February 2022

Volume 100 | Issue 2

Developments in
structural glass

Carbon-driven
design

CPD: PI claims
notifications

Better together
To tackle the climate challenge, structural engineers
must learn to pool their knowledge and value the past,
explains 2022 Institution President Jane Entwistle

Cover_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 1 19/01/2022 14:00

 Image credit: Studio RHE

Modern Uses of Timber

in a Changing Environment
Conference
22-23 March 2022
Virtual

Speakers include:
Chair: Danny Hopkin Programme highlights:
Kelly Harrison Technical Director, • Timber: the potential keynote: Simon
Associate Director, OFR Consultants Smith, Director, Smith & Wallwork
Whitby Wood •+H`  ZLZZPVUZ! ÄYL ZHML[` JVTWSPHUJL
design durability and more
• Day 2 sessions: calculations,
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Dmitri Jajich Andrew Lawrence
+PYLJ[VY VM :[Y\J[\YHS +PYLJ[VY (Y\W Case studies:
Engineering,
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Skidmore, Owings
•0U[LYUH[PVUHS KVTLZ[PJ WYVQLJ[Z
& Merrill
• Hybrid structures

Tanya Luthi Chair: Networking opportunities:

Vice President – Martin Milner • Live Q&A and chat with international
Structures, Entuitive Director, ZWLHRLYZ HUK H[[LUKLLZ
Milner Associates • Take a seat at virtual roundtable
discussions
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Simon Smith Shingi Tarirah
Director, Senior Engineer,
Smith & Wallwork Whitby Wood Sponsored by:

Registration now open:

istructe.org/events/hq/modern-timber-conference

TSE.Feb22_002.indd 2 19/01/2022 13:49

 Upfront
5
6
8
Editorial
News
News
32 10
Features
10 President’s Inaugural Address: Knowledge,
owledge,
skills, history – a foundation for a climate-
limate-
positive future

Technical
18 What if carbon drives our design from
om the
outset? New steel ledger angles to
support
pp new secondary y
timber frame.

22 Developments in structural glass

Industry CPD
26 Back to basics in troubled times – your
notification obligations to your insurer

Opinion
30 Viewpoint: Rebuilding trust with blockchain
technology
32 Book review: Flourish: design paradigms for our
planetary emergency
33 Book review: Physical models: Their historical
and current use in civil and building engineering
design
34 Verulam

At the back
36 Diary dates
38 Spotlight on Structures

18
40 Products & Services
41 Services Directory
Volume 100 │ Issue 2 │February 2022

42 TheStructuralEngineer Jobs

26
COVER: NORTON PRIORITY REDEVELOPMENT

22
3
thestructuralengineer.org | February 2022

Contents_26-Jan-2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 3 19/01/2022 14:33

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 Editorial Upfront

PRESIDENT
Jane Entwistle
BSc(Hons), CEng, FIStructE, MICE

CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Martin Powell

EDITORIAL
HEAD OF PUBLISHING
Lee Baldwin

MANAGING EDITOR
Robin Jones
t: +44 (0) 20 7201 9822
e: robin.jones@istructe.org
Robin Jones Managing Editor
EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES
Noha Ali

Looking back as
t: +44 (0) 20 7201 9152
e: tse@istructe.org

ADVERTISING
DISPLAY SALES
t: +44 (0) 20 7880 7632

well as forward
e: tse@redactive.co.uk

RECRUITMENT SALES
t: +44 (0) 20 7880 6235
e: tsejobs@redactive.co.uk

DESIGN
SENIOR DESIGNER
Nicholas Daley
THE NEW YEAR brings with it a new President – a sustainable future (page 32).
PRODUCTION Jane Entwistle, the Institution’s 101st. I’m sure many This year, we also plan to update readers on
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
Jane Easterman
of you will have watched Jane’s Inaugural Address developments in another structural material – glass
online, but, as is traditional, we also bring it to you – in anticipation of the release of a draft Eurocode
EDITORIAL ADVISORY GROUP
Will Arnold MIStructE
in print this month (page 10). Jane is a Conservation for comment. As Graham Coult and Mauro Overend
Premma Makanji MIStructE Accredited Engineer with a longstanding interest explain, there have been significant advances in
Allan Mann FIStructE
Chris O’Regan FIStructE in our built environment heritage, conserving and glass technology since the second edition of the
Angus Palmer MIStructE
Simon Pitchers FIStructE
bringing new life to historic buildings, and she Institution’s Guide to the structural use of glass
Eleana Savvidi MIStructE sees lessons in this work for the sustainable future in buildings was published in 2014 (page 22). A
Subscription prices the profession is working planned series of short
Institutional: £479
Personal (print only): £110
towards. technical notes aims to
Personal (online only): £110 As well as the obvious offer guidance on aspects
Personal (Student Member): £45
carbon benefits of reusing AN APPRECIATION of designing with glass over
Single copies: £25 (incl. p&p) buildings where possible,
Jane believes that an
OF PAST DETAILS, the course of the year.
We also bring you a
TECHNIQUES AND
Printed by
Warners Midlands plc
The Maltings, Manor Lane Bourne,
appreciation of past details, CPD article, sponsored by
Lincolnshire PE10 9PH
United Kingdom
techniques and approaches
to design will stand engineers
APPROACHES insurance broker Griffiths
& Armour, on claims
© The Institution of Structural Engineers.
in good stead as part of a TO DESIGN WILL notification requirements
STAND ENGINEERS
The Structural Engineer (ISSN 1466-5123) is
published by IStructE Ltd, a wholly owned
subsidiary of The Institution of Structural
culture of knowledge sharing for engineers (page 26) and
Engineers. It is available both in print and online.

Contributions published in The Structural

and skills development that
will be required to tackle
IN GOOD STEAD a Viewpoint exploring the
benefits that blockchain
Engineer are published on the understanding
that the author/s is/are solely responsible for the
the ‘wicked problems’ that technology may offer in
statements made, for the opinions expressed the climate crisis brings. Mentoring and networks building transparency and trust in areas such as BIM
and/or for the accuracy of the contents.
Publication does not imply that any statement or or hubs for sharing knowledge and ideas are also assets and the circular economy (page 30), as well
opinion expressed by the author/s reflects the
views of the Institution of Structural Engineers’
themes that Jane will be championing during her as our usual Verulam (page 34), Diary dates (page
Board; Council; committees; members year in office. 36) and Spotlight on Structures (page 38) pages.
or employees. No liability is accepted by such
persons or by the Institution for any loss or As well as reading the address, you can view I hope you enjoy the issue.
damage, whether caused through reliance on
any statement, opinion or omission (textual
a recording at www.istructe.org/resources/
or otherwise) in The Structural Engineer, or career-profiles/jane-entwistle-fistructe-president-s-
otherwise.
address-2022/.
The Institution of Structural Engineers
International HQ
47–58 Bastwick Street Elsewhere in the issue, the theme of sustainable
London EC1V 3PS
United Kingdom design continues in an article by James Norman
t: +44 (0)20 7235 4535
e: mail@istructe.org
discussing an approach to scheme design that
explicitly considers carbon from the outset (page
The Institution of Structural Engineers
Incorporated by Royal Charter 18). James argues that timber offers the greatest
Charity Registered in England and Wales number
233392 and in Scotland number SC038263
potential for carbon reduction at this stage, while
retaining the flexibility to change the design to
concrete or steel at a later stage should that prove
necessary. We also review Flourish, a new book that
explores the changes in mindset that will be needed
to bring about the new design paradigms required for

