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Memorial Tributes Volume 23 (2021) / Chapter Skim
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JACK V. CHRISTIANSEN
Pages 52-57

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From page 53...
... SPRAGUE SUBMITTED BY THE NAE HOME SECRETARY J OHN VALDEMAR CHRISTIANSEN, an American designer of thin-shell concrete structures and structural engineer of the largest free-standing concrete dome in the world -- the Seattle Kingdome -- died August 16, 2017, at the age of 89. Jack Christiansen made a name for himself as a consulting structural engineer in Seattle, embracing the connections among engineering, architecture, and construction disciplines to become a prolific designer of shell structures in the Pacific Northwest.
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From page 54...
... Seeking a life of adventure, he and his wife Sue moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1952, settling on Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound, a short ferry ride from Seattle. From this location, Jack could work in downtown Seattle and also have easy access to the Olympic Mountains to the west.
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From page 55...
... Built as a publicly funded, multipurpose arena, the Kingdome played an essential role in the growth of Seattle, bringing large-scale professional sports teams to the Pacific Northwest for the first time. Working in collaboration with the architects at NBBJ, Christiansen designed the Kingdome to accommodate not only numerous configurations but also the extreme inflationary economic times of the early 1970s.
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From page 56...
... It's like you are creating sculpture on a grand scale." According to Jon Magnusson, former CEO of Magnusson Klemencic Associates, "Jack was certainly one of the most creative engineers that I have ever met. When he worked with trace paper and a soft pencil on structural concepts, he actually created art.
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Key Terms

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  • concrete dome
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  • trade center
  • valdemar christiansen
  • world trade
  • magnusson klemencic
  • klemencic associates

  • exhibition hall
  • paul kirk
  • modern signature
  • ative engineers
  • recognizable modern

  • former ceo
  • orleans architects
  • beach club
  • linderoth christiansen
  • hyperbolic paraboloid

  • rivergate exhibition
  • ing warehouses
  • delicate concrete
  • ohn valdemar
  • science pavilion

  • favored collaborator
  • north shore
  • carleton college
  • construction disciplines
  • multipurpose arena


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