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Architects and Engineers. Architects and Engineers.
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Architects and Engineers The day of the Olympic soccer game has finally arrived! Your class has rented an eco-friendly bus to take you to the Olympic stadium. As you pull up to the drop off point, you are in awe of how many people are around the stadium. The parking structure is jammed full, with cars packed into all 10 levels. The parking structure is very modern looking — with all sorts of fancy touches and decorations. It is indeed impressive.
You know that civil engineers help to make buildings, but are a bit curious about who else might be involved in the process.
Who else do you think may be involved in the process of making buildings? Other types of engineers, architects, land use planners, construction workers, among others, are all involved in creating buildings.
The two main designers of a building are the architect and the engineer. This may seem a bit confusing at first, as the roles and responsibilities of engineers and architects are not clear cut and overlap a bit. Let's try to clear things up, starting off with things that we know.
What is an engineer? An engineer is a person who designs and builds things for the benefit of society. Engineers use math and science to design and build structures, equipment and processes.
What is an architect? An architect is a person who develops the creative designs for buildings or structures. So, the jobs of an engineer and architect, although similar, vary in some details.
How do architects and engineers work together? The architect is more concerned with the look of the structure, whereas the engineer is primarily concerned with the safety and functionality of the structure. The engineer figures out which materials to use and how to safely construct the building the architect has envisioned. Skyscrapers are a good example. Think of skyscrapers and how tall they are — what a massive feat to design and build such a tall structure.
Has anyone ever been in a skyscraper? Skyscrapers did not exist until about 90 years ago. Before there were skyscrapers, the tallest buildings could only stand about 10 stories high. This was because the main material used in constructing structures was wood. Architects had plans and hopes for taller buildings, but the materials available at the time did not allow for buildings to hold the weight of buildings greater than about 10 stories tall.
Engineers began to develop steel beams that are much stronger than wood and could be used in the construction of buildings and bridges. Today, we call these sturdy beams,I-beams. The development of steel I-beams was precisely what architects needed in order to build taller buildings; as a result, skyscrapers began to shoot up high into the sky.
Clearly, modern cities — with their amazing skylines — are the result of a joint effort between engineers and architects. The height and beauty of buildings and other structure cannot be accomplished without the efforts of both types of engineering.
So, we know that architects wanted to make bigger, more elaborate buildings, and engineers helped them to figure out how to make it possible. It seems, then, that architects come up with an idea and then make a plan that engineers help them execute. The architect's plan has a special name - it's called a blueprint
What is the purpose of a blueprint? After the architect creates the blueprint (building plan), the engineer goes over the architect's design and decides what materials must be used to make bring the architect's design to completion and to make the building strong enough for use.
Many types of engineers also work on other systems within a building, such as elevators, lighting, heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, plumbing and much more. It requires a lot of engineering teamwork to design, construct and finally prepare a building for daily use. From selecting appropriate furniture to energy efficient window coverings to sound proofing carpet, there are a lot of details that go into building design.
