Presentation given at MADE's July 2013 City Builders Academy by structural engineer David Sharpe from Thomasons.

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Structural Engineer
Who...?
MADE City Builder Academy

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Who am I?
David Sharpe
Profile: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/dmsharpe
• I have over sixteen years experience of
building structures, undertaking the
structural design of new-build &
refurbishment projects.
• I have also been exploring recently how I
can integrate structural design with the
principles of low energy use, such as the
PassivHaus standard, for new and retrofit
projects.
• Building on experience of refurbishing
20th century structures, I am also
developing skills in conservation and
heritage engineering projects.

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Structural Engineering is the art and
science of designing and creating a
skeleton or frame that can resist the loads
that are applied to it. The skeleton or
structure should be efficient and although
draped in a skin or façade, the structure
should be considered as architecture in its
purest form.
John Roycroft, BDP
Definition of Structural Engineering

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So what do Structural Engineers do?
We hold structures up!
Or, more helpfully, we must ensure that a
structure is:
• Safe from falling down - strength
• Safe from falling over - stability

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So what do Structural Engineers do?
But also, we need to make sure that our structures can be used
So we must also assess our structures for:
• Deflections and vibrations – serviceability
• Not prone to getting ‘old’ quickly - durability

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So what do Structural Engineers do?
Most importantly, our structures need to be built
So we must also assess our structures for buildability

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How do we design?
Start by thinking about lots of options:
• via a number of sketches / options in parallel with simple calculations
• There is rarely one solution, and often must assess options against some criteria
For example
• What forces will be applied?
• What the structure is for?
• How long will it need to last?

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Then develop one solution into details

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Being a Structural Engineer is more than just design...
• Structural Engineers do not work in isolation
• We are part of a larger project team and need to coordinate with:
• Clients
• Architects
• Building Services Engineers
• Civil & Geotechnical
• Contractors
• Skills of engineering are more
than maths – need to understand
people and how to work with
others
• Also a business – need to win
work, do it to budget and
get paid...!

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We also have a significant responsibility to society...

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Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay!
Alas! I am very sorry to say that ninety lives
have been taken away, on the last Sabbath day
of 1879, which will be remembered for a very
long time.

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Charles De Gaulle Airport, Paris (2004)
- 4 died, 3 injured
Hyatt Regency Walkway, Kansas City (1981)
- 114 died, 200 injured

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How did I get to be a Structural Engineer?
• I started thinking about being involved in some form engineering around the
time I was selecting options for GCSEs.
• In the run up to selecting which A-levels to take, I decided to focus on the built
environment, and went to chat to an architect and a civil/structural engineer. In
the end, I went for Civil Engineering, and selected my A-levels – Physics, Maths
& Geology – to suit the degree course requirements.
• Then university – BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering – University of Liverpool
• I decided to specialise in building structures, so decided to take a Masters degree
– MSc Structural Design, University College London
• From there started working for design companies – known as consulting
engineers – starting with Arup in Cardiff in 1995.
• Spent some time out on construction sites, to understand how things are built
• Then went through route to become a Chartered Structural Engineer

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What’s on my desk now?
• King Edward’s School, Birmingham – courtyard classroom extension

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What’s on my desk now?
• Camera Platform on roof of RES Wyatt Stand, Edgbaston Cricket Ground
• Dafforne Road, London – refurbishment & renovation, including energy retrofit