5
thestructuralengineer.org | February 2022

Editorial_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 5 20/01/2022 08:17

 Upfront News
AKT II
Industry news
Institution Fellow
recognised in New Year
Honours
Hanif Kara FIStructE has been made an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
(OBE) in the Queen’s New Year Honours.
Hanif, a co-founder of structural engineering
practice AKT II, received the honour in
recognition of his services to architecture,
engineering, and education.
Hanif has also taught design
internationally, is a member of the board of
trustees for the Architecture Foundation and
was a commissioner for the Commission
for Architecture and the Built Environment
(CABE) from 2008 to 2011. He is currently
Professor in Practice of Architectural
Technology at Harvard Graduate School of
Design.
Hanif said: ‘I am overwhelmed by this but
it’s a great start in an era of uncertainties.
I’m grateful to the many people who’ve
supported myself, and AKT II’s adventure,
with such kindness and encouragement
over the years. I will treasure this award with
pride and joy!’
Institution news
Enter the Structural Awards
2022
The Structural Awards 2022 are open for
entries, with a new emphasis this year
on sustainability and meeting the climate
challenge.
Entries will no longer be made to
specific categories. Instead, they will be
judged according to four key attributes
that exemplify structural engineering
achievement:
Ò| Planet
Ò| People
Ò| Process
Ò| Profession
All entries will be required to quantify the
embodied carbon footprint of the structure
using the IStructE Structural Carbon Tool.
For full details and to submit an
entry, visit www.istructe.org/
structuralawards.
News_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 6
Institution news
End-of-year climate report sets priorities for 2022
The Institution’s Climate Emergency Task The report also includes a ‘Sustainability
Group (CETG) has released its end-of-year Resource Map’ which contains clickable links
report, reviewing progress in 2021 to address to over 170 items of guidance on various
the climate crisis, and setting out its areas of topics around sustainability. Twenty items of
focus for the coming year. guidance are highlighted as ‘recommended
The three key areas of focus for 2022 reading’, making the Resource Map an
will be: excellent introduction for engineers new to the
Ò| strengthening the profession’s capabilities subject.
to make carbon a standard part of every
engineer’s toolkit
Ò| broadening the thinking of the CETG and Read the report at www.istructe.org/
Institution to go beyond carbonw resources/report/climate-
Ò| influencing others in the construction emergency-task-group-end-of-year-
industry to take bold steps of their own. report-21/.
Industry news level on all projects. It discusses the types
CROSS of risk that may arise and potential causes
of failure.
Safety Alert
The Alert is essential reading for structural
addresses and civil engineers, fire engineers and
management those who engage with them in design and
of design- checking. It applies to risk management
related risks in all sectors of building and construction
CROSS-UK has issued work.
a new Safety Alert on
The management of design related risks: Read the Alert at www.cross-
structural civil and fire engineers. The Alert safety.org/uk/safety-information/
seeks to remind engineers of the need to cross-safety-alert/management-design-
consider risk management at a fundamental related-risks-structural-civil-and-fire.
Industry news Ò| Misleading fire rating PV panels to existing roofs
Read the latest on hatches Ò| Beam and block floors fire
Ò| Steel truss failure during resistance
CROSS-UK
lifting operation Ò| Inadequate temporary
newsletter Ò| Fire protection of light works on domestic project
Newsletter 63 from CROSS- gauge steel frames
UK is now available online and Ò| Sudden failure of
contains reports and discussion Read the newsletter at
storage silo
of the following issues: wwww.cross-safety.
Ò| Front doors in blocks of flats
Ò| Concerns about punching org/uk/news-and-events/
– security versus safety?
shear in a flat slab cross-uk-newsletter-63-0.
Ò| Safety issues when adding
6
February 2022 | thestructuralengineer.org
20/01/2022 09:07
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bespoke consultancy by providing thermal modelling
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losses and Risks of surface condensation.

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TSE.Feb22_007.indd 7 19/01/2022 13:52

