The present paper first presents some aspects of the system architecture of an integrated environment for modelling and computation in engineering design. Cooperation is supported by using a network-enabled relational project database. Whereas all engineering definitions of a load bearing system are performed completely independant of any computational mesh on a structural model, the following automatic mesh generation and transfer of all structural properties defines a fully consistent finite element model. This concept shows its strengths especially in situations, where a modification of the load bearing system can be investigated with a minimum of additional labour effort.