Tipping Structural

09/03/2026

Please join us in welcoming Dayana Bulatbekova, Structural Designer, to Tipping!

Driven by a passion for complex problem-solving and data-informed engineering, Dayana joined Tipping to help create resilient, lasting infrastructure. Her graduate education centered on performance-based design and seismic resilience, with research focused on nonlinear structural response under earthquake loading. This work sparked a deep interest in evaluating structural performance to optimize safety and post-disaster functionality. Dayana looks forward to applying her technical knowledge and analytical skills to develop sustainable engineering solutions for communities.

https://tippingstructural.com/people/?personid=2208

09/02/2026

Engineer the future with us! Learn more about joining our team here: https://tippingstructural.com/careers/

The BRB Mast frame system represents a significant advancement in seismic design for mid- and high-rise steel structures, emerging as the optimal solution for Samuel Merritt University’s flagship campus after evaluating moment frames, dual systems, and conventional BRB frames.

By integrating a vertical mast truss with BRB devices, the system delivers superior seismic performance without a cost premium—minimizing story drift, eliminating damage concentrations, reducing BRB device count, and avoiding oversized columns and beams. The result is improved structural response, less damage, and lower repair costs.

09/02/2026

Please join us in welcoming Susanna van de Graaf, PE, Senior Project Engineer, to Tipping!

Susanna has always been drawn to what makes a structure perform — how thoughtful engineering balances safety, efficiency, and long-term impact. That curiosity has shaped her career, and continues to motivate her to design high-performing buildings that bring clients’ visions to life.

Susanna’s experience is primarily in education and housing, from design through construction. Although she is equally comfortable with steel and concrete, her main focus is on wood — in fact, she was first introduced to Tipping when the office hosted a Woodworks event, with lectures on mass timber.

Susanna brings her enthusiasm, collaborative spirit, and experience as Wood Committee Lead at her previous company to our SE2050 committee, with a focus on mass timber and carbon sequestration.

08/31/2026

at the Connie & Kevin Chou Hall at the UC BerkeleyBerkeley, a uniquely configured state-of-the-art learning laboratory. Part of the Haas School of Business’ master planning project, this six-story, 80,000-square-foot building—with a total of 858 classroom seats—supports the expansion of the school’s MBA program.

Given challenging site constraints, programmatic requirements, and seismic factors, a conventional structural design would have failed to achieve project goals. Allowing those constraints to guide innovative design solutions and taking a performance-based approach, the Tipping team was able to deliver a state-of-the art learning laboratory serving students of Berkeley-Haas for years to come. The new building increased the school’s space by a third, accommodating large tiered lecture halls, flexible teaching spaces, and breakout spaces for small group collaboration, as well as a ground-floor café and a rooftop event space for fundraising and other functions. The east wing is embedded two stories into the hillside, incorporating an auditorium and mechanical basement.

Learn more about UC Berkeley Chou Hall here: https://tippingstructural.com/projects/uc-berkeley-chou-hall/

Owner: University of California, Berkeley
Architect: Perkins&Will
Contractor: Vance Brown Builders
Developer: Partnership for Haas Preeminence
Structural: Tipping (Leo Panian, Joy Wei)
Photography: Blake Marvin

08/26/2026

Currently under construction is the new Classroom and Office Building 3 (COB3) at UC Merced. A with SCB and Otto Construction, COB3 will support the launch of 12 new undergraduate majors and minors and will include three major instructional venues: a large auditorium, a round lecture hall, and a medium case-style lecture hall.

COB3 will complete the Social Justice Quad, serving as a central hub for the School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts (SSHA), as well as provide academic, advising, and student tutoring services plus dedicated space for UC Merced’s new Honors Program. A prominent feature will be the CAPE (Center for Analytical Political Engagement) program, located on the first floor, designed to engage the campus community and visitors in active political discussions.

Targeting LEED Platinum, the all-electric 61,600-square-foot building aligns with ’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion by reducing unintentional bias, and fostering a sense of equity and belonging among occupants.

