The U.S. construction market continues to show steady growth, particularly in dense urban development. Developers are building projects with multiple underground parking levels, mixed-use complexes, and upgrading existing urban infrastructure. Public presentations typically focus on architecture, energy efficiency, and comfort. Yet the most expensive engineering mistakes remain hidden in the place investors rarely see – below ground level.
Financial losses caused by water intrusion into building structures – due to waterproofing defects, leaks through cracks and joints, and hidden infiltration – amount to billions of dollars every year. In commercial real estate alone, operational water-related incidents are estimated to exceed $16 billion annually. These are not natural disasters but routine structural loads. As groundwater levels fluctuate and urban density increases, the lower levels of buildings remain under constant hydrostatic pressure.
Foundations, basement walls, floor slabs, and technical spaces remain in continuous contact with moisture and soil throughout the entire service life of a building. If a comprehensive geological analysis of the site is not carried out during design, and if the protection system is selected without accounting for real loads, defects become only a matter of time. Moisture does not destroy a structure instantly. Instead, it gradually penetrates through cracks, vulnerable joints, and insufficiently designed connections, leading to reinforcement corrosion, weakening of load-bearing elements, and eventually the need for major repairs costing millions of dollars.
Such consequences are increasingly forcing developers to reconsider their approach to below-grade structures even before construction begins or at the early stages of operation. Highly specialized engineering firms are brought into projects to conduct professional assessments and adjust design solutions where the risks are highest. Among them is Proxima Engineering LLC.
Its founder, Andrii Lobodiuk, entered the U.S. market with extensive experience in the design and construction of complex infrastructure facilities, including metro systems. Working in an environment where calculation accuracy is directly linked to structural safety and durability shaped his professional principle: a structure must be designed for real environmental loads, not for averaged assumptions.
For his significant contribution to the development of underground transport infrastructure and the implementation of modern engineering solutions in transportation and civil construction projects, Lobodiuk was awarded Ukraine’s national state award – the Order of Ivan Mazepa – in 2021. The award recognizes outstanding achievements in infrastructure development and public service.
This experience working on large infrastructure facilities, along with recognition of his professional contribution to the industry, became the foundation for Lobodiuk’s continued engineering work in the United States.
Today, Proxima Engineering LLC works with developers, design firms, and construction companies that understand the cost of engineering mistakes. The company becomes involved in projects where a professional evaluation of structural solutions is required, from the calculation of reinforced-concrete elements of underground structures to the selection of moisture-protection systems and structural restoration solutions.
When building owners approach Lobodiuk, the problem is usually already visible. In most cases, however, its source was embedded long before the building was put into operation. Designs often rely on an average groundwater level, a standard reinforcement scheme, and a typical waterproofing system. On paper, everything appears correct. In reality, water levels change, pressure increases, and concrete develops natural cracks. If this is not accounted for in advance, protective systems begin to lose effectiveness within just a few years.
The issue is particularly evident in underground parking structures of residential and commercial complexes. These facilities are exposed daily to moisture, salts, temperature fluctuations, and dynamic loads from vehicles. In such conditions, both concrete and protection systems operate under constant stress. If an adequate safety margin and properly designed protection systems are not incorporated from the start, deterioration begins much earlier than the intended service life and can eventually lead to serious damage to load-bearing elements and costly capital repairs of the entire structure.
Lobodiuk emphasizes that the problem is rarely the absence of technology but rather its formal application. A membrane may be high quality, but if its behavior during crack opening is not calculated, the structure’s watertightness remains conditional.
“Concrete inevitably develops cracks. It is physics. The mistake begins when a design is made as if those cracks will not occur. If waterproofing is not designed to perform when cracks open, it stops protecting the structure,” he says.
At Proxima Engineering LLC, the work is not centered on replacing one material with another but on rethinking the logic of the entire system. Reinforcement calculations are analyzed, actual crack width is evaluated, connection details are revised, and waterproofing solutions are adjusted to account for real water pressure. In several projects, such corrections allowed clients to eliminate recurring leaks and reduce the risk of premature reinforcement corrosion.
“When analyzing any structure, I first look not for the visible symptoms of the problem but for its source. Water itself does not destroy a building – what causes damage is underestimating its pressure, movement, and interaction with the structure,” Lobodiuk explains.
As excavation depths increase and projects become more complex, the requirements for engineering precision grow stricter. More developers are engaging specialized expert firms during the design stage, recognizing that adjusting solutions before construction begins is far less expensive than opening structural elements several years into operation.
Practice shows that careful design of below-grade structures can significantly extend the actual service life of a building and reduce the likelihood of major unexpected expenses. As urban density in the United States continues to grow and projects become deeper and more complex, attention to engineering solutions below ground level is gradually becoming an industry standard, determining both building durability and the long-term stability of investments.
