Different Paths, Better Engineers
- Michael Murphy
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
At Forefront Structural Engineers, many members of our team bring experience from more than one discipline. That overlap has become one of the most valuable parts of how we approach projects and collaborate with design teams. While structural engineering remains our focus, perspectives shaped by architecture, construction, fabrication, and design studios influence the way we think about buildings, communication, and problem solving.
Josh Dortzbach's path into the building industry has been anything but conventional. After earning a bachelor's degree in liberal arts, he worked in construction projects in Africa before framing houses in the United States. Those experiences provided firsthand exposure to how buildings are designed, adapted, and constructed in very different environments. Today, that hands-on understanding brings valuable perspective to questions of constructability and the realities of the jobsite.
Michael Murphy's path to structural engineering was equally interdisciplinary. A licensed architect and structural engineer, he worked as a carpenter and roofing laborer during summers and after earning his architecture degree before pursuing a master's degree in architecture with a focus on structural engineering. That combination of design education, field experience, and engineering expertise continues to shape how he approaches projects today.
Nikki Vercoutere followed a similar path through architecture before transitioning into structural engineering. After completing her bachelor's degree in architectural studies and master's degree in architecture with a focus on structural engineering, she spent several years working as an in-house structural engineer within an architectural design firm. That experience gave her a unique understanding of how architects think, communicate, and develop projects, helping bridge the gap between disciplines.
After earning his bachelor's degree in architectural studies, Jon Guttello entered a dual-degree program and completed both a Master of Architecture and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering. Today, in addition to his work at Forefront, he teaches structures to architecture students, helping future designers better understand how architecture and engineering can work together from the earliest stages of a project.
This interdisciplinary experience becomes especially valuable during coordination and early design. Engineers with architectural backgrounds often understand the reasoning behind layouts, forms, proportions, and spatial decisions before those ideas are fully articulated. That shared perspective helps create more fluid collaboration between disciplines and allows structural conversations to happen earlier and more naturally within the design process.
These backgrounds also influence the tools and workflows we use internally. Platforms such as Rhino and Grasshopper allow geometry, structure, and computational workflows to interact in ways that support rapid iteration and exploration. Rather than repeatedly rebuilding disconnected models, teams can work within a more integrated environment where architectural intent and engineering logic evolve together, creating opportunities to evaluate ideas more efficiently and communicate them more clearly.
For those with experience in architectural studios, creativity is not viewed as separate from engineering. Studio environments encourage iteration, experimentation, critique, and the exploration of multiple solutions before arriving at the strongest direction. That mindset carries into the way we approach structural design at Forefront. Whether evaluating structural systems, refining mass timber layouts, or coordinating complex geometry, the process is often collaborative and exploratory rather than purely linear.
No two paths into structural engineering look exactly alike. Some begin in architecture studios. Others start on construction sites, in classrooms, or through hands-on fabrication. Each experience brings a different perspective on how buildings are conceived, communicated, and ultimately brought to life.
At Forefront, those varied backgrounds help us see projects through more than a single lens. They allow us to better understand the priorities of architects, contractors, owners, and builders while remaining grounded in sound engineering principles. The result is not simply better coordination. It is better problem solving.
As our industry continues to evolve, we believe the most effective engineers will be those who can move comfortably between disciplines, communicate across teams, and contribute throughout the design process. The overlap between architecture, engineering, and construction is where many of the best ideas emerge, and it is a place where our team is proud to work every day.
