New York, N.Y., October 15, 2008 - The managing principals of Thornton Tomasetti, Inc. announce the hiring of Edward Peck, AIA, an architect with extensive expertise in innovative building skin materials, as a senior associate in the Chicago office. The appointment will support Thornton Tomasetti's ongoing expansion of the firm's building skin practice.

"I am captivated with the potential of a new skin practice within the solid base of Thornton Tomasetti's practice," Peck said.

Joseph Burns, P.E., S.E., FAIA, managing principal in Thornton Tomasetti's Chicago office, said the hiring of Peck, along with the previous additions of Wilfred Laufs, Ph.D., vice president in New York and Mark Dannettel, a senior associate in Los Angeles, will strengthen the firm's new building skin practice. As a registered architect, Peck will be involved with all aspects of the building skin practice.

"We have always had an exterior building skin practice related to building performance with existing façades," Burns said. "With Peck's arrival, we are expanding into an exciting new material, ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), which works for both building façade and roof applications. Our team approaches the design of all skin materials with a more holistic view, dealing not just with aesthetics and keeping water out, but also with energy conservation. This also supports the merger of craft with high technology that is transforming building design."

"Ultra-light-weight ETFE cushions are hot," said Laufs. "We come across them more and more when talking with our architect clients. They are an ideal material when used with transparent cable-net roof structures or irregularly shaped free-form designs. Edward's experience will be an important part of our meeting this demand."

Peck was previously a design director for Vector-Foiltec in Albany, N.Y., involved with the skin design of the National Aquatic Center in Beijing-where Michael Phelps won eight gold metals in the 2008 Olympics. The firm developed simplified details specific for the project's scale and the local contractor, as there was more then a million square feet of surface area constructed from more than 4,000 air-inflated ETFE cushions.

Peck earned Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Building Science and Technology degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., and attended Istanbul Teknik Universite in Turkey, and the Rafael Viñoly Training / Research Institute in New York City for graduate studies in architecture and planning. Peck holds a New York architectural registration with memberships in the American Institute of Architects, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and is a LEED Accredited Professional.

About Thornton Tomasetti (www.ThorntonTomasetti.com)
Thornton Tomasetti provides building engineering services to clients worldwide on projects of all sizes and complexity. From the tallest buildings and the longest spans, to innovative building systems and materials, the firm is committed to creating the best solutions through its technical ingenuity, pursuit of excellence, and responsiveness to client needs.

Founded in 1956 as Lev Zetlin & Associates, today Thornton Tomasetti is a 600-person organization of engineers and architects, collaborating from offices across the United States and in Hong Kong, London, Moscow, and Shanghai. Services cover structural design, building evaluation, and remediation to optimize building efficiency and performance. Thornton Tomasetti mobilizes rapidly to provide disaster response investigations, and deliver expert consulting services and testimony for legal and insurance purposes.

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