Developing a Better Understanding of the Engineer's Creative Role in Design

Abstract

Both architects and engineers are unconsciously drawn towards the two dimensional world – the ubiquity of the plan and elevation, and the ease of analysing 2-D structures. Yet the best architecture always exploits the three dimensional world, and the majority of structural problems and collapses occur when engineers have failed to think in the third dimension. Space structures offer an ideal learning environment for students of both architecture and engineering. They stimulate and challenge both the imagination and the intellect by forcing students out of the cosy, and often dull familiarity of two dimensions. They encourage students to conceive structures in three dimensions and drop down to two when necessary or convenient, rather than the other way round. In a world where form and forces so strongly interact, space structures force architects to step into the world of statics, and engineers into the world of geometry. An important result is a better understanding, for both architects and engineers, of the role engineers can play in helping create imaginative and practical structures.