 Upfront News
Institution news
Last chance to enter
the Young Structural
Engineering Professional
Award
If you are a graduate or professionally
qualified member of the IStructE aged 30
or under, you are eligible to enter the Young
Structural Engineering Professional Award.
This prestigious award allows you to
showcase your skills and achievements and
sets the winner out as ‘one to watch’ among
the Institution's global membership.
The winner of the award will receive a
£1500 prize, two tickets to the Structural
Awards, and the opportunity to be a judge
on the Structural Awards panel. Runners-up
receive £500.
Find out more at www.istructe.org/
training-and-development/enter-
awards/young-structural-engineering-
professional-award/. The deadline for
entries is 25 February.
Institution news
Calling young engineers:
enter the Kenneth Severn
Award
Engineers aged 28 or under with an interest
in sustainability are invited to enter this year’s
Kenneth Severn Award, with the chance to
win a prize of £500.
To enter, you must submit a short essay
by 28 February in response to the following
question set by 2022 Institution President
Jane Entwistle:
In order to reduce the carbon footprint
of construction we need to take immediate
action which includes learning and education
at all levels. What does history teach us and
what systems might be introduced from a
structural engineering design perspective?
For further details or to submit an
entry, visit www.istructe.org/
training-and-development/enter-
awards/kenneth-severn-award/.
Max de Podesta
won the Kenneth
Severn Award in
2021 for his essay
on competence
News_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 8
Industry news
Institution member named
one of UK’s most inspiring
female founders
Beekeeper and structural engineer Helen
Rogers, from Highgate in London, has been
named one of the UK’s most inspirational
and dynamic female entrepreneurs by the
f:Entrepreneur ‘#ialso100’ campaign.
Helen, who founded the sustainable
beekeeping company, Highgate Honey, is being
profiled alongside 100 female entrepreneurs
from across the country, as part of the campaign
to celebrate the multi-achievements of women
running businesses in the UK today.
Delivered by Small Business Britain – the
leading champion of small businesses in the
UK – f:Entrepreneur was launched in 2017 to
highlight the stories of amazing female business
owners and help provide inspiration and
role models across the wider small business
community.
The f:Entrepreneur ‘#ialso100’ line-up
particularly sets out to showcase trailblazing
female founders who lead businesses alongside
a roster of other responsibilities, such as
volunteering, mentoring and community
support. Many of the businesses featured
in this year’s campaign also demonstrate a
huge commitment to the environment by
Industry news
BCSA launches
Sustainability
Specification for
structural steelwork for
building construction
The BCSA has published a Sustainability Specification
for structural steelwork for building construction. The
new document forms part of the National Steelwork
Specification for Building Construction (NSSS), and will
come into force on 1 June 2022.
The document been prepared under the guidance
of a Steering Committee comprised of structural
steel suppliers, steelwork contractors, designers, and
individual sustainability experts from BCSA, SCI and
IStructE.
This Specification outlines the general requirements
and practices for achieving environmentally sustainable
steelwork building construction, and covers several
topics, including:
Ò| steel procurement
Ò| project specification requirements in terms of
sustainability
Ò| reusing structural steel.
The Sustainability Specification requires all relevant
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to be
submitted for new steel products, as well as for
corrosion and fire protection systems. Aspects of
fabrication are also addressed, in particular regarding
welding procedures.
Download the Specification free of charge at
https://steelconstruction.info/images/3/36/
BCSA_65-2022.pdf.
8
February 2022 | thestructuralengineer.org
Februar
championing sustainability.
Helen was also called out for her engineering
expertise on cantilever stone stairs, championing
UK honey in her honey-tasting workshops and
her book, 80 Flowers for Bees, which helps you
pick plants that benefit bees.
On being featured in the #ialso100 line-up,
Helen said: ‘I’m delighted to be recognised
for the diverse range of work that I do. It’s so
inspiring seeing all the other women working
flexibly in non-traditional 9–5 roles like me.’
To see the full line-up of the 100
amazing women featured in this year’s
f:entrepreneur #ialso100 campaign, visit
https://f-entrepreneur.com/ialso-100-2022/.
Industry news
Safety bulletin raises
concerns about plastic
outrigger mats/systems
The Temporary Works Forum (TWf) has
issued a safety bulletin following concerns
raised by several members regarding
the stated capacity of some plastic
outrigger mats/systems. A working group
is currently looking at this and hopes to
provide some guidance later in 2022.
In the meantime, it is recommended
that members treat the stated capacities
of plastic outrigger mats/systems with
caution, even where they are supported
by seemingly complex testing or analyses.
The assessment of outrigger mats and
ground bearing to adequately spread
outrigger loads should be undertaken
by suitably competent and experienced
persons, who may wish to consider:
Ò| the experience and track record of the
supplier
Ò| any assumptions made in respect
of the ground conditions, material
properties and the method of analysis
Ò| compatibility with the site investigation
and interpretation, e.g. acceptable
ground bearing pressure
Ò| acceptable deflection.
To find out more about the
Temporary Works Forum, visit
www.twforum.org.uk/.
19/01/2022 14:01
 Structural Engineer HPH-June 2021-paths.indd 1 14/06/2021 09:25

TSE.Feb22_009.indd 9 19/01/2022 13:54

 Feature President’s Inaugural Address
Knowledge, skills, history –
a foundation for a climate-
positive future
JANE ENTWISTLE
BSc(Hons), CEng, FIStructE, MICE,
Conservation Accredited Engineer
2022 President of the Institution of Structural Engineers
Introduction
If anyone had told me 50 years ago that
I would be taking up this Presidential
role, I would probably have said, ‘Okay,
great!’ – at that age youngsters take
most things in their stride. If anyone had
told me 25 years ago, I would have said,
‘No way, I just pay my subscription – my
qualification is all that I want from the
Institution’. Ten years ago, I would have
said, ‘No, it’s not me or for me’. Yet, here
I am; extremely honoured to take on this
role of representing our Institution and its
members over the coming year.
Those of you who already know me will
be aware that my key area of work has,
for many years, been historic buildings;
I will be coming back to that later in this
address. You may also already know that a
continuous theme of my involvement with
the Institution has been that of considering
the effect that any changes proposed at
the centre of our organisation will have out
in the regions.
Who am I?
I was brought up in a small village in
Wiltshire in the south of England where
my father was the local GP, or doctor.
In terms of education, I moved with my
cohort from the village primary school to a
middle school and then on to Gillingham
comprehensive school, where I completed
my O levels. For A levels I moved again,
this time to South Wilts Grammar School
in Salisbury.
I had no idea what career I wanted to
follow, other than knowing that it would be
science-based. At the age of 13, I wanted
to be a meteorologist, so I avidly collected
weather data for a few years – but not for
long enough to appreciate the effects of
our changing climate. Then came the time
to think about which degree course to
apply for.
My school was not especially helpful
in giving me advice; instead, Ian, a family
friend who was a careers adviser, spent
Feature_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 10
time talking and listening to me as we
explored which areas of my studies I was
good at and which I enjoyed. He was
the one who suggested engineering – it
sounded good to me, so I told my parents,
and later my school, that this was my
chosen career and never regretted that
quickly made decision.
I often think of the very many youngsters
who will not have had the good fortune of
a friend who can help them recognise their
potential and to help them to sort out their
path forwards. In a single morning, Ian set
the path for my future life and put me on
my life journey.
My A level results were not a success,
but I was offered a place, through the
clearing process, to read Civil Engineering
at Manchester. I will be eternally grateful to
Dr Jim Dickie, the Admissions Tutor at that
time, and who later became my tutor, who
saw some potential in me and offered me
the place. Jim and I have remained friends
and he has encouraged me through every
stage of my career.
My first job was with Arup in
Manchester. There were many
outstanding and memorable characters
who encouraged me, but the one who
probably had the most influence was Colin
Wood, who is sadly no longer with us.
Colin combined teaching/mentoring and
encouraging with a natural caring attitude;
his down-to-earth style and thorough
understanding of engineering principles
appealed to me.
Colin was also responsible for
introducing me to the Institution of
Structural Engineers; he encouraged me
to attend the Lancashire and Cheshire
Hot Pot Supper (our inaugural meeting
of the year), which was attended by the
President and Chief Executive. I was
impressed by what I heard and wanted to
be an active part of this organisation, but
that took another 15 years to happen.
You may notice that a bit of a theme
is emerging of people who encouraged
10
February 2022 | thestructuralengineer.org
JANE ENTWISTLE: A CAREER IN BRIEF
Jane is Technical Director for Thomasons in
Manchester, where she has worked since 2003. As a
Conservation Accredited Engineer, Jane particularly
specialises, and enjoys, working on historic structures.
She has over 30 years’ experience of working with
old and existing buildings and has been convinced
for many years that buildings should be repaired and
reused rather than replaced.
Jane has worked for SMEs for the majority of her
career. With this type of work, she has also become
proficient with controlling a multiplicity of relatively
small projects concurrently. Over the years she has
become familiar with many building types and details
and still finds the discovery of details exciting.
Jane has been actively involved with the Institution
since 2000, serving as Regional Group Chair for
Lancashire and Cheshire in 2006/07 and on numerous
committees and panels since then.
CAREER MILESTONES
Ò| 1984: BSc (Hons) in Civil Engineering, Manchester
University
Ò| 1984–1991: Arup, Manchester
Ò| 1991–2003: Byrom Clark Roberts, Manchester and
Chester – Senior Engineer, then Associate
Ò| 1993: Chartered Member of the ICE
Ò| 1998: Chartered Member of the IStructE
Ò| 2003–PRESENT: Thomasons, Manchester –
Associate, becoming Technical Director in 2017
Ò| 2006/07: Chair of the IStructE Lancashire &
Cheshire Regional Group
Ò| 2007: Fellow of the IStructE
Ò| 2018: Conservation Accredited Engineer
Ò| 2022: President of the IStructE
me along the way. For the vast majority
of people to succeed, in any walk of life,
such positive encouragement is invaluable.
When I looked back at the Presidential
Address given by Sarah Buck in 2007, her
theme was ‘Attract, Support, Enthuse’.
These three aspects were clearly provided
by Ian, Jim and Colin in my early formative
years.
I was with Arup for just over six years
before being made redundant in the 1991
recession. During those years, I acquired
a strong grounding in concrete and
steelwork design, but this was also when
my interest in historic buildings started to
19/01/2022 14:02

