Robert Belardi

Background

About Robert Belardi

An early interest in buildings and structures pushed me towards engineering and architecture; my love history and art lead me to historical preservation. Throughout it all, I've most of all loved a good challenge. I've never been a fan of "cookie cutter" engineering. I design shoring and bracing for buildings intentionally pulled apart or unintentionally destabilized. I sequence, coordinate, and design access and site safety systems for complex partial demolitions in dense urban environments. I've seen 19th century apartments and even a 45 Ton classical column lurch towards an active construction site-I know how to analyze and repair them. I use steel, concrete, timber, and construction equipment-scaffolding, pipe & clamp, etc- to design temporary systems for construction. I use modern and historic codes; complex FEA programs and good old fashioned hand calculations; along with an ever-growing well of experience to pull from. While I sometimes work with historic constructions, my work mainly focuses on existing buildings and construction logistics. Design of temporary systems, including access scaffold, hoists and common tower complexes, partial/full demolition, and site safety. Emergency stabilization and bracing with particular experience with the building stock and bureaucracy of New York City. I enjoy projects that cross personalities and disciplines. Buildings have owners, residents, new and old designers, and oftentimes neighbors. That fact, in aggregate, rarely makes the engineering design easier; but an understanding of it all often makes the design better.