The Bennett Federal Building stands prominently at the southeast corner of 100 South and State Street in downtown Salt Lake City. This eight-story office building has been a community landmark since its construction in the early 1960s.

Reaveley Engineers designed a high-performance seismic upgrade necessary for the high earthquake risk along the Wasatch Front. The building was seismically retrofitted with 344 unbonded braces manufactured by Nippon Steel. This state-of-the-art Buckling-Restrained Braced Frame (BRB) system saved more than $2.5 million and two months of construction duration. The aging precast exterior cladding was replaced with an attractive, blast-resistant, and energy-efficient curtain wall system.

The Bennett Building is among the first few projects of its kind in the United States; it is the first federally owned building to use buckling-restrained brace technology. The team’s work was recognized by GSA with the 2002 Leadership and Public Service Recognition award.