2016 40 Under 40: Alex Lofting, CEng, 38

Associate Principal, Arup, San Francisco BEng, Mechanical Engineering, University of Birmingham, U.K.

By Jack Smith, Content Manager, and Amara Rozgus, Editor-in-Chief May 16, 2016

Alex Lofting, CEng, 38

Associate Principal, Arup, San Francisco

BEng, Mechanical Engineering, University of Birmingham, U.K.

After earning his degree, Lofting’s professional career started with Arup in the firm’s London office in 2001. His design portfolio quickly sparked with landmark projects including the Chelsea College of Art, BBC Scotland Headquarters, and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. In 2004, he moved with Arup to Bristol, U.K., for 8 years. He is known for fostering client relationships, his technical acumen, and his leadership skills. In 2012, Lofting transferred to San Francisco with Arup, taking a lead role on several major projects including a confidential campus for a Bay Area technology firm, new headquarter offices for technology firms Dropbox and Splunk, and existing building conversions with UC Davis and BART. Currently, he is working on multiple facilities for Splunk, a downtown high-rise hotel and residential tower, as well as multiple global projects with GE. He was asked to lead the existing buildings and integrated interiors business for Arup’s San Francisco office, and following the success of his endeavors, he was promoted to associate principal in 2015. Lofting actively helps junior engineers grow in their professional environments. He organizes events for the local real estate community to foster peer-to-peer communication and to address topics currently influencing the field, such as the use of data optimization in the built environment. Adapting to his adopted land, Lofting takes advantage of California’s weather by running, cycling, and occasionally golfing. But his time is not entirely his own: many weekends you’ll find him fully immersed in his kids’ efforts on the Lamorinda swim team and baseball field. He’s known to cook for his architect wife and children, and in true West Coast fashion, he aspires to swim in the ocean and ski in the mountains in the same day.