MKA had four reasons to celebrate on October 15 at the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) 2026 OPAL Gala. Senior Principal and Director of Earthquake Engineering (Retired) John D. Hooper received the OPAL Lifetime Achievement Award for Design, SpeedCore earned the Charles Pankow Award for Innovation, and the Seattle Aquarium Ocean Pavilion won a 2026 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement (OCEA) Honor Award before going on to claim the top OCEA prize.
John’s award recognizes more than four decades spent advancing seismic resilience. Since joining MKA in 1997, he has played a role in nearly every major MKA project in a seismic zone, including Salesforce Tower, Levi’s Stadium, and Lumen Field. As a pioneer of Performance-Based Seismic Design, he helped bring that approach into mainstream practice. He also chaired the ASCE 7 Seismic Subcommittee for more than a decade, shaping the seismic provisions in building codes across most of the country.
Rainier Square, one of John’s projects, also links him to the evening’s second honor.
MKA led more than two decades of collaborative research to develop SpeedCore, a prefabricated, modular structural system, and the tower was its first high-rise application. At Rainier Square, SpeedCore cut 10 months from the structural schedule and allowed crews to complete up to four floors per week. Because the research and standards are non-proprietary, engineers worldwide can adopt and refine the system.
The night closed with a win close to home. The Seattle Aquarium Ocean Pavilion is the final piece of Seattle’s waterfront redevelopment and connects Pike Place Market to Puget Sound. The project brought together complex structural and seismic challenges in a demanding waterfront setting. MKA structural project manager Hannah Walters accepted the award on the team’s behalf.
Congratulations to John, the SpeedCore team, and everyone behind the Ocean Pavilion!
Read MKA’s full Press Releases at the links below:
John Hooper Named 2026 ASCE OPAL Award Recipient for Design
SpeedCore Recognized with ASCE Charles Pankow Award for Innovation