Steven Baldauf '74: Building Beauties

By Alejandra Navarro

For more than three decades, Steve Baldauf's job as a structural engineer has included envisioning and designing strong, safe structures, on time and within the budget. Beauty and attention to detail, however, have always been part of the process. "Creativity is of paramount importance," says Baldauf, president of the Dallas-based engineering firm Baldauf Herrin & Associates Inc.

When his firm created the structural design of the River Bend Center's new Butterfly Conservatory in Wichita Falls, Texas, his team replaced the plain rectangular steel plates that rest where the building's braces intersect, with plates in the shape of butterflies. It was a modest change that had little effect on the structural design, but the small detail added a touch of elegance to the building, whose columns, beams, and butterfly braces would be visible through the glass walls and ceiling.

Baldauf's projects have included the structural engineering and design management of everything from small additions to new construction with budgets of more than $30 million. These include university buildings, retail centers, industrial complexes, high-rise offices, and churches. He has special expertise in computerized analysis, and has authored structural design programs.

"There is a lot of growth in Texas," explains Baldauf, whose firm is also licensed in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Mississippi, and Missouri. "We deal with the vertically built environment, structures that fuel the economy."

From a young age, he knew he would take this professional path. Both his father and grandfather worked in construction and the young Baldauf received his introduction to the industry working alongside them. In the early 1970s, when it came to selecting a college, Fairfield University's small size - and the potential for close relationships with faculty - was appealing. He enrolled in the University's 3/2 Engineering program and, after three years at Fairfield, transferred to the structural engineering program at the University of Connecticut. He graduated two years later with bachelor's degrees from both institutions. He went on to complete a master's degree in civil engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington in 1981.

Baldauf works in an industry where new regulations and safety concerns are always emerging. When he first started, building codes fit in a book less than an inch thick. Today's codes fill four volumes, together equaling more than nine inches. Nowadays, the need to make buildings more environmentally friendly is challenging the industry to be more creative. "Green buildings are coming into vogue," says Baldauf, who recently saw facilities in Seattle with sod roofs that absorb rainwater and alleviate runoff. "There are a number of elements that an engineer can use to improve the (green building) rating."

An important part of his job is educating his clients to the process and the level of detail involved in completing their project. Listening to their needs and wants, he then translates them into a structure that's not only functional, but physically and economically feasible. "Generally, everybody's aspirations get limited by the budget," he says.

One of Baldauf's favorite projects was the construction of Hotel Crescent Court in downtown Dallas, which opened in 1985. "It almost had a New Orleans style," explains Baldauf of the elaborately designed hotel, ordained with lacy filigree. "It was a big project and challenging in that regard." The five-star hotel, with office and retail space, has since become a gem in the Dallas downtown district.

Baldauf takes pride in buildings that enhance the cities in which they are built. "Years after, I see buildings that we produced and observe the growth of the whole area," says Baldauf, speaking of the Dallas region in particular. "I see how we've been able to contribute to the landscape, but also to the economy. "