îFIGURE 1: Norton Priory – scope of works
Roof structure and
spiral stair removed
Support points for new
walkway
Medieval undercroft structure
develop. However, my best-loved project
during that period was the Southport and
Formby District General Hospital Spinal
Injuries Unit, which was the first major
project on which I took the lead structural
engineering role.
It was during this project that I really
came to appreciate that our work as
structural engineers needs to take into
account the specific needs of a building’s
users, and that we can enhance their living
or working environment by good design
decisions.
In this case, there were two particularly
memorable aspects: firstly, in the design
of the hydrotherapy (swimming) pool, the
water had to be held at body temperature
as patients may not be able to feel
hot or cold and could dehydrate if too
hot; secondly, it would be of no use to
have stairs by which patients would be
evacuated in case of emergency – there
had to be a ramp, which I designed to also
be usable for ‘slalom’ wheelchair training.
My next job was with Byrom Clark
Roberts, also in Manchester. BCR (now
Feature_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 11
President’s Inaugural Address
Approx extent of 1980s
building removed
Medieval wall that had
to be preserved
part of the Smithers Purslow group) was
a multidisciplinary SME and here I learned
to work closely with in-house architects
and building surveyors – the principle of
working collaboratively in a team really
started to take root.
Much of my work was on church
projects, with another line that developed
of working on the historic mill buildings in
and around Manchester and Lancashire.
Both of these areas of work required a
good understanding of the old (but not
necessarily listed) buildings. In order to
repair, or alter, them, it is first essential to
understand how they work, as well as to
be able to determine which defects are
inherent due to their design and which
are due to a lack of maintenance or
inappropriate alterations or repairs in the
past.
At BCR we also undertook a large
amount of domestic insurance work,
mostly relating to subsidence; during my
time with BCR we saw two episodes of
unusually dry summers – indicators that
our climate was starting to change at an
11
thestructuralengineer.org | February 2022
Feature
increased rate. This was another period
of learning: not just the technical aspects
but also the social aspects of our role as
engineers, and in particular how important
it is to manage a budget of any size,
from a tiny domestic budget to that of a
multimillion-pound project.
For the past nearly 19 years, I
have been working for Thomasons in
Manchester. In this role, I have further
developed my conservation work, and I
am proud to have achieved accreditation
as a Conservation Engineer through CARE
and as such be able to consider myself a
custodian of our cultural heritage. In this
role, I see myself as an advocate for the
historic buildings on which I have the good
fortune to work.
While CARE focuses primarily on
historic buildings, I have always been of
the opinion that, wherever possible, all old
buildings should be treated with the same
care and consideration as listed buildings.
Although there are times when the best
decision for a building may not concur
fully with conservation principles, or when
change is appropriate in order to develop
and protect the future of a building.
With historic buildings, the overarching
principles are that modern interventions
should be subservient to the listed
structure and, where possible, reversible.
To give an indication of the scope of
my work, I am including two examples
of projects that I have worked on in the
last few years. The first of these is the
refurbishment of Norton Priory Museum,
Cheshire in 2013–16; the second is
the restoration of Wythenshawe Hall in
Manchester following an arson attack in
2016.
Norton Priory redevelopment
This project involved a £4.5m
redevelopment of Norton Priory Museum
in Runcorn, as a joint venture between
Norton Priory Museum Trust Ltd and
Halton Borough Council. The site is
designated as a scheduled monument
and contains the remains of a 12th century
monastery; it is renowned as one of
Europe’s most excavated monastic sites.
The museum complex consisted of the
historic Grade I listed Undercroft and a
1980s steel-framed building that housed
the bulk of the museum. The project
(Figure 1) comprised the removal of a
1980s addition on top of the Undercroft,
as this provided very little usable space,
and the addition of a new gallery in its
place; provision of new structure to link
the Undercroft and the 1980s museum;
together with full refurbishment of the
museum, including installation of a
biomass boiler and heating system.
The Undercroft, which had originally
formed part of the 12th century Augustine
Priory, survived the 16th century
dissolution of the monasteries, and was
19/01/2022 14:02
 Feature President’s Inaugural Address
ALAMY
subsequently incorporated into Tudor,
Georgian and Victorian houses (Figure 2).
When the last of these was demolished
in 1928, the Undercroft still survived. The
museum was established in the 1970/80s.
We worked closely with Buttress
Architects to develop innovative solutions
to overcome the complexities and
restrictions of working with a Grade I
listed building and scheduled monument.
The end result was that we achieved the
client’s vision while minimising disruption
to archaeology and treating this important
historic site with great care and respect.
The 1980s addition to the Undercroft
comprised a high monopitch roof
supported on a concrete ring beam which
had been cast on top of the medieval
walls. This provided a very small exhibition
space at one end, accessed via a
îFIGURE 3: Isometric
view of proposed
alterations to building
Feature_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 12
Extent of Undercroft
deteriorating concrete spiral stair. The stair
and roof were removed and the ring beam
left in place to act as the foundation for the
new steel-framed portal building. A glulam
timber portal was originally proposed,
but costs prevented this solution being
adopted; our acceptance of the change to
steel would have been very different now –
just eight years later.
The new link structure was steel framed
(designed by one of my colleagues) but,
in order to prevent damage or load being
applied to a medieval wall foundation, the
glazed front elevation was suspended from
above (Figures 3 and 4). This resulted in
two points of concentrated loading on the
historic structure; a pragmatic approach
of considering the history of the building
and its previous loading conditions was
adopted, which showed that the new
îFIGURE 4: Glazed front
elevation of completed link
12
February 2022 | thestructuralengineer.org
loading would not be detrimental to the
substantial historic structure.
One of the key drivers for the roofscape
of the new link building was to provide
accommodation for the 4m high,
internationally significant, 14th century
statue of St Christopher.
Historical changes to the below-
ground drainage in and around the
Undercroft had caused ongoing problems
of damp and settlement of the floor;
these were addressed in the works that
we undertook. Due to the site being a
scheduled monument, all excavations
were undertaken by, or under the watch
of, an archaeologist. English Heritage (now
Historic England) was closely involved with
all decisions relating to the historic fabric
of the site.
My initial expectation had been for
English Heritage to have a preference to
retain the fill material beneath the floor,
as this was expected to contain items
of archaeological interest. I prepared an
options appraisal and, to my surprise, the
Monuments Officer opted for the most
intrusive solution of full removal of the fill
ëFIGURE 2:
Norton Priory material and the introduction of a new
Undercroft floor and drainage system, as this would
incorporated into give the superstructure of the Undercroft
Georgian era
house the best opportunities for protection
and longevity. The tiled floor was re-laid
(Figure 5) and the resultant space is now
used for events including weddings.
Wythenshawe Hall restoration
This project comprised the restoration
of Grade II* listed Wythenshawe Hall
following arson attack in March 2016
(Figure 6).
The hall was built around 1540 and
suffered during the English Civil War in
1643, with partial rebuilding undertaken
between 1795 and 1800 and further
alterations around 1840. Extensive repairs
were carried out in the 1950s, with some
of that work causing significant loss of
19/01/2022 14:02
 President’s Inaugural Address Feature

