Christopher J. Zadoorian, P.E., F.ASCE, a senior associate at Langan, has been named a fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
Zadoorian’s interest in pursuing a career in geotechnical engineering stems from his passion for his community, and the ability to work on complex developments that positively contribute to society, whether through healthcare, education, or infrastructure projects. After graduating from SUNY Buffalo with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, he moved to California to start his career with the City of Los Angeles, Bureau of Engineering.
Early on, Zadoorian provided emergency response for the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which struck San Fernando Valley and remains one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. His efforts designing earthquake-induced landslide mitigation repairs and performing residential rapid damage assessments reinforced his interest in serving the public and building safe structures across Los Angeles and beyond.
Since joining Langan in 2019, Zadoorian has strengthened the firm’s practice and expanded its reach in Southern California. His project work has helped shape the Los Angeles skyline and his local expertise is crucial to navigating the area’s complex soil conditions and seismic requirements. With over 30 years of industry experience, it’s difficult for Zadoorian to travel very far in Southern California without seeing a project he worked on. These projects range from LAX’s new international terminal to dozens of high-rise towers in downtown Los Angeles to hospital campuses, academic, and student housing projects at UC Irvine and Riverside, Loyola Marymount, Occidental College, and several other higher-ed institutions.
Beyond Southern California, Zadoorian has supported multiple large-scale developments in the Southwest region. Most notably, he took on the role of geotechnical engineer of record for the world-renowned CityCenter in Las Vegas. Located on the Las Vegas Strip, the 67-acre development includes the ARIA Hotel and Casino and the high-rise, residential Veer Towers, which are inclined and appear to lean against each other when viewed from the street. This project presented a range of engineering challenges and required extremely unique foundation evaluations for the residential towers. Regardless of a project’s size or location, however, Zadoorian has established himself as an innovative industry leader who provides quality-based, client-focused, customized geotechnical services.
His passion for bettering society also extends to his professional community, where he plays an active role in organizations like ASCE and ACEC. Zadoorian has remained a consistent supporter and member of ASCE since the beginning of his career and led the ACEC Los Angeles Chapter as a board member and president. Additionally, Zadoorian helped develop and set standards for the State of California’s professional geotechnical engineering licensing exam as a volunteer for the California Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists.
His mentors, peers, and colleagues are foundational to Zadoorian’s success; they have all supported and inspired him throughout his career. He looks forward to continuing to provide geotechnical engineering expertise on high-profile, essential projects that directly benefit the communities where he lives and works.
