HISTORY

Rosenwasser / Grossman Consulting Engineers, P.C. was founded in 1954 by Robert Rosenwasser at the age of 36. He was joined shortly thereafter by Nicholas Marzulli and a young Jacob Grossman in 1956. The firm quickly became the most prolific engineering company in the city due to efficient designs and quality construction documents.

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By the 1970’s the firm had completed hundreds of buildings and were well known as the pioneers of high-rise concrete design. Jacob Grossman developed in-house software to analyze and design concrete structures as no commercial software was available, further increasing efficiency and reducing costs.

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The 1980’s brought on a string of revolutionary designs with the advent of the sliver building. RGCE was the first to design slender structures with aspect ratios exceeding 10:1. Buildings including 211 Madison Avenue - 1980, Metropolitan Tower – 1984, Carnegie Hall Tower - 1987, CitySpire - 1988, The London Hotel - 1990, and the Millennium Hilton - 1991. Additional achievements include 780 Third Avenue, the world’s first diagonally braced concrete tube structure.

With the 1990’s, came recession and illness of the firm’s founder Robert Rosenwasser. Jacob Grossman assumed all duties as Principal and oversaw operations of the firm.  The firm continued their dedication to advancing structural design and were instrumental in the addition of seismic provisions to the New York City Building Code. The firm went on to produce the first seismically compliant building in the city, 565 Fifth Avenue, before the provisions were required by the code.

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The 2000's brought in new energy to the firm. Jacob Grossman took over the company in 2003. Improved economy brought on a wave of new, ever more complicated, projects including The Lyric which supported a 25-story apartment tower over a landmark theater spanning 110’, multiple projects spanning over subway tunnels such as The Marc, 1100 Broadway, and the Avalon Riverview. In addition, a host of new slender structures were designed including The Epic, 10 Barclay Street, 123 Washington Street and Mercury Tower, the tallest building in Europe at the time of construction.

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Today the firm continues on with Benjamin Pimentel at the helm in 2012. A multitude of projects exceeding a million square feet defined the first half of the decade including, MiMA at 440 West 42nd, Mercedes House, 4545 Center Boulevard, and 505 West 37th Street. The team continues to grow with a healthy mix of eager young engineers and seasoned veterans. The firm’s dedication to cutting edge designs accompanied by superior quality construction documents is continuing in the same manner as it was at the firms inception in 1954.