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Charmaine Josiah, SK&A's Marketing & BD Manager recently spoke with our Founding Principal, Azer Kehnemui, DSc, PE, (the “K” in SK&A) to reflect on our firm’s beginnings:

What are your recollections from the 60s?

Alex originally worked from home, establishing "Alexis Smislova, PE" in October 1960. In 1961, Tom Carcaterra joined the company as Alex’s partner. They renamed the firm to Smislova & Carcaterra, and rented new office space in Silver Spring.

What was Silver Spring like at that time?

From June 1963, when I arrived in DC, I lived downtown in the Foggy Bottom area with a couple of friends until 1965 when I got married to my wife, Gladys, and we moved to Silver Spring. Downtown Silver Spring (the area around the Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road intersection) and also Wheaton, as close-in new suburbs, were booming. Wheaton Plaza/Mall, the DC area’s first shopping plaza/mall, had just opened. Most apartment buildings were new, and many young families moved there. It was quite urban, not country.

What are your memories of Alex Smislova?

Alex was of Russian origin, but was born and raised in Istanbul, and graduated in 1945 from the same American college that I did. He also got married to his wife, Anna, in Turkey. In the U.S., he attended and got his master’s degree from Lehigh University (Pennsylvania). He taught engineering there for a year or so before coming to DC during the 50’s.

Alex was very kind, and basically a shy and sentimental person, a superb engineer, meticulous in his work, and a great mentor. His handwriting and drafting was like artwork. He was very active in technical committees and trade organizations.  At the time of his passing he was the national treasurer of ACEC.

How old were you when you were hired (in 1963)?

23. At the time, besides Alex and Tom, the firm employed three full-time employees [including Azer], and three part-time draftspersons.

23?! Was that just out of school? Do you remember how you felt when first starting?

I had just received my master’s degree in structural engineering from the University of Illinois in Urbana.  I was confident, but worried because I had no previous engineering work experience.

What was the atmosphere for building construction like in the 60s?

In 1965, the firm moved to 6110 Executive Boulevard in Rockville, MD.  Tom Carcaterra left in 1966.

During that period in the 60's, construction quality control and municipality regulation was very lax to the point of being non-existent. Construction was typically not inspected at all—not by the structural engineer, third party inspection, or the various Counties.

That sounds scary! Were there many mishaps as a result of the lack of regulation, inspections?

Yes, quite a few. The most important was the collapse of the 26-story Skyline building in Bailey’s Crossroads during construction, due to a contractor error, resulting in many dead and injured workers.

The building permit process was simple, without any of the current planning and site plan reviews and environmental regulations.

Was there much diversity? Women or minorities at all (in the firm or industry-wide)?

Madelaine Lazar, a part-time draftsperson, was there when I started. Around the end of the 60’s, Connie Brooks joined, as receptionist and later office manager. There were no minority employees, at that time.

What was structural engineering like then?  What was the process of design like?

All engineering analysis and design calculations were done by hand using a slide rule—computers and scientific calculators did not yet exist. 

Geotechnical engineering was not yet in vogue. The structural engineer usually studied the soil borings and decided on the type and load capacity of building foundation systems to be specified.

When did that shift start happening? In terms of separate geotechs.

I’d guess about the end of the 60’s, and through the 70’s.

How long did it take to design a building and construct a building in comparison to today?

Designing didn’t take much more time, since we were using what we called “approximate” and empirical methods of analysis, i.e. taking best guesses! 

Drafting and preparation of drawings, since it was all done by hand, took much longer than today so we used a lot of short cuts and didn’t draw as much, and plans and details were not as accurate as they are today, and more was left to the contractor’s imagination and experience.  All plans and details were hand-drawn on mylar paper.

Memorable buildings during that time period?

• Queen of Apostles Church
  (a hyperbolic paraboloid shell structure),
  Fairfax County, VA
• McLean House
  (the first condominium building
  built in the Metro area),
  McLean, VA
• Rockville City Hall, Rockville, MD
• Rockville Shopping Center
  on Rockville Pike (Pike & Rose today),
  North Bethesda, MD
• General Electric Center, Rockville, MD
• Chevy Chase Library, Chevy Chase, MD
• Multiple Giant Food stores,
  Washington Metropolitan Area

Any stand-out memories from these projects? Anything unusual?

I can remember something from most of those early projects. But the Queen of Apostles Church from 1965 (whose construction-period photo hangs in my office) was the one project that to this day I cherish.

Memorable clients?

Donald N. Coupard (aka DNC Architects) and his client, Giant Food (60% of our work at that time!).  Giant Food was very active in construction for many years. All of their stores, shopping centers, offices, warehouses, were designed by Coupard, and we did all of Coupard’s work exclusively.

How did the unrest, civil, Vietnam War, etc. affect the industry?

The unrest of those times consisted of the ongoing Vietnam War and the protests and demonstrations; the JFK assassination; the MLK assassination and the DC riots that followed it. Of these, the 1968 riots, with its extensive property destruction, created a deep slowdown in new construction, as I recall.

What technologies were used during that time? New materials/building methods?

The new technology of the time was the use of post-tensioned concrete construction, and also precast concrete construction. There was a great deal of emphasis on the use of high-strength steel (for structural steel and reinforcing bars) in building construction and lightweight concrete.

What made you decide to pursue structural engineering? 

Speaking for myself, I liked building things from childhood. Hence, I chose to pursue civil engineering in college. Of its various branches, structural engineering, specializing in buildings, was what appealed to me the most.