fabric and using methods and materials rather than following, as the realisation has
that would not now be considered grown that reuse of buildings is a good
appropriate in conservation work. and sustainable solution.
The building was originally a timber- The focus of what I am saying in this
framed manor house with a hall and two address has subtly changed from how
projecting wings. One of the later additions I would have presented my thoughts a
provided a chapel and further additions year ago – it is so encouraging to see the
including numerous other rooms. growing awareness and momentum in our
In the arson attack, a fire was set next industry to do something to help reduce
to the front door of the timber-framed the climate emergency in which we now
building; this caught hold and caused find ourselves.
severe damage to the Tudor porch and As I draft this, we are hearing of the
to much of the historic roof structure worst wildfires in Cyprus in decades,
(Figure 7). Thomasons was employed mudslides in Japan, devastating flooding
by the insurance company to provide in Germany, unusually cold temperatures
structural advice immediately after the fire in eastern Australia and record high
and in relation to the restoration works. We temperatures being experienced in
brought a conservation architect onboard western Canada; temperatures fast
as subconsultant to advise on the non- approaching the limits that a human body
structural fabric. can withstand.
My primary involvement with this project I know that there are still many people
was in relation to repairs and restoration who consider this a politicised viewpoint,
of the timber frame. It was an extremely ìFIGURE 5: Undercroft with re-laid tiled floor
interesting project as it is rare to be able to
fully examine the construction methods of
a timber-framed building of this type and
to be so closely involved in the restoration
of one so badly damaged. It was also
an excellent learning opportunity to work
closely with the architect in developing the
strategy for restoration and conservation of
non-structural items of the building.
I spent several days crawling over
and through the fire-damaged structure
recording the condition of each remaining
piece of structural timber. My observations
became part of the overall condition
survey and, as each stage of the
investigation developed, I updated my ìFIGURE 6:
recommendations relating to how much Wythenshawe Hall
following arson attack
of the historic timber could be retained
(Figure 8) – either as active structural
members or simply left in place in their
damaged condition to preserve the story
of the building.
Repairs to the primary timber trusses
comprised a combination of traditionally
formed timber joints and steel plates, as
in this scenario it was considered more
important to preserve as much of the
historic fabric as possible rather than
replicating it in modern timber.
The particular challenge on this
project was the retention of a severely
distorted timber-framed gable which,
despite severe fire damage, had surviving
internal wall paintings. The final solution
was to replicate the original, undistorted
oak frame, and construct it next to, and
providing support to, the original distorted
structure (Figures 9 and 10).

Repairing our damage

For many years, it has been fairly niche
and perhaps unfashionable to work with
old buildings, but this has changed even
in the time that I have been thinking about
this address. For perhaps the first time in
my life, I find myself in a position of leading ìFIGURE 7: Fire damage to roof

13
thestructuralengineer.org | February 2022

Feature_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 13 20/01/2022 09:29

 Feature President’s Inaugural Address
but when we consider the impact of
construction, and in particular new
construction, on the environment that is
changing so quickly, we surely have to help
transform society by recasting our actions
for the public good and for the good of our
planet.
I am not going to give a lecture on our
current climate emergency – there are
many far better equipped to do that than
me – but we do have to accept that we
have wicked problems to face up to
(Box 1). For those who are not familiar with
the jargon, a wicked problem is a problem
that is difficult, if not impossible, to resolve
due its nature of being contradictory and
incomplete, with parameters that change
so that they are often difficult to recognise.
In order to tackle wicked problems, we
need to be both prophets (to understand
the problems) and wizards (to find ways of
BELL TOWER
(600 series drawings)
ATTIC ROOM
(100 series drawings)
FRONT
ìFIGURE 8: Proposed scheme for
new and retained timber members
Feature_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 14
solving them).
We have spent generations believing
that our methods are always better
and more advanced than those of our
predecessors; I do not dispute that this
may often be the case, but I argue that we
must not assume this to be true; new is
not always best.
I cite an example shared with me by one
of my nephews, who is involved with the
design of specialist optical equipment. He
told me of a situation where it was decided
that it was time for their product to
embrace new digital technology; they tried
all sorts of methodologies but still couldn’t
get a product as good and reliable as their
current one. Eventually, they went back
to the drawing board and started from
scratch – the solution they came up with
was very close to their current product.
I like this story as it tells of an
/(*(1'
CROMWELL ROOM
(200 series drawings)
REAR
PORCH
(500 series drawings)
14
February 2022 | thestructuralengineer.org
organisation prepared to look at the new,
to fully investigate and test their options,
but not scared to acknowledge that
their current solution was still the most
appropriate.
I went to an excellent presentation
in early 2020 where the speakers
included Dr Andy Knox and Professor
Dame Sue Black; the event was about
the regeneration and reinvigoration of
the seaside town of Morecambe in the
northwest of England. While the latter
spoke of how we need to know our
history but not be restricted or limited by
it, Dr Knox pointed out that society, like a
spider’s web, needs anchor points to allow
it to grow.
Their words set me thinking about how
we need to understand our heritage and
to combine it with forward motion; by our
heritage I do not only mean our societal
/(*(1'
1(:7,0%(50(0%(5725(3/$&((;,67,1*
1(:7,0%(53,(&(
1(:7,0%(50(0%(5725(3/$&((;,67,1*
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(;,67,1*'$0$*('7,0%(5672%(5(7$,1('6833257('
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675(1*7+(1,1*72(;,67,1**$%/(7,0%(56%(+,1'
1(:7,0%(50(0%(5 (;,67,1*7,0%(50(0%(5725(0$,1
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675(1*7+(1,1*72(;,67,1**$%/(7,0%(56%(+,1'
(;,67,1*7,0%(50(0%(5725(0$,1
NORTH GABLE
(300 series drawings)
CHAPEL BEDROOM
(400 series drawings)
19/01/2022 14:03

