The 2017 Structural Awards shortlist reveals how the nature of engineering is changing


If you take a moment to think about it, we really do owe a lot to engineers. They build our bridges, concert halls, railway roads so that they not only function but also look good. Really, where would we be without them?


This year, The Institution of Structural Engineers is hosting the 2017 Structural Awards to celebrate these brilliant people and just today they announced the shortlist of engineers who have made the cut.

Institution Chief Executive, Martin Powell, said: “Structural engineers are the unsung heroes of so many projects and these awards showcase their skill, expertise and creativity….The nature of engineering is changing and our awards prove just how innovative our industry is in solving challenges and creating 21st Century solutions. Structural engineers bring truly ambitious and monumental projects to life.”

This is the 50th year of the awards and as expected, there are some impressive entries. We have chosen some of our favourite designs to give you a taste of the tough competition.

The Smile

Arup

The smile was designed as the centre piece for the 2016 London Design Festival. The structural engineers who created this stunning work of art are Ove Arup and Partners LTD. Made from large hardwood cross laminated timber (CLT), The Smile is the first structure ever to be made using this material. It effortlessly combines structure and architecture and has been described as the happy face of the timber construction revolution, we agree.

British Airways i360 at Brighton


Jacobs

If you haven’t already been up the British Airways 1360 tower in Brighton then you are missing out. Designed by Jacob’s it is the world’s tallest moving tower. Holding, 200 passengers at a time, the circular glass pod slowly ascends from beach level into the sky. The tower is 162m high and only 3.9m in diameter holding the Guinness Record for the "world's most slender tower". It was erected without cranes in a ‘top down’ method and features purpose-designed perforated cladding to minimise vortex shedding, and sloshing liquid dampers to limit wind-induced dynamic movements.

BMW sculpture for the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed

The engineers behind this show stopping sculpture are Stuart Holdsworth, Hooman Baghi, and Bruno Postle. The sculpture which consists of three swooping, entangled steel pieces, was made to celebrate the car dealership, Bavarian Marque's centenary. Each steel piece is hollow which results in an astonishingly light weight structure that creates quite the impact.

The Crow’s Nest


This beautiful little house located the foot of the Dorset cliff tops near Lyme Regis was engineered by Eckersley O'Callaghan. The Jurassic Coast cliff tops provided a challenging landscape on which to build a property. O’Callaghan overcame this with innovative foundations plan which allows the building to be re-levelled by local contractors, without requiring specialist engineering knowledge. Therefore the building can adapt with the changing cliffs.

Adele 25 Stage

OPS Structures Ltd

This innovative stage design was created by OPS Structures Ltd for Adele’s 25 album tour. The design went beyond previous bounds of stadium stage touring ‘in-the-round’ and met a number of stringent requirements. These included minimising working at height, creating unobstructed views and building a structure that can be constructed and deconstructed quickly and safely.








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