Eastern Engineering Group

When you think of all the different cultures that have influenced Miami that’s when you realize how unique our City really is. The fact that our community is from all over the world directly reflects on our modern yet classic architecture.

Miami’s Architectural design is as diverse as its residents.

As a Structural Engineering firm from South Florida that takes on all different types of Structural Projects, we love admiring the design and complexity that some of these Architectural projects.

Miami’s architectural design is a concept that can be seen throughout the city on more than just a typical building structure. Many of the city’s ordinary local establishments have turned into Art. Miami has evolved in many areas giving the city and edgy and trendy vibe while still preserving historical structures.

Within a few miles radius, you can see how the City has both aspects of History and Modern design. Coral Gables has the Venetian Pool which was created in 1923, but not very far from that same location you can find Building Bacardi the new Bacardi USA Headquarters that is currently occupied by nonetheless than “Young Arts” a national nonprofit that contributes directly to the development of the careers of young school-age artists.

As Structural Engineers, Eastern Engineering Group has had the possibility to grow and face new challenges with the City’s modernization while still being able to get involved in projects that preserve certain Historical Value to them. As our City continues to evolve our firm continues to adapt to the modern era of design.

If you focus on South Beach, you will find the Art Deco Historic District and area that features white facades, neon lights, sleek designs on the streets that are well known to America such as Ocean Drive. The structures you see there have been featured in movies like Scarface and Bad Boys, but if you look at Lincoln Road, everything you see is modern and edgy.

Another great location in Miami where you can directly see the cultural influence is in Little Havana. This area contains styles such as Art Deco, Historic Houses, Mediterranean Revival, Bungalow, Mission and commercial structures. Little Havana has become a Historic District as South River Drive an area within the City contains the oldest extant group of the Vernacular building frame.

Miami’s diverse culture has established a new era in the Structural Engineering and Architectural Design industry. As of lately many articles have been published regarding the huge role that our City is playing when it comes to Architectural Design such as, “America’s new architecture capital? 14 of Miami’s most awe-inspiring buildings.” Where Mr. Horacio Silva, from CNN, states “No one building defines Miami, but rest assured: this boom city, where things happen fast, is rapidly becoming the architecture capital of America.”

When you look back through history, women have continuously through hard work and determination been able to achieve what many perceived to be impossible in the engineering industry.

When you take a look around at many engineering companies, even till this day most of the engineers are male figures. Women have been challenged to earn their place in this industry from the very beginning. In 1905, one of the pioneers that paved the way for many women of today’s generation is Nora Stanton Blatch.

Nora graduated from Cornell University as the first woman to receive a Civil Engineering Degree. Additionally, she then also became the first female member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Regardless of the fact that she met all the requirements, Batch was not allowed to advance because of her gender and was only accepted under the junior status. In 1916 when she was denied the full associate membership she took it upon herself to once more make a difference and took ASCE to court. Although she lost the lawsuit, Blatch was given ASCE fellow status in 2015.

Nora was continuously challenged when it came to remaining a part of the industry.

She had to overcome professional and personal challenges. In 1908 Nora married inventor Lee De Forest, often considered as “Father of Radio” and the “Grandfather of Television” Their marriage did not last very long she was pregnant with their daughter at the time of their separation in 1912. Forest asked her to focus on being a mother and resign from her career and Blatch was not going to set aside her professional aspirations to become a housewife.

Nora moved back to New York City in 1909, where she continued to pursue her professional career and worked as an engineering assistant and chief draftsman for the Radley Steel Construction Company. She then took on a role in 1914, as part-time architect and developer on Long Island.

Nora Stanton Blatch opened many paths for women everywhere not just in engineering but overall. What we once perceived as a setback is only an opportunity to learn and grow from.

Her perseverance and can-do attitude has led many other female figures to pursue their desired careers.

On our engineering blog we want to explain the difference between an NOA and OTA:

An NOA or Notice of Acceptance is an approval obtained by a manufacturer from the Miami Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER), Board and Code Administration Division, Product Control Section, for specific models of their products. NOA’s can be issued to a variety of products including windows, doors and roofing shingles. Having an NOA for a specific product means it can be widely used throughout the state including in High-Velocity Hurricane Zones (HVHZ), as defined in the Florida Building Code (FBC), without undergoing additional testing, as long as the specifications for the NOA are met. Some of the specifications that are usually included in NOA’s are product configuration, fasteners (including type, size, embedment, and specific location), and hardware and installation procedures.

The first step to obtaining an NOA is to have a product design or configuration to test Eastern Engineering Group, as a structural engineering firm in South Florida can aid manufacturers with the Design and Development process of the product, as well as with Product Design Assistance. This includes having an engineer run the preliminary calculations and mock-up testing calculations, to make sure the product has a successful testing outcome. Products must then undergo testing in a Miami-Dade County Certified Laboratory for different categories including large and small missile impact testing, air infiltration testing, water infiltration testing and cyclic testing. The test results must be signed and sealed by the testing facility’s Florida Licensed Professional Engineer (FLPE).

Once the series of test have been completed, the manufacturer must submit the test results (which may not be older than 2 years from time of submittal), along with product specifications and shop drawings by a FLPE structural engineer in addition to signed and sealed statements by the structural engineer stating that the product conforms to the current Florida Building Code, that he/she has no financial interest with the laboratory performing the test or with the engineer sealing the test report, and others which one of our qualified structural engineers here at Eastern Engineering Group can provide.

Once an NOA is ready to be used, an FLPE will annotate the NOA for the model being used given the specific project design and will make sure the conditions are within the minimum and maximum requirements and conditions of the NOA. NOA’s may expire or be superseded by a revision done by the manufacturer or by Miami Dade County. It is important that the engineer that will be doing the markups on the NOA’s is aware of the most up-to-date version for the system, being used. The contractor for the project must submit the marked documents for permitting in a timely manner to avoid the unfortunate circumstance of finding out the NOA’s that were marked have expired. If you have a project waiting for permit approval because the NOA’s have expired or have been superseded, Eastern Engineering can help you by completing the current NOA for submittal.

Difference between NOA and OTA

An OTA or One Time Approval is very similar to an NOA in the sense that it is an approval by Miami Dade County to use a certain product in a specific manner. A manufacturer may decide to file for an OTA instead of an NOA if he/she plans to only use the product in one project. However, OTA’s still requires the product to undergo testing in a Miami Dade Certified Laboratory and has similar requirements as those of an NOA, which must be completed by an engineer.

Eastern Engineering will gladly assist manufactures or contractors with creating NOA’s or OTA’s as well as marking and/ or verifying them for ongoing or future projects.