history, but also our heritage as structural
engineers and something of the history
of why we design in the way that we
do. We need to appreciate details and
techniques, both current and historic,
in order to understand what is good to
keep and/or copy.
Some people may prefer to keep
their knowledge to themselves in order
to maintain a commercial advantage.
I cannot concur with this principle –
knowledge is far too exciting to keep
to oneself and we can only improve
our environment by sharing successes
so that the wheel does not need to be
repeatedly reinvented.
Professor Black reminded us
that research needs to be open and
collaborative. We need to be generous
with our knowledge and realise that
things that we take for granted ‘because
it is what we do’ may be new information
for others.
By a similar token, we also need to
share our failures and how we learn
from them; failure is a very valuable tool
in progress – provided that we learn
from it. The most important thing is to
fail forwards so that we, and others, can
understand why that decision was a
wrong path.
In this, we also need to be forgiving of
mistakes made in the past; one example
that I see on many of the buildings on
which I work is the inappropriate used
of cementitious mortar instead of lime
mortar when repointing soft brickwork.
The hard cement-based mortar is more
durable and less porous, which results in
damage and erosion of the softer brick
(Figure 11).
This damage to the original fabric
would not have been the intention of
whoever specified the wrong type of
pointing, but as conservation specialists
we have learned from their mistake
and we move forwards with our repair
techniques and make sure that new
materials introduced into a historic
building will be subservient to the original
fabric such that they will fail, or erode,
first.
When the damage is too great,
we may be forced to locally replace a
BOX 1. WHAT IS A ‘WICKED PROBLEM’?
Ò| A wicked problem is difficult to define clearly
Ò| It has many interdependencies and is often multicausal
Ò| Attempts to address the problem often lead to unforeseen consequences
Ò| The problem is frequently not stable
Ò| There is usually no clear solution
Ò| It is socially complex
Ò| It is rarely the responsibility of only one stakeholder
Ò| Solutions to the problem involve changing behaviours
Ò| The problem can be characterised by chronic policy failure
Feature_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 15
brick; but if we realise the mistake soon
enough, we may be able to remove e the
unsympathetic and inappropriate mortarortar in
order to preserve the original fabric off the
building.
In a similar way, we need to make sure ure
that changes that we make to our planet et
are subservient, leaving only the lightest
touch. We do not have the luxury of
replacing a part of our planet, as we would
a damaged brick in a wall, so instead it is
essential that we stop the damage that we
are doing and, where appropriate, unpick
some of our previous actions and habits.
Where next?
So, how do we move forwards?
In the more recent past, we have been
profligate with materials; we have, for good
reasons at the time, used larger section
sizes than required in order to standardise
members; we may have not considered
the effect of our materials choices on
the environment – this is a relatively
new consideration for many of us; we
demolished buildings in order to build new
and flashy ones – to provide clients with
the latest ideas and fashions.
I have talked extensively about historic
buildings as they are my particular area
of interest, but reuse of buildings is about
much, much more than just historic
structures. We need to be considering all
existing buildings, whatever their age, as
assets that should not be thrown away
unless there is no other option. Equally,
there is a need, even a moral duty, to
engage with and inform clients to explore
options based around reuse of their
buildings.
Clients will need to be informed of what
is possible; whether their building can be
retrofitted, e.g. with insulation, to suit both
their requirements and current building
and environmental requirements. Is their
building suitable to be adapted, perhaps
extended upwards and, if so, what are
the implications for the existing structure
and foundations? Also, what measures
will need to be put in place to prevent
disproportionate collapse? Or does their
building only require restoration to bring it
back to use.
In my work, I frequently see timber
15
thestructuralengineer.org | February 2022
President’s Inaugu
Inaugural
ural Address Feature
New steel ledger
g angles
g to
support
pp new secondary y
timber frame.
NEW STRUCTURE SUPPORTING EXISTING
MEMBERS BEHIND
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NEW TIMBER MEMBER TO REPLACE EXISTING
NEW TIMBER PIECE
NEW TIMBER MEMBER. (Traditional mortise and tenon cconnections)
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EXISTING TIMBER MEMBER TO REMAIN
EXISTING TIMBER MEMBERS REQUIRING PAUSE IN WORKS
TO RE ASSESS SUITABILITY FOR POSSIBLE RE
frames which have been reused; in the
éFIGURE 9:
past it was normal to repurpose timber
Proposed repairs to
timber-framed gable members from one structure into another.
We need to start thinking in a similar way
– but why dismantle the existing structure,
why not reuse it in its current location? At
the same time, we must still embrace new
ideas and techniques, but we must think
about their potential to either prevent or
accelerate climate change.
New materials and techniques will
always be exciting to us as engineers, but
going forward we will need to look at them
through the lens of whether they are good
for our environment; can they effectively
reduce the carbon footprint of a building?
Can they be used in conjunction with
existing structure to prolong the lifespan or
enhance the capacity of a building? These
are questions that we must ask ourselves
as designers.
19/01/2022 14:03
 Feature President’s Inaugural Address

The understanding of structural

behaviour and structural materials has
always been essential for structural
engineers and this will not change; a
thorough grounding in this will always
be required and, in some ways, become
even more essential when considering
the reuse, or repurposing, of existing
buildings.
However, it also needs to be
acknowledged that such work requires
a subtly different set of skills from that
for design of new buildings. To be
successful, it is necessary to understand
the structures that are to be reused. It
is essential to understand the materials
used; the effect that time and their
environment (e.g. pollution or ingress of
water) has had on them; the levels of
a) Following fire decay and deterioration of timber, steel
and concrete members; the residual
strength of the components; the suitability
and adequacy of existing connections.
This can sound daunting and, if not
properly considered and understood,
could be the death knell for many
buildings. There is great danger that
without suitable training we could lose or
damage our current building assets.
In future, we need to ensure that
structural engineers are not only masters
of new design, but also familiar and
proficient in understanding the skills
required to safely reuse structures. In
addition, it will be essential that they
understand how the existing building
works; they may be fortunate and have
records of the original construction, but
they will need to understand alterations
that have already been made and whether
the building was actually constructed as
intended.
One of the challenges that I see
b) During restoration work is how to ensure that our engineers
are competent in this ever changing
and increasingly challenging world. In
older buildings there are often regional
variations in the style and methods of
construction; I have been working on old
and historic buildings for over 30 years
and I still regularly find details that are new
and unexpected – we never stop learning.
We are in a time of climate crisis and
need to take action, but all the required
knowledge is too much to learn in a
classroom, so it is essential that we share
our knowledge; we need to collaborate
to ensure sufficient competence is
developed to allow this important
work to be undertaken in a proper and
appropriate manner.
The Institution has a major role to play
in this respect. We have been extremely
fortunate to have Will Arnold taking a lead
on climate action. With his enthusiasm, in
a short time we have come a long way in
ëFIGURE 10: our understanding of the severity of the
c) Following restoration Repairs to apex situation we need to deal with.
of north gable In 2021, I chaired a task group which

