Capsule sealed in recognition of FSB’s 75-year anniversary, includes pandemic artifacts

OKLAHOMA CITY – Employees at FSB, Oklahoma City’s largest architecture and engineering firm, are taking stock of the year 2020 by creating a time capsule that will be opened again in 2045, the firm’s 100-year anniversary. Each of FSB’s more than 160 employees had the opportunity to submit something, and the capsule’s contents include mementos and symbols of life and work during the year 2020. FSB sealed the capsule on Aug. 3, 2020, the 75-year anniversary of the firm’s founding.

Many objects submitted by employees referenced the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples include 3D-printed mask holders and face shields the firm produced and donated to OU Medicine this year, and a letter from FSB President Philip McNayr in which he recounted the adjustments their team made to promote safety by extended work from home, masks in common areas, temperature checks and video conferencing with fellow employees, consultants and clients.

“Seventy-five years is a major milestone, and even though the pandemic resulted in several cancelled events, a time capsule has been an opportunity for us to acknowledge the anniversary creatively and personally,” said McNayr. “The capsule has also been a way for FSB to honor its deep ties to Oklahoma’s history, as well as its impact nationwide.”

To honor that history, McNayr contributed a book published this year by Oklahoma historian Bob Blackburn detailing the firm’s founding as well as its key role on projects such as the Oklahoma Capitol dome addition and renovations. Director of Structural Engineering Min Koo said he added an Air Force One pin he received for his design work on a new hangar at Joint-Base Andrews. When completed, the hangar will house the presidential aircraft.

Others focused on their efforts to increase diversity and inclusion within architecture and engineering by encouraging students to consider careers in math and science. FSB added a Thank You note from a grade school student at Adelaide Lee Elementary School in Oklahoma City for the firm’s $30,000 donation to support STEM programs.

“Twenty-five years from now, when the capsule is opened, we hope some of the students we’ve met or mentored will be working at FSB,” McNayr said.