Architect: SCB
Contractor: Otto Construction
Structural: Tipping
Owner: University of California, Merced

Tipping team: Gina Carlson, SE (PIC), Jason A***s, S.E., Joy Wei, Isaac Williams, Beverly Xu, PE, and Susanna van de Graaf, PE

Renderings courtesy of SCB

08/18/2026

Want to see your work take shape in the real world?

Our engineers are on site at the 34th & San Pablo Affordable Family Housing project, checking construction progress and solving problems as the structure comes to life. At Tipping, we’re hiring structural engineers who want to design the structures that shape our communities.

Join our team! Learn more about open positions and apply here: https://tippingstructural.com/careers/

08/14/2026

08/14/2026

Spotlight on our summer intern extraordinaire, Christine Ting-Yu Chang, who wraps up her summer internship with Tipping today 🎉 Thank you, Christine, for an incredible summer. Reflecting on her experience, Christine shared:

"The summer internship at Tipping was truly a wonderful experience. I felt completely supported, and everyone shared their knowledge unreservedly. A major highlight was working on vibration control for the UCSF Bakar Ear and Hearing Institute (BEHI) lab project—troubleshooting our new program, exploring plan configurations, and bringing my own visualization ideas to the table was incredibly rewarding. Additionally, joining site visits and seeing the collaborative partnership between structural engineers and contractors was equally inspiring. Seeing the passion and collaboration of the engineers here made a lasting impression on me. I’m grateful for this experience and can’t wait to bring everything I’ve learned into my future career!"

Having completed an MS in Structural Engineering and currently pursuing an MS in Civil & Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley College of Engineering, we are lucky to welcome Christine back this fall as a part-time intern at Tipping!

Christine (second from right) pictured on a student housing project site visit.

08/14/2026

Presented by Council on Vertical Urbanism (CVU) California with AIA East Bay, it was great to welcome the community to Tipping to wrap up an afternoon focused on innovative design, engineering, and the future of the built environment!

Last Friday, the event began at the University of California, Berkeley with guided tours of the Grimes Engineering Center (designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and the Bakar Gateway Building (designed by Gensler with WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism). Tours were led by project team representatives, providing a unique opportunity to experience the spaces firsthand and learn from those directly involved in their development.

After the tours, Tipping hosted the group for a networking happy hour at our office in Berkeley, which included a brief presentation of each project toured earlier – with SOM presenting about Grimes and the facade consultant Heintges Consulting Architects & Engineers presenting about Baker Gateway. We thoroughly enjoyed continuing the conversation over drinks and snacks and hearing more about the vision, challenges, and solutions behind the projects.

Thank you to CVU California and everyone who joined us at Tipping last Friday!

08/06/2026

Check out new photos of the award-winning Samuel Merritt University Oakland City Center and learn more on the Tipping website: https://tippingstructural.com/projects/smu-oakland/

Located in downtown Oakland, this new high-rise building serves as the flagship campus for SMU, a leader in health science education. The 10-story, 250,000-square-foot campus allows the more than century-old organization to double its enrollment and directly address the Bay Area’s critical shortage of healthcare workers. An iterative design approach resulted in a novel and cost-effective structural system that provides an unobstructed floor plan and superior seismic performance, including an offset vertical circulation core that allows for large unobstructed classrooms and flexibility for lab planning. A variation of the conventional BRB frame, the structural system incorporates a vertical mast or strongback element.

Last week, the project received 'Outstanding Architectural Engineering Project' from the 2026 ASCE Golden Gate Branch Awards – congrats to the team!

Owner: Samuel Merritt University

Developer: Strada Investment Group

Architect: Perkins&Will

Contractor: Hathaway Dinwiddie

Steel Fabricator: The Herrick Corporation

Structural: Tipping (Leo Panian, Gina Carlson, SE, Jason A***s, Christopher Tiran)

Photos: Bruce Damonte