16
February 2022 | thestructuralengineer.org

Feature_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 16 19/01/2022 14:03


reviewed the appropriateness of our
current Chartered Membership Exam.
We reviewed the learning outcomes that
need to be demonstrated by a competent
engineer, particularly in relation to climate
action, and we worked with the Exams
Panel to understand how these can be
incorporated into the exam. This process
of regular review will continue at least
every two to three years to ensure that
our young professionals are ready at the
cutting edge of our industry.
Many of you will be aware of the
Structural Behaviour Exam; I hope that we
will soon see an equivalent qualification in
relation to climate action which will help
provide our upcoming engineers with a
thorough grounding in the knowledge that
they need in this respect.
While that is a good ambition for our
future leaders, it still leaves a generation of
members who somehow need to get up
to speed very quickly and at a time in their
career when they are already extremely
busy. During the Covid pandemic, we
have rapidly discovered how effectively we
can learn by attending virtual seminars,
but we also realise that local face-to-face
meetings are still very necessary.
I think that we need to develop local
hubs (Box 2) where ideas and knowledge
can be shared; the starting point for this
would be our current Regional Groups, as
these already have a strong track record
of sharing knowledge and will remain an
essential backbone of the Institution. The
Feature_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 17
President’s Inaugural Address
WHEREVER WE
WORK AS
STRUCTURAL
ENGINEERS, WE
NEED TO PUT
CLIMATE ACTION
AT THE TOP OF
OUR PRIORITIES
BOX 2. BENEFITS
OF HUBS
Ò| Help and encourage each
other
Ò| Upskill ourselves and others
Ò| Build inclusive friendships
KIM COLLINS
and networks
Ò| Share knowledge and
experiences
hubs that I envisage will be more fluid;
they are likely to spawn smaller specialist
ëFIGURE 1: groups which may come and go as needs
Erosion of demand. For example, in Lancashire and
brickwork
Cheshire we have a wealth of former
cotton mills, many of which have already
been redeveloped, so a local hub offering
advice on the peculiarities of these
buildings and some guidance in relation to
typical distortions that may be expected,
and whether they are of concern, could
assist engineers who are getting started.
I am going to be ambitious and tell you
that I am looking forward to meeting with
all the current Regional Groups during this
year, either in person or by virtual link. I
want to explore new ways in which we can
build these local communities to provide
HAVE
YOUR either local assistance or links to centrally
SAY available advice.
Those of you reading this will already
be engaged with the Institution. I
encourage you to form links with
your local groups to either share your
knowledge and provide support or to
learn from others; I would also encourage
tse@istructe.org you to draw in others who may not
realise the huge scope of benefits of
membership of our organisation. In terms
of local hubs and groups we will, no
doubt, find that different models evolve to
@IStructE suit the different regions and that areas of
#TheStructuralEngineer
expertise will overlap and can be shared
between regions of the world.
Summary
I believe that we need to learn to value our
#TheStructuralEngineer past, to respect the skills and decisions
17
thestructuralengineer.org | February 2022
Feature
made in the past and work with them to
provide a better future built environment.
We need to take a pragmatic and practical
approach to the reuse of buildings,
taking into account the embodied carbon
savings we can make by reusing existing
structures compared with building new.
Not only will this look after our heritage,
but it will also help to reduce the enormous
carbon footprint of construction. This has
to be the future approach of our profession
and we need to make sure that it becomes
embedded in the core competencies of
structural engineers – not sometime in the
future, but now.
We need to normalise these changed
attitudes and use them to engage with the
unengaged, whether that be colleagues,
clients or other members of our design
teams. We may start with little steps,
but as we become more agile in this
way of thinking, these steps will become
bigger and more effective. The Climate
Emergency Task Group, whose articles
in The Structural Engineer are essential
reading, has set us targets of reducing our
carbon footprint by 10% each year, so we
must act now, not just plan to get started
soon.
Wherever we work as structural
engineers, we need to put climate action at
the top of our priorities; this has been done
by this Institution in the decision made
by the Board in 2019 to put the climate
emergency on a par with the Institution’s
existing strong focus on structural safety.
This is not just for those working in large
consultancies for wealthy clients, it is for
all of us. In the words of John Wesley,
‘The World is my Parish’ – there are no
boundaries, we must all play our part
wherever we are and whoever we work for.
Our previous President, Don McQuillan,
spoke about the four Cs of Competence,
Communities, Collaboration and
Communication. Picking up on these, we
need to make sure that our engineers,
both current and future, are competent
to fulfil their role in taking positive climate
action. We do not have time to wait for
them to all learn over three decades like
me; we need to work as a community both
at global and local level, to collaborate and
communicate our knowledge and best
practice.
Knowledge, skills and history can, and
must, provide a foundation for a climate-
positive future.
WATCH THE ADDRESS
You can watch a recording
of Jane’s inaugural address
online at www.istructe.org/
resources/career-profiles/jane-
entwistle-fistructe-president-s-
address-2022/.
19/01/2022 14:03
 Technical Carbon-driven design
What if carbon drives our
design from the outset?
JAMES NORMAN
MEng, PhD, CEng, MICE, FHEA
Professor of Sustainable Design, University of
Bristol, UK
Introduction
As a profession, we know that by 2030 we
need to half our carbon emissions and that by
2050 we need to be at net zero. Those dates
may suggest we have some time, but we don’t.
Engineering projects don’t happen overnight.
They take years, from stage 0 where the brief is
set, through to completion on site and beyond.
Reflecting on my own career for large projects
(£50M plus) this could be anything from five to
10 years. So, we don’t have years – in fact, for
some projects we may already be too late.
In Conceptual design of buildings1, the
authors explain that, at the start of the design
process, lots of decisions are made at once.
We might choose a material to design with,
or we might choose a grid system. We might
choose a site with an existing building, or we
might choose a facade type. That is not to say
that once we choose one thing, everything
else is discounted; it is subtler than that, it is
much more like a game of Guess Who?® – as
we make decisions, we don’t just eliminate
one thing, we may also eliminate others, often
unintentionally.
One of those harder-to-see decisions is the
embodied carbon in our structure. Early on, we
may be debating project location, grid, budget,
Technical carbon_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 18
SYNOPSIS
This article considers the implications of adopting a
carbon-driven design approach – with the express intent of
limiting the embodied carbon of the structure. It examines
the impact this approach will have on a number of key
design decisions – material choice, grids and spans, loads,
structural system, foundations, serviceability requirements,
facade type and method of construction – and highlights
the tensions that may arise between these and the low-
carbon goal.
The article argues that opting for timber as the initial
material choice will likely offer greater flexibility and leave
open the option of switching to another material later in the
design process should the need arise.
material – but without considering the embodied may be forced to reconsider the brief and the
carbon. We may make decisions that make embodied carbon target, but we would also be
it almost impossible to halve (or better) the able to count the cost of our decisions.
embodied carbon in our structure.
But what happens instead if we start 100kgCO2e/m2
with carbon? What happens if, rather than Let’s explore the decision to first limit carbon in
considering carbon at the end of a design stage terms of the impacts on other decisions we
(or project), we start with the express intent of will later make. If we start by aiming for
limiting the embodied carbon in the structure 100kgCO2e/m2 (Modules A1–A5)2, what impact
(Figure 1)? will this have on materials, grids, spans, loads,
As with all decisions, this may lead to structural system (loadbearing, framed or
challenges and compromises elsewhere. We hybrid), serviceability requirements, facade,
method of construction and our response to
the ground conditions? Along the way, we can
consider some of the challenges and where
íFIGURE 1: Carbon reduction some of the additional carbon cost might occur.
potential is greatest in the We suggest 100kgCO2e/m2 as an aspiration.
planning stages of a project –
if considered explicitly This equates to the A/A+ boundary in the
proposed UK SCORS rating system3. If we are
intending to half our emissions by 2030, we
could aim for 200kgCO2e/m2; however, at this
early stage, that would leave us no room for
manoeuvre. Nonetheless, we should, on every
project, aim for better than this. Projects such
as York House, by Webb Yates, demonstrate
what can be achieved when careful thought is
given to embodied carbon (Figure 2).
Before we consider how this will play out on
a project, let’s start with a simple idea. Less
is less. The less volume of material we need,
the lower the carbon (Figure 3). While this
statement is not universally true, it is a good
starting principle.
Material
So, we have made our first and most important
decision: we will aim for 100kgCO2e/m2. Next,
18
February 2022 | thestructuralengineer.org
19/01/2022 14:04

