RI ASCE Lunchtime Live Stream - April - Milwaukee Theater

Milwaukee Grand Theater Wall Move Geotechnical Engineering Design

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra purchased a historic 1920’s theater building to serve as their home venue.  The structure is supported on timber piling and it needed upgrades and improvements.  The building which is on the National Register of Historic Places, required expansion of the stage to accommodate the orchestra.  The east wall or the building had to be moved a distance of 35 feet into a former city street right-of-way.  The soft, compressible soil presented challenges for the wall move. A relatively simple, cost effective system was designed to support the wall move infrastructure.   The presentation will discuss options considered for the wall move and what went into the selection process. 

Presented By: John M. Siwula, P.E., D. GE 

John is an Associate Principal and senior geotechnical engineer with GZA.  He has more than 38 years of experience working on projects across the continental United States and is registered as a professional engineer in 14 states.  John has provided geotechnical services for Buildings, Highways, Rail, Utility, Energy, Communication Facility, and Floodwater/Levee projects. He has been involved with geotechnical engineering aspects of multi-story office buildings in the Southwest, Northwest, and Midwest. John has successfully utilized pressuremeter testing to develop relatively high allowable soil bearing pressures for buildings in glacial till soils which have provided value to clients.  He also led the geotechnical engineering design services for the Marquette Interchange, I‑94 North-South, and Zoo Interchange projects – the three largest projects in the Wisconsin DOT’s history.  John was the principal investigator for the research project “Construction Vibration Attenuation with Distance and its Effect on the Quality of Early-Age Concrete” for the Wisconsin Highway Research Program.  He is a Diplomate, Geotechnical Engineering (D. GE) which is a certification from the Academy of Geoprofessionals as part of ASCE for individuals with specialized knowledge and skills in geotechnical engineering.