February 15, 2023

MKA

Clifton

Sean P. Clifton, PE, SE, senior principal at MKA, has been named an Engineering News-Record Top 25 Newsmaker for 2022. ENR editors selected this group of change-makers for their leadership skills, industry advancements, and commitments to making their communities better places to live and work.

ENR recognized Clifton for his efforts to advance Performance-Based Wind Design (PBWD), which aims to enhance safety and reliability while reducing materials, costs, and embodied carbon in high-rise structures. He is the principal-in-charge for the structural design of 321 West 6th Street — a 671-foot-tall building in Austin, Texas, representing the first American skyscraper to incorporate PBWD into its design. Clifton was critical in developing a parallel, conventional design for the tower and sharing PBWD's advantages with developers, architects, and local building officials. He has presented on PBWD to the American Concrete Institute, Chicago Committee on High Rise Buildings, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, and the Los Angeles Tall Building Design Council.

Clifton oversees MKA's project portfolio in Southeast Asia and is a leader in the design of high-rise structures, especially Performance-Based Design towers. His design portfolio includes mixed-use, office, and residential projects worldwide, including many high-profile developments in the Philippines, such as the Bank of Philippine Islands headquarters, Empress, Glaston, Maven, One Legacy Grandsuites, and The Estate Makati. In addition, he was a project manager for the development of Hines' Embodied Carbon Reduction Guide.

Clifton graduated from the University of Texas, Austin, with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master of Science in Structural Engineering. He joined MKA in 2008. At age 38, he is the youngest of MKA's 13 shareholders.