AGNESE SANVITO
let’s explore possible materials for achieving this
goal.
Buro Happold’s embodied carbon structural
sensitivity study (available on the IStructE
website4) is very helpful in this regard. It is clear
and uncomplicated (although it also omits some
of the complexity of real projects, especially
around slab edge deflections and facades).
The document provides a raft of solutions and
options, in steel, concrete and timber.
I would suggest that we start with timber. For
every problem there is an optimum material, and
timber is not always the best solution; however,
it is easier (as we will see) to move from a timber
solution to a steel or concrete one than it is to
go in the other direction.
Grids and spans
Once we have decided on a timber solution,
the next step is to agree the grids and spans.
While quite significant spans are possible – if we
stick with the idea of less is less, then spans of
4 to 5m are optimal (Figure 4). This may raise
concerns. You might think that at these spans
you can’t make the building work spatially – in
which case we can increase them, and count
the cost. For sawn timber joists to go from a
4m span to a 6m span will require, depending
on the exact specification, double the amount
of timber5.
Loads
You may be puzzled as to why loads have not
yet been mentioned. Well, the load we design
for is also a function of the choices we make.
This may, at first, seem counterintuitive. Surely,
the required load is the required load. Well, yes,
but also no.
If we are to design an office building, the
design load will be 2.5kN/m2. Once we have set
Technical carbon_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 19
íFIGURE 2: York House,
London, winner of the IStructE
Award for Zero Carbon Ambition
2021, demonstrates the potential
for low-carbon design
this baseline load, we have all sorts of ‘what if?’
questions to answer. What if I add partitions?
What if the use changes? What if someone
makes a mistake – should I add some spare
capacity? What if the design changes down the
line – will all my sizes need to change?
For some material choices, these decisions
may seem marginal, especially for off-the-shelf
prefabricated elements, where we may discover
either that the temporary load governs the
design or the span isn’t near the limit, so we
can increase the loads at no extra cost (to that
element).
So often, these decisions are made before we
îFIGURE 3: Less material use (and smaller spans or loads) typically results in lower embodied carbon
19
thestructuralengineer.org | February 2022
Carbon-driven design Technical
THE LOAD WE
DESIGN FOR IS ALSO
A FUNCTION OF THE
CHOICES WE MAKE ...
WHICH MAY SEEM
COUNTERINTUITIVE
have even decided on the material type, using
past experience, but this isn’t always helpful.
And again, it is not that increasing the loads
is the wrong thing to do, but we do need to
account for the extra carbon cost.
We also need to consider the loads from
finishes, ceilings, services. We typically try to be
conservative, but especially when we design for
lightweight structures, these loads may surpass
the weight of the structure itself. So, can we be
more prescriptive about what can and can’t be
included and try to keep these to a minimum?
Structural system
The material choice will also impact on whether
we use loadbearing walls, frames, or a hybrid
system (Figure 5). Steel lends itself to frames
(unless building cold-rolled platform frames).
Concrete also tends to lead to frames. Timber,
on the other hand, leads to more choice – with
both mass timber (cross-laminated timber,
CLT) and joisted timber working either with
19/01/2022 14:04
 Technical Carbon-driven design

REPRODUCED FROM STRUCTURAL TIMBER ELEMENTS,

loadbearing walls, frames, or a hybrid of the

2ND EDITION, 2017, BY PERMISSION OF BM TRADA

two.
In part, the decision will also depend on
the foundation, as we will see in a moment
(remember all these are actually happening
at once), the intended use on day one and
whether we want cellular or open spaces.
The other consideration is future flexibility.
While loadbearing walls offer advantages in
terms of both off-site construction and load
distribution at foundation level, they do limit
the flexibility and ability to relocate walls in the
future5.

Foundations
I am sure we all know the maxim less is more.
And at the start of this article, I pointed out that
generally less is less. Well, we can go a step
further, because less is not just less. Less is
more less! In simple terms, there are two places
where carbon is embodied: the superstructure
and the substructure. By reducing the weight
of materials in the superstructure (and the other
loads), we can reduce the foundations.
This becomes particularly impactful when
we make a change in foundation type. For
example, by going from piles to pads/strips. Or
by going from concrete strips to concrete-free
foundations. By understanding where these
thresholds occur and designing around them,
we can save significantly more carbon.
The challenge is, of course, that this is very
site specific, and while a desk study will give
us an idea of what to expect and the type of
foundation that is likely, it will only be once we
have the full site investigation that we can make
the final decision. Sadly, by then, many of the
decisions will already have been made.
But even if we don’t know the exact ground
type, lower loads generally mean less embodied
carbon in the construction and materials used
in the ground. And by using timber (which is the
lightest of the typical construction materials) and
keeping imposed loads to a minimum, we can
aim for the lowest possible embodied carbon in
the substructure.
Serviceability requirements
REPRODUCED FROM STRUCTURAL TIMBER ELEMENTS,
BY REDUCING THE
WEIGHT OF
MATERIALS IN THE
SUPERSTRUCTURE
(AND THE OTHER
LOADS), WE CAN
REDUCE THE
FOUNDATIONS
design – whether vibration requirements in
offices, or the internal partition head deflection
requirements. While these considerations are
important, they should also be challenged. If
they are necessary (as vibration requirements
might be in a hospital theatre or laboratory),
then the design may need to change from
timber to something stiffer with more mass – a
steel frame with concrete slabs, or a concrete
frame or CLT with concrete topping.
As noted earlier, this change of material will
be less challenging to accommodate than a
move to timber from steel or concrete. This is