season of “How Did They Build That?” (Season 5, Episode 3) on the Smithsonian Channel, Managing Principal Bruce Gibbons talks about how Thornton Tomasetti, along with Pelli Clarke & Partners and Transbay Joint Powers Authority, overcame these complex design challenges. Our work included the use of advanced performance-based seismic design with the goal of ensuring the structure would survive maximum earthquake shaking without major structural damage or significant loss of function. Check your local listings for airtimes or stream the episode online.

The best time to improve a building's energy performance is before key design decisions are set. By evaluating energy use during concept design, project teams can make informed choices when they have the greatest opportunity to influence long-term outcomes.   Early energy modeling helps teams compare design strategies and understand how they affect energy efficiency, occupant comfort and operating costs. It can also reduce the need for costly redesigns by identifying effective solutions before plans are finalized.   Jonathon Stage, a vice president in our San Francisco office, explores how integrating energy modeling into the design process can lead to stronger project outcomes and support decarbonization in this blog: https://lnkd.in/ep54mdzn

In a utility wildfire investigation, finding the failed electrical component is only the beginning. By looking beyond the point of failure, investigators can determine why some electrical faults remain contained while others ignite catastrophic wildfires.   Evaluating physical evidence in combination with environmental, maintenance and electrical system data provides a clearer picture of how the fire started and spread. Those insights help utilities strengthen infrastructure, prioritize mitigation efforts and reduce future risk.   Thornton Tomasetti's Emily Malmquist, P.E. details how forensic engineering goes beyond identifying a fire's origin and cause to uncover the contributing factors behind utility wildfires in this blog: https://lnkd.in/e-ASnufM

The newly opened Gordie Howe International Bridge creates a vital connection between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, strengthening transportation links between the United States and Canada. Named for legendary hockey player Gordie Howe, who spent 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, the cable-stayed bridge features a 0.53-mile (853-meter) main span, the longest of its kind in North America, supported by twin A-shaped towers inspired by the curve of a hockey stick during a slap shot.   Thornton Tomasetti developed physical security mitigation measures to help protect the bridge, its approaches and abutments against a wide range of security threats. Working closely with bridge engineers from AECOM and the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA-APWD) from the earliest stages of design, we integrated structural hardening, fire protection and other resilience measures into the base structural system. This approach allowed the protective strategies to support the bridge’s distinctive architectural vision while avoiding the cost and disruption of adding protective measures after design. Advanced computational fluid dynamics and nonlinear finite element analyses for extreme events informed targeted, risk-based solutions for the bridge’s components.

A new suspension trail bridge in rural Rwanda is helping more than 4,430 people safely reach schools, health care, markets and government services, marking the latest milestone in Thornton Tomasetti's decade-long partnership with Fika (formerly Bridges to Prosperity).   Inaugurated in June, the 108-meter Gomba Trail Bridge connects seven communities in Karongi District that were previously separated by the flood-prone Nyabahanga River, where residents often risked dangerous crossings during the rainy season.    This is the eighth bridge Thornton Tomasetti has helped make possible through its partnership with the organization since 2016. Through employee volunteerism and financial contributions, we support Fika's work with governments and local communities across Africa to provide safe, year-round access to isolated rural areas. To date, more than 65 Thornton Tomasetti volunteers have worked alongside Fika and local communities, connecting more than 26,500 people to essential services and economic opportunities.

Behind every successful professional is a first opportunity. This summer, 162 interns are finding theirs across 29 offices and 12 practices and departments at Thornton Tomasetti. Working alongside them are countless former interns who have gone on to build careers at the firm.   This National Intern Day, three of those former interns, Clíodhna Duggan, Lucas Grafals, and Guery Quispe, share how their early experiences at Thornton Tomasetti helped shape their careers, from taking on meaningful work from day one to learning from supportive colleagues.   Here's to our interns, past and present. Happy National Intern Day!   #NationalInternDay #NationalInternDay2026

NORR-DIALOG is set to take off on a $1.5 billion modernization of Toronto Pearson Airport's Terminals 1 and 3. Thornton Tomasetti's Construction Engineering practice is helping support this major transformation, which will upgrade key passenger spaces and infrastructure while keeping Canada's busiest airport operating throughout construction.

A new destination for soccer is taking shape in Detroit. Thornton Tomasetti was on hand to celebrate the groundbreaking of AlumniFi Field, the future home of Detroit City FC. The 15,000-seat venue is being built on the site of the former Southwest Detroit Hospital, which has been abandoned since 2006. Thornton Tomasetti is providing structural engineering services to HOK, with Barton Malow leading construction. When it opens in 2028, AlumniFi Field will become Detroit's first soccer-specific stadium and Michigan's only privately owned major sports venue. It will feature a natural grass pitch and three permanent grandstands with canopies. It can also support other sports events, concerts and community programs. The stadium is part of a broader mixed-use project that includes a 421-space parking garage, a 104-unit residential building with 76 affordable housing units, and public spaces designed to reconnect the surrounding neighborhood. The site's history will be woven throughout the district through public art, historical markers and storytelling elements.

Every industrial failure has a story behind it. The most visible event, or apparent cause, may explain what happened, but it rarely reveals the full picture. Looking deeper can uncover the contributing factors that allowed the incident to occur in the first place, helping organizations reduce risk and prevent it from happening again. Our latest blog by Senior Vice President Tom Berry of our Forensics practice explores how systems-level thinking takes root cause analysis a step further, helping investigators connect the dots behind complex industrial failures: https://lnkd.in/efNZwHKq