Building Moments

September 30, 2020 | Eastern Engineering Group | Structural Engineering Blog | No Comments

People say that time is the most valuable resource a person can spend. They say this because when you lose an instant, it can never be recovered. With this in mind, we believe each one of us has the choice of using time for our benefit, or we can find a passion that will allow us to leave a mark on people’s hearts. This said, we fully support self-love ❤️ and the importance of self-improvement. But when we find the right balance between what makes us happy and a way to help people feel good about themselves by excelling; our achievements become a thousand times more fulfilling. This is why for 15 years we have chosen to build. We do so by building design projects, by building moments, by building families, and most importantly by building each other up.

For 15 years we have had the pleasure of building moments with our employees, interns and clients. We have proudly seen them grow over the years; and thanks to them we have seen our own firm grow as well.

We can all agree with the fact that 15 years of life is an unforgettable event. In many cultures around the world, this is an important milestone, and it represents the reaching of a new stage. For this and many other reasons, we want to commemorate this occasion by dedicating this article to everyone who has been a part of our growth throughout the years.

Once Upon a Time…

Eastern Engineering Group was founded on September 7th, 2005. This all started with the initiative of three engineers, Raissa Lopez, Fernando Torres, and Gonzalo Paz, who had a dream of opening up their own Structural and Civil Engineering consulting firm. The firm started by implementing three departments: Structural Engineering, Structural Inspections, and Civil Engineering. Back then, they were managing a total of 36 projects per year.

When the 2008 crisis hit, it affected Eastern Engineering Group like many other businesses. During this difficult time, the company expanded its range of services and created two other departments that helped the business grow, when others were forced to shut down. Today, we are proud to offer additional services such as Specialty Engineering for Structural Components and Specialty Engineering for Windows and Doors. When expanding, the principals understood the importance of teamwork and they brought in new talents to partner with. Mario Morales and Alexis Martinez joined this amazing team and they have been great leaders to all of our employees. Since then, these five directors have guided our departments through beautiful and challenging projects while making us all feel like we are part of a family. Undeniably, this has been the secret of their success.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Our projects are distributed between different sectors such as Public at 12.5%, Private at 86.48%, and the remaining 1.38% in other institutions. Furthermore, all of our departments have contributed to several important projects throughout South Florida. Our Team of Specialty Engineering for Structural Components has performed calculations for structural elements at places like the Hard Rock Guitar Hotel in Hollywood, The Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, and even the One Thousand Museum in Downtown Miami! The division for Specialty Engineering for Windows and Doors has performed the structural analysis for curtain wall window systems at the beautiful cruise terminals for Royal Caribbean and Norwegian; and they are working on the window system for Missoni Baia, a luxurious high-rise located at Edgewater. Make sure you follow us on social media to see pictures of these iconic gems.

Furthermore, we have performed the Civil Engineering for the artificial turf football fields of several high schools in Miami, and one of them was even funded by the NFL and the Miami Dolphins! In Addition, we cannot give enough credit to our team of Structural Inspectors who are out in the field countless hours making sure structures are safe for the public. They have done inspections at Miami International Airport for several years as well!

Structural Engineering

Last but not least, our amazing team of Structural Engineering performing the calculations for the main structural framing system of several cool buildings throughout South Florida. Soleste Bay Village, NoBe Marina, Hotel 18, and multiple custom homes just to name a few! From Air traffic control towers, to Multipurpose Arenas for Universities, our Structural Engineering team is truly remarkable. Last year they started working on their first high-rise, Metro at Edge Water which will be 32-floors closer to the Miami sun. ☀️

With this in mind, we are genuinely confident to say that our team of professionals is certainly outstanding!

Our Family

As of 2018, Eastern Engineering Group has performed more than 1,000 projects per year. YES, 1,000! This is not a typo! Which totally seems unreal considering we started at 36, right?! Fast forward to 2020, and we have now accumulated a total of 8,600+ projects, and we are humbled to know this number grows every day. The company grew as a result of hard, committed, and intense work, generating over $21M in revenue for these past 15 years. However, none of this would have been possible without our amazing group of employees.

