The Need for a Better Architecture-Engineering Relationship

1000 Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects, Miami, FL

I have been immersed in the engineering world for some years now and I have always considered myself to be an infiltrate as I have always been keen of design. Something I have been aware since I started engineering is that because is our job to create efficient structures, we often go for the easiest route, the simple structures and the cost effective measures, but cheap isn’t always better. Needless to say that there’s a rivalry between architects trying to create beautiful innovative structures in order to acquire value to their names and engineers trying to make feasible projects that deliver under the budget.

As engineers and developers, we must understand the true value of a good design, it might no be directly measured in the spreadsheet but we are creating structures that will last 50 or more years, its our duty to make something that not only withstands the test of time but that also adds value to our cities. Architecture isn’t a necessity, good architecture is, we need designs that look and work well but a good architect will create a design that is actually possible to create.

Architecture is our medium to innovate, it expresses the advancement of society like a canvas in the skyline, and it shows how we are able to surpass the boundaries of what was possible though amazing forms and facades, it makes every project a different piece of art that will resonate with the tenants that will inhabit it. Engineering will make all of this possible; it will find the way to make the artwork a reality, from the scratch paper to tangible concrete and steel.

As engineers, we must value good architecture, and understand how it will actually benefit our structures, architects should focus on creating designs that even though they push engineers to innovate in their our ways, are still possible because both are equally needed for the creation of better cities.,And developers, they can create the perfect team where these practices function in great harmony.

Source: www.zaha-hadid.com