“What is the future of structural design, and what will be the role of the structural engineer in this future?” asks James Norman, Professor of Sustainable Design at the University of Bristol, in his introduction to The future of structural design, a new thought leadership book launched by IStructE.
As lead author, James Norman is joined by other experts from academia and engineering firms to explain a possible future, founded on the theory of reliability and risk-based design.
The book explores how designers manage uncertainty now and in the future, as they look to develop new materials and work with existing buildings. The aim is for engineers to address both safety and sustainability in a fast-moving and complex world.
James Norman explains: “Writing this book has more than ever convinced me that we have an ethical responsibility to make reuse, deconstruction and reconstruction the norm where we already have material wealth. This change is happening – we have new codes and IStructE’s publication on circular design, Circular economy and reuse.”
A central theme of The future of structural design is that safety must consider a wide variety of stakeholders, including those affected by climate change due to high-carbon materials usage.
Readers are therefore asked to consider the local and global risks of climate change and make buildings as low-carbon as possible. For established materials, this means making them as efficient as possible, such as using low-carbon and carbon-storing materials.
The future of structural design advocates for the structural engineering profession – and others in the built environment – to embrace a future where sustainable, circular, and regenerative approaches are considered as important as safety.
To do this, it also brings advanced statistical analysis methods into the realm of the practising engineer, using several future case studies to highlight how these tools could be used on future projects. A combination of case studies, theory and practice helps create a picture of a possible future for the profession, one which adopts specialist methods that are currently used in fields such as earthquake engineering and off-shore engineering.
It links the big-picture thinking that James Norman, with his co-author Oliver Broadbent, shared in IStructE’s thought leadership title The regenerative structural engineer to identify problems with innovative solutions.
James Norman adds: “As explained in this new book, it’s down to all of us to change our behaviour, especially in areas where we have the capacity and influence to make a radical difference. It is crucial to re-use what we have, and critical to find new materials and solutions that don’t just reduce harm, but actually do good.”
Dr Alix Dietzel, Senior Lecturer in Climate Justice at the University of Bristol co-authored with James a chapter about navigating ethical design decisions, including adapting to climate change, local and global impacts, acceptable risk of failure, and the ethics of reusing existing buildings.
Dr Dietzel adds: “Our chapter encourages structural engineers to be agents of change with the potential for realising climate justice. The aim is to help the profession be empowered to consider decisions around risk and climate change with more nuance, even if it is harder.”
Artist and science communicator James McKay, based at the University of Leeds, illustrates the book with images that aim to stimulate readers’ minds about future infrastructure and the built environment.
James Norman concludes: “As engineers, we consider uncertainty at every step of the design process, with a need to design for the future. There is an incredible opportunity in front of us, to show ethical leadership in the built environment, raise the value of our occupation, and engage in really great fun engineering, playing both with numbers and materials.”