Together, our journey has been filled with achievements and mistakes, triumphs, and failures, with joys and with sorrows; but always finding ways to build each other up and support one another. Perseverance, sacrifice, and the effort to do things as well as possible has led us to build a community within our firm. This family has become more valuable to us than any profit we will ever generate. The moments we have spent with each other have made us realize that time is not refundable, and we must use it with intention. This has inspired our new company slogan, “Building Moments”.

What is a Moment?

A Moment is a broad term that can refer to various types of concepts. We can think of it as an instant, a period, an experience, or even as an opportunity. However, one of my favorite definitions is that; “a moment is the ideal, convenient or favorable circumstance which is given or generated to achieve something”. It is such a positive meaning, that it makes you realize that even if a moment seemed difficult or bad at the time, it was meant to happen for you to accomplish something specific.

This definition is in line with what Eastern Engineering Group has built throughout the years. Our company has been through ups and downs, just like any other business; but we have learned to rise from the challenges and enjoy all accomplishments. We are able to find opportunities when bad occasions arise; and we have been grateful and generous when we are blessed with prosperity. But most importantly; times have been convenient and appropriate so that the ideas and dreams of our employees and clients have been able to be materialized.

Building Moments

Thanks to all the convenient opportunities at the right time, we have played an important role in building moments for several cities in South Florida, including our beloved City of Doral; and at the same time, we have built moments for ourselves. It is what has happened in the last 15 years that helped us be the company that we are today.

Furthermore, a moment is a very important term in Civil Engineering. This type of moment is based on the force that is applied to an object that tries to cause displacement or deformation in the body on which it is applied. Furthermore, this structure to which the force is being applied to will try to prevent movement or deformation by putting a force of the same value, in the opposite direction. So confusing, right?

Meet me at the Bar

Let me give you something more visual. It is said that a body is “experiencing” a moment when it is internally under compression and tension at the same time at its opposite faces. A structural element is under compression when the edges are pushed towards the center; and under tension when they are being pulled apart. An example of the combination of these two effects is a heavy deadlift.

Imagine a barbell with two weights on the edges. When you pull that bar up, the weights on both sides will be pulling it down. The top of the barbell will be internally under tension and the bottom under compression; which means a moment will arise throughout the bar. Now take this same bar and think of it as a column or a beam. These internal forces caused by the laws of physics are constantly being considered in architectural designs. Hence, the reason why structural engineers and architects work hand in hand. For more clarification about these terms, check out our article “How Does a Structural Engineer Think?”.

The deep understanding of physics our professionals develop with experience is truly admirable. This being the case, we can now understand that moments are part of our structures; just as much as the concept of a moment in time. We understand how physical forces can affect our buildings; as we also understand the effect of positive emotional forces we create with our comradery.

Mi Casa es Su Casa

Random acts of kindness wouldn’t be possible without a recipient. This is why our clients are such a big part of what we are as a company. We are not only here to help their ideas become a reality, but we are also here to spend time with them. To make them feel like Eastern Engineering Group is their home. We love it when our clients visit, and we encourage them to come to the office whenever they want. We have all developed friendly relationships with them, and we feel like they enjoy visiting our offices as well. Just like any past students that have interned with us, or past employees that have pursued other endeavors, everyone is welcome here and we want them to feel at home.

Building a Future by Building Moments

Each moment in time for these past 15 years has never ceased to be a projection of the future. Together, our experiences have been the basis for always looking forward. This said, nurturing our vision of growing humanly in tandem with our economic growth has been our biggest priority. Our goal has always been to evolve in a fair and progressive way while benefiting all company members.

Employees at Eastern Engineering Group are what we value most, therefore their opinions are always considered and appreciated. After all, they are the ones who implement and make our ideas possible. Because of them, we aspire to get to the top and we want to become a model for engineering companies. However, we are fully aware we still have a long way to go. We still have mistakes to make, and obstacles to overcome, but what matters is that our vision is clear and our objectives will be met. This being said, we are full of gratitude for everyone who has made our journey possible, and we are excited to continue Building Moments.