Are engineers undervalued compared with architects?

YES

Tristram Carfrae, Chairman, building design practice, Arup

"
Engineers are using modern computing power to optimise building designs; mechanise building construction; and automate their operation. At the same time our architect colleagues (those with greater sartorial elegance) use the same technology to create ever more elaborate, expensive and inefficient building forms.

By 2050, the world needs to double its urban capacity while halving each person's eco-footprint. We can rise to meet this challenge by engineering sustainable buildings; intelligent transport systems; smart utilities; and renewable energy sources (the value of which will come, of course, from their post-modern decoration).

We engineers outnumber architects 10 to one, yet you rarely read our thoughts and opinions in the press. Is this because we have to be absolutely right, beyond any shadow of doubt, before we dare venture into the public domain? Where is the judgment and intuition we use every day in deciding what to (and what not to) calculate? Engineering is, after all, the valuable art of making science productive; of providing luscious fruit from dry research; of solving wicked problems.

So it's partly our own fault that we are undervalued - if only we could talk! If we could be passionately eloquent about what we have done, and what we could do, then maybe we could set aside our anoraks and work with our architect friends to create a better built environment: one that is beautiful, functional and efficient; one that people want to live in; one that the planet can afford.
"

NO

Piers Heath, Environmental engineer, Foster & Partners

"
The valued engineer is the one that is a seamless part of the creative process of designing and building. If engineers are simply given the role of necessary support service to delivering buildings, rather than a force in shaping and influencing their design, they will be destined to feel undervalued.

As an engineer working at Foster & Partners, I am continuing a tradition at the practice going back to the 1970s where sustainable solutions to architecture and planning are designed by an integrated team that includes the expertise of in-house engineers.

Today that integration is more seamless than ever and includes not just engineers but specialist modelling teams, urban planners and others. We are part of the design board that oversees the entire portfolio of work, steering and challenging the architect teams, and bringing combined knowledge to the delivery of sustainable projects.

This integrated approach puts the engineers where they should be, centre stage with the architects. The debate then is not about being undervalued, but about being understood, appreciated and brought into the creative process. The real challenge for engineers is to create the opportunity to be involved in projects from the outset. When engaged in the early analytical stages of design, the impact of their expertise on quality and performance is persuasive.

As the integrated design process becomes the rule rather than the exception, no engineer should use the excuse of feeling undervalued.
"

[Building Design 15 April 2011]

Words #001

“The first American house built in war-time Java completely bewildered natives there. Instead of building walls of local bamboo, which is closely spaced to keep out rain while admitting light and air, the white man put up solid walls to keep out light and air, and then cut windows in the walls to admit the light and air. Next, he put glass panes in the windows to admit light but keep out the air. Then, he covered the panes with blinds and curtains to keep out the light too.” Ken Kerr, 1978.

Commodity + Firmness + Delight

In his influential work De Architectura, Roman architect Vitruvius talks about the three elements of Architecture: Commodity, Firmness, and Delight. There are interesting parallels to the nature of façade engineering in that the building envelope needs to fulfil the functional requirements and meet the specified performance criteria, while having a fundamental impact on architectural aesthetics and the intangible qualities of the resulting enclosed space. This, then, is perhaps one of the aspects that appeal to a new generation of technically minded architects and architecturally minded engineers? There is no doubt that the nature of façade engineering can be both complex and stimulating. Appropriate application of highly specialised skills is potentially the difference between a successful project and a less successful one.

[ Vitruvius _ elements of Architecture ]

The need for specialist input stems from the gradual transition from traditional to non-traditional methods and technologies. Technological progress and the industrialisation of the construction industry mean that the role of the Architect is changing from that of controlling the design through a profound knowledge of materials and techniques to a role of orchestration of a multitude of specialist skills, knowledge, and industry intelligence – possibly benefiting from façade engineering input throughout the various stages of the design process. The increasing complexity of the technology and the recognition that not many architectural practices can sustain in-house skills in every field resulted in façade engineering as a relatively new professional discipline. The first façade engineering groups were set up around 20 years ago in response to the need for specialist input on technically challenging projects. Façade engineering covers the grey area between the more traditional disciplines but also overlaps significantly with all of them, to varying degrees depending on the circumstances.

Welcome

The Facade Design blog has been created as a repository for information and views on the design of building envelopes and related matters. The relationship between architecture, building envelope technology, and design process is the focus. The blog will offer food for thought and - who knows - perhaps even offer a source of inspiration to those with an interest in these topics.