STRUCTURES SEMINAR
Department of Architectural Engineering/Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University
“Innovation in Engineering for Architecture: Material, Method & Form”
by
Senior Engineer
Buro Happold Consulting Engineers PC
The presentation describes some of the innovative engineering work performed within the past few years by Buro Happold, an international, multi-disciplinary consulting firm established in the UK in 1976 and today employing nearly 600 people located in 15 offices in 8 countries worldwide. Buro Happold’s guiding principle is that engineering considerations influence planning and architecture, and that good designs result only when there is genuine harmony between the artistic and the practical. A multidisciplinary approach helps us to deliver more effective engineering from the important early stages of design through to construction as well as subsequent operation and maintenance.
Observations on the importance of collaboration among architects and engineers as well as engineers of various disciplines are illustrated with examples from the following three Buro Happold projects:
· BIPV Glass Pavilion – a project demonstrating the use of glass as structure, enclosure and power source, installed at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Design in 1998 and at the Smithsonian in 1999.
· Presbyterian Church of New York – the conversion of a 1930’s factory to a church for a congregation of 3000, including extensive modifications and additions to the existing structure.
· Millennium Dome – the 1000-foot diameter shelter for the United Kingdom’s millennial celebrations, constructed mainly of steel cables and industrial fabric.
In addition to the three-featured projects, the presentation will show in passing some other Buro Happold work which is related.