Learning structural engineering

Tim Ibell, Bath University, shares views on the structural engineering education during the Structural Engineering in the 21st Century academic conference. Students has realized that that good structural design is not about sizing members or following codified rules but is about producing a structural concept which leads to the satisfaction of a set of requirements, including architectural, environmental, building-physics, sustainability and construction issues. The students at the Bath University are expected to describe the structural properties, present case studies, present a SWOT analysis of the material, and analyze its carbon credentials. The students during the first semester of first year are asked to draw a structural cross section, to feel the radiators, to feel the windows, to feel the walls, to consider the construction, to discuss the choice of materials, to discuss the acoustics, to discuss the lighting, and to provide a commentary on possible improvements.