Structural Engineers HALL of FAME
Postings here, document and acknowledge the achievements of individuals honored by the Structural Engineers Association of Washington (SEAW) since the 1950 establishment of the organization.
Cary Kopcynski - SEAW Seattle President 2016; President's Award 2016, 2006
Cary Kopczynski, as CEO of Bellevue-based Cary Kopczynski, Inc. (CKC), provides leading-edge structural design for major buildings throughout the US and beyond. The firm’s projects include high-rise towers and mixed-use projects for commercial, institutional, and corporate clients. CKC has become known for its expertise in concrete and post-tensioning design.
In 2007, Engineering News Record honored Cary among "Top 25 Newsmakers of the Year," citing his "pioneering the use of high-strength rebar to reduce congestion and maintain seismic confinement." In 2010, ACEC recognized the firm's design for 30-story Escala luxury condominiums with a Gold Award. The Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute Design Awards jury selected Escala as a 2012 Award Winner. Previous projects in the firm's portfolio have produced 20 million square feet of commercial building structure, including several major hotels, office buildings, multifamily housing, and parkng structures. Cary presented his work on One Pacific Tower in Seattle's Denny Regrade to the joint meeting of SEAW and ACI in February 1996.
In addition to his service on the SEAW Board 2005-06, Cary has engaged in engineering organization activities at the local and national level: as President of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Washington State Chapter, and as a member of ACI's national Strategic Planning Committee and also Committee 318, Structural Concrete Building Code. An active member of the Post-Tensioning Institute (PTI), he has chaired PTI's Technical Advisory Board. A Fellow of both ACI and PTI, he received recognition from the Wire Reinforcing Institute as an Honorary Member in acknowledgment of his work to advance the use of welded wire reinforcing in high-rise towers.
Posted April 2012. Updated June 2016