Recently completed with Furman + Keil Architects and Risher Martin
This project brings together exposed timber, slender steel, and careful detailing to create a light, refined structural system. Tongue-and-groove decking, purlins, exposed rafters, and steel framing all work together to support the architecture while staying visible and honest.
The result is clean, crisp, and quietly expressive — structure doing its job without getting in the way of the design.
Beautiful project and great team effort.
Architect: @fkarchitects
GC - @RisherMartin
Structural Engineer: @FORTStructures
Photography: @caseycdunn
Westinghouse Medical Office, Complete.
The Windmill Hill medical office building moves from 3D design to a fully framed structure—featuring an integrated water collection system, exposed structural steel, and a canopy inspired by classic windmill towers.
Architect: @studioeles
Structural Engineer: @FORTStructures
Wildcat Hollow — Tower Progress
The tower is going up as a cast-in-place reinforced concrete core, running from the basement through the roofline.
This core serves as both a primary gravity and lateral system while supporting an interior spiral stair and oculus skylight.
A lot of the complexity in concrete construction is not just the structure itself — it is figuring out how to form it, brace it, sequence it, and make it buildable.
With exposed concrete, there are no cover-ups. The formwork, bracing, and pour sequencing all had to be carefully coordinated and executed.
Great work by Booth Concrete.
@boothe_concrete
Big day for Fort! We just moved into our new mass timber office building on east 7th! Can't wait to have y'all over and show you around. It's a great feeling to occupy a building that we have poured so much energy into over the last few years.
Engineered by Fort, Built by @swinerton1888 and designed by @dc_architecture . There are few available office and desk pods available.. reach out if you are interested.
Big Valley – Amenity Center
A commercial amenity center with our long-time partners at Lemmo Architecture.
This project required careful coordination of sloped steel frames cantilevering over 12 feet, long-span glulam beams, and full-height glazing systems. We optimized member sizing and connection detailing to maintain open lobby and gym spaces while preserving structural efficiency.
From schematic through construction, we focused on resolving span demands and load paths early — delivering a clean, buildable structural system that will perform for current and future tenants.
Architect: @la_n_d
Structure: @FORTStructures
#FORTStructures #StructuralEngineering #CommercialEngineering #SteelStructures #MassTimber #GlulamDesign #CantileverDesign #AustinDevelopment #EngineerLed #DesignBuild
Wildcat Hollow - Progress Update
You can start to see the structure doing its job.
Concrete bearing walls and basement wall assemblies are nearly complete. Structural steel embed plates are set along the pool wall, which are critical for tying the suspended pool system back into the structure. Basement-level slab-on-grade is in and locked in.
This is the part most people never see... the work that makes the hillside buildable and the pool actually perform. Everything is engineered so the hefty assemblies track down to robust foundation elements, the steel will tie in cleanly, and the crew can pride themselves in having constructed tidy masses.
Architect: @spechtnovak
Structure: @FORTStructures
Concrete: @boothe_concrete
#FortStructures #StructuralEngineering #WildcatHollow #AustinArchitecture #EngineeringInProcess #BuildableDesign #HillsideConstruction #SuspendedPool #ConcreteConstruction
A look back at last year’s Springdale House - Our role centered on optimizing the structural systems that made the architecture possible: thin steel beams, efficient framing strategies, and precise detailing. We engineered the exposed steel members to match the proportions of the house and integrated clean connections at the exposed trellis so the structure blends with the architecture.
From schematic design through construction, we tackled and coordinated the most impactful portions of the structure, delivering structural engineering that enhances the architecture.
Architect: @Coxist
Builder: @Smartdigs
Structural Engineer: @FORTStructures
Photography: @_LeonidFurmansky
Meet the two principals behind FORT: Sam Covey, PE and Sam Young, PE — the partnership that drives our engineering approach.
Together, they’ve built a practice centered on clarity, collaboration, and creative structural solutions that support design intent without adding complexity in the field. From early concepts to final details, their leadership keeps projects efficient, coordinated, and technically sound.
They’re the backbone of FORT: creative, collaborative, and always thinking three steps ahead.
#FortStructures #StructuralEngineering #Principals #EngineersOfInstagram #AustinArchitecture #DesignBuild #BuiltByFort #Leadership #EngineeringLeaders
Monumental Stair for Tokyo Electron’s new office.
This tenant improvement required cutting and reconnecting three existing concrete floors with a fully cantilevered stair—no columns below and no place to hide.
We used finite element analysis to verify the stair could be supported by the existing structure while meeting strict strength, stiffness, and vibration criteria. Complex geometry, intersecting planes, and tight load paths all had to resolve cleanly in an exposed condition.
High coordination, precise modeling, and careful detailing made this one of the more demanding stairs we’ve engineered.
Architect: @featherstonstudio - Jeff Featherston
Structural Engineering: @FORTstructures
Build: @harveycleary
Images: @glyonphotography
Construction update from Wildcat Hollow.
Currently in the works with @Spectnovak .
This one’s a fun challenge: a suspended swimming pool on a steep slope and strict stormwater requirements. Our solution was to integrate a full stormwater detention system directly into the architecture beneath the pool deck — keeping the structure clean, efficient, and buildable.
More to come as this one takes shape.
Architect: @spechtnovak
Structure: @FORTstructures
Concrete: @boothe_concrete
#FortStructures #StructuralEngineering #WildcatHollow #AustinArchitecture #EngineeringInProcess #DesignSupport #BuildableDesign #StormwaterEngineering #HillsideConstruction #SuspendedPool
Lake Belton House — designed by our partners at Murray Legge Architecture — just picked up a 2025 TxA Annual Design Award. One of only 19 projects selected from over 300 entries.
This one’s a beauty — a simple, sculptural home that pushed us to balance heavy materials and long spans with a light touch. Always rewarding to see thoughtful design and solid engineering come together like this.
We worked with the design team to maximize wood throughout the structure. Pre-engineered roof trusses carried the geometry cleanly, minimized steel, and kept the whole system efficient and buildable.
Architect: @murray_legge
Engineer: @fortstructures
#StructuralEngineering #FortStructures #BuiltByFort #TexasArchitecture #TxA #DesignAwards #MurrayLeggeArchitecture #ModernHomesTX #AustinArchitects #LakeBeltonHouse #TexasArchitects #StructuralDesign #ArchitectureAwards
