Announcing New Name, Brand Design & Website for Iowa & Colorado-Based Structural Engineering Firm

Des Moines, Iowa / May 2020 – We are delighted to announce that after a decade of operating as Sebern Structural Services (or s-cube), we have a new name, brand identity, and website! Effective February 2020, Sebern Structural Services will be called Vector Collaborative.

“Our growing company and vision have changed over the years, and we determined that it was time for a new name and user-friendly website that aligns with who we are now,” Founder Kari Sebern says. “Several months of planning and preparation have gone into every detail of this and we are thrilled that this rebrand will better reflect who we are and what we offer.”

Vector Collaborative is a duo of structural engineers that love complex projects and helping clients arrive at cost effective, technically sound, and unique solutions to their design challenges. We love engineering but we also love art, and we believe that both are vital to arrive at a beautiful, structurally sound building.

Woman-owned & 100% women-led

Kari Sebern, P.E., is the founder and principal of Vector Collaborative. She is most fulfilled when helping art and science merge in the company of practical dreamers. With 17 years of commercial experience, Kari thrives when collaboratively arriving at solutions that are cost-effective, practical, innovative, and technically sound.

Highly involved in the engineering industry, Kari serves as a voting member of the ASCE 7-22 Dead and Live Loads Subcommittee, sits on the Iowa State Building Code Advisory Council, and is the current President of the Iowa Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, an international society with 800+ members within the Iowa Section. She is based in Des Moines, IA.

Megan Seacrist, P.E., is a licensed professional engineer and project manager at Vector Collaborative. She strives to find the perfect balance between functionality and aesthetics for her clients. Megan has over 12 years of experience working for architects, general contractors, landscape architects, and interior designers specializing in mid- to high-rise commercial and mixed-use projects.

A natural self-driven leader, Megan has successfully completed projects of various shapes and sizes from conceptual design through construction, and her diverse portfolio includes steel, concrete, masonry, precast concrete, and wood structures, as well as both shallow and deep foundation systems. Megan is proficient using numerous structural design software programs including Revit Structure. She is based in Denver, CO.

High level of service – Vector Collaborative has completed large complex projects

Kari and Megan met while working together at a commercial consulting firm in Denver. Their first project together was a 35-story highrise in Abu Dhabi. Both found that they had an interest and aptitude for these larger, more complex commercial jobs and they hope to continue to serve this sector under Vector Collaborative. They concentrate on the overall client experience and provide the best level service possible. Sometimes this means limiting the number of projects that they work on at one time in an effort to give appropriate attention to the projects that they are working on.

They’ve worked 100% remotely for 10 years

Even before COVID found many americans working from home, Kari wrote a blog post on time management while working remotely: https://www.vector-collab.com/blog/blog-post-title-three-z8dnz

Vector’s top tips for working remotely include:

• Have a designated work space
• Get ready in the morning as if you are going to the office
• Switch it up every once in awhile – work from a park or coworking space
• Schedule social interaction such as coffee or lunch
• Limit domestic duties while working

This appreciation for a visually pleasing built environment is what sets us apart. Boxes are boring. We look forward to seeing what the next decade has in store and we look forward to servicing your structural engineering needs.

Growing geographically & expanding into Colorado and Utah 

Vector Collaborative recently joined forces with a mining consulting structural engineer in Denver and provides structural design for mining equipment and conveyors in Utah.  Vector Collaborative has been responsible for designing the foundation support for these structural items which are extremely large-scale with some concrete elements up to four feet thick and requiring #10 reinforcing bars.  The design of these elements requires complex finite element analysis which both Megan and Kari find equally challenging and rewarding.

They are licensed in Iowa, Colorado, Minnesota, and Nebraska and are open to working throughout the US.

We invite you to learn more about our rebrand and experience our new website, visit https://www.vector-collab.com/.