A Structural Engineering Firm Built on Excellence, Community, and Innovation

As one of the region’s largest structural engineering firms, we are a place where people build their futures. We are especially proud of our legacy of longevity. Our firm principals have between 20 and 60 years of industry experience. Over a third of our engineers began their careers with us, and over a dozen staff have been with us for over two decades. Our focus on our people has guided our evolution and success.

We’ve come a long way since our first days in 1960, when we were a two-person engineering consultancy in Silver Spring, Maryland. Over the decades, our spirit of collaboration and collective growth has shaped our reputation for innovative thinking. Today, we are nearly 100 people strong, delivering projects locally, nationally, and internationally. With unwavering attention to continued learning, we are consistently at the forefront of new technologies, approaches, and business practices. Ours is a story of award-winning work, expansion into new markets, and innovative collaborations. We are industry leaders today because we have exceeded our clients’ expectations throughout our history.

Our Story

1960's
1970's
1980's
1990's
2000's
2010's
2020's
Alexis Smislova

Alexis Smislova founds the firm

1960

The firm was originally founded by the late Alexis (Alex) Smislova. Alex graduated from Robert College in Istanbul in 1943 before coming to the US. He then graduated from Lehigh University, where he went on to teach before entering professional practice.

Azer Kehnemui

Azer Kehnemui joins firm

1963

Azer joined the firm upon completion of his graduate degree from the University of Illinois and was quickly recognized as an extraordinary engineering talent.

Alex and Azer

Alex mentors Azer

1963-1976

Alex was Azer's mentor, boss, and eventually, business partner. When Alex unexpectedly passed away in 1976, Azer became the sole owner of Smislova, Kehnemui & Associates, P.A.

Queen of Apostles Church

Queen of Apostles Church in Alexandria, VA

1965

One of Azer's first significant projects, the roof structure was constructed of 3.5-in. thick reinforced lightweight concrete, spanning 165-ft., supported by 2 L-shaped concrete buttresses.

Firm's first logo

1965

The logo design was inspired by the shape of the Queen of Apostles Church in Alexandria, VA.

Skyline House & Skyline Square

Skyline House & Skyline Square in Fairfax, VA

late 1970's to 1980's

Our first high-rise residential project. Four Residential towers ranging from 20 to 26 stories, each with a separate parking garage. Also on an adjacent plot was our first low-rise wood stick-built residential project on an underground concrete podium parking structure.

Maryland National Bank

Maryland National Bank in Baltimore, MD

1973

This 22-story Bank Headquarters was our first high-rise urban project and the first post-tensioned concrete office building structure in the Baltimore-Washington area.

Azer begins as Adjunct Professor at GWU

1976

Azer taught two graduate level courses in Advanced Concrete Design. During his 25-year tenure, he educated many of the practicing engineers in the region and even one future SK&A Principal!

Cetin Karabulut

Cetin Karabulut joins firm as Associate

1977

A former classmate and long-time friend of Azer, Cetin joined SK&A in 1977 as Director of Structural Engineering Services, guiding and mentoring our technical staff.

ETI

Eastern Testing and Inspection Corporation (ETI) founded

1979

An affiliated structural testing and inspection company founded for the purpose of providing QC monitoring of structural construction as well as laboratory and field testing.

Crystal Park

Crystal Park in Arlington, VA

1980

The largest project in SK&A history: a 5.5 million SF complex of 5 office and 4 apartment buildings, developed and constructed over a nine-year period by the Charles E. Smith Cos. A protective wall was also constructed next to the adjacent national airport and railroad. This project solidified our reputation as a preferred engineer of major developers. In future years, our Repair & Restoration group would go on to provide additional services at this development.

Repair and Restoration Services

Repair + Restoration services

1981

SK&A begins to offer structural repair and restoration design services, complementing the firm’s full breadth of structural consulting services.

Dr. Khalil Khozeimeh

1981

Khalil started as a structural engineer at SK&A. He eventually became our first Director of IT, introduced us to email, setting up servers for our first network, and implementing CAD and Revit.

National Press Building

National Press Building in Washington, DC

1982

This major renovation of a historic downtown office building launched the opening of our DC office.

DC Office 1980s

DC Office location opens

1982

Our first DC office was located at 1709 N Street, NW and managed by Tolga Cubukcu, a former classmate of Azer and Cetin.

Marcia Camarda

Marcia Camarda joins firm

1984

A graduate student who studied under Azer at GWU, Marcia Camarda was our first female engineer. She would go on to become a Principal and then the President of SK&A following Azer's retirement. As her career excelled and her influence increased, she became a champion of diversity and inclusion, a pioneer in sustainability, and a devoted advocate for STEM education and community engagement.

CADD

It's a CADD, CADD world

1984

We purchased our first CADD hardware and began implementation and training in 1984, ultimately offering Computer Aided Design (CADD) services on projects in 1986.

Cetin becomes Principal

1985

Cetin Karabulut served with Azer as the only two Principals of the firm until the late 1990’s, when the second generation of Principals would be named.

Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company

Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. HQ

1986

Our first Design-Build project, these five interconnected office buildings totaling 800,000 SF in Silver Spring, MD were among the largest steel-framed buildings built in the metro DC area at that time.

Worldgate Complex

Worldgate Complex in Fairfax, VA

1988

A 2.2 million sq. ft. mixed-use complex near Dulles International Airport included a hotel, large fitness center, residential and retail.

Scott, Walid, Hakan, and Brent become Principals

2009-2013

Scott Stewart was promoted to Principal in 2009 on the heels of Azer’s retirement. Walid Choueiri and Hakan Onel were promoted to Principal in 2011 and Brent Stephens was promoted to Principal in 2013. The group comprises SK&A’s third generation of leadership.

WBJ Largest Engineering Firms List

Making "The List!"

2013

This was our first year to be recognized on the Washington Business Journal list of Top 25 Local Engineering Firms. We would continue to earn our spot on this list annually hence forth.

CityCenterDC

City Center DC, NW in Washington DC

2013

Our first venture project as a DC CBE, this large, high-end mixed-use complex was built on the old convention center site. The 2.3 million SF project won numerous awards from industry organizations.

Dunbar SHS 2013

Dunbar Senior High School

2013

The new 280,000 sf facility features a four-story academic wing and is LEED for Schools Platinum certified. The award-winning school is also the world's highest-scoring LEED school.

SWaM Certified

SWaM Certification Achieved

2013

SK&A was certified as a small business in Virginia's Small, Women and Minority (SWaM) program.

Voices from our History

In my nearly 60 years with the firm, I have always taken great pride in our ability to deliver creative solutions to complex engineering challenges. We consistently push the boundaries of what is possible to achieve.

Azer Kehnemui, DSc, PE, Founding Principal

Voices from our History

I'm proud that our firm's history includes female leadership, a culture of mutual support, focused attention on mentoring, and a tradition of volunteerism. These values are important not only to the health of our organization but to the service we give our clients. It's what makes the story of our past and future unique.

Marcia Camarda, PE, LEED AP, Principal Emeritus