In its meeting of May 13, ICRI Metro NY presented Superstructures principal, Paul Millman, PE, RA with its “Lifetime Achievement” award.

Following is an abridged version of Paul’s acceptance speech.

Thank you ICRI Metro NY, for this honor.

HBO is currently streaming a series called The Pitt. It takes place in the emergency room of a hospital in Pittsburgh where a team of dedicated doctors battles to save the lives of patients in critical condition.

Why do I mention this? Because in 2003, a call went out to a small group of restoration practitioners warning us that the Metro NY chapter of ICRI was about to expire – could we attempt to revive it?

We decided we could do it.

Initially, it was a struggle. We met on a regular basis. We organized technical lectures (held in the basements of bars) and a golf outing. We debated ways to attract members, sponsorships, and the next generation of board directors.

I’d also like to thank the successors to the original board, and those who currently serve. In 2003 our group rescued a patient in critical condition, but the boards that followed have turned ICRI into a roaring success.

Why is ICRI important?

In engineering school, I don’t recall a single course that emphasized rehabilitation of existing structures. Even more remarkable – new structures were to be designed for a 50 year lifespan. Back then, that seemed like a long time.

Coincidentally, I received my structural engineering degree from MIT exactly 50 years ago, almost to the day. So, obviously, 50 years is not the proper standard for new construction.

NYC’s Silicon Alley, nexus of cutting edge tech, is housed in buildings constructed more than 100 years ago. Most of us here tonight work in 100 year old buildings.

So I applaud the decision that ICRI made a while ago to extend its purview beyond pure concrete repair, to include all aspects of exterior restoration- what I call “skin and skeleton.”

This award has my name on it but really it belongs to my firm, SUPERSTRUCTURES Engineers+ Architects.

Superstructures began in 1982. Since then we’ve completed thousands of assignments for the institutions that make NYC run: colleges, public schools, hospitals, housing, courthouses, office buildings, airports, museums, libraries, theaters, powerplants…and parking structures.

I share this award with a core of dedicated SSX colleagues, many of whom are here tonight, and who deserve thanks.

And thank you to the contractors who have capably executed our designs, and to the material suppliers and technical reps who’ve advised on appropriate products and systems.

Together we’ve attempted to bring the art and science of restoration into the 21st century. We began by treating Autocad as more than an electric pencil, and we became pioneers in reality capture, drone inspection, computer vision, and now, artificial intelligence.

Hopefully, a few more achievements remain in my career. But in any case, over the next few years, we’re all in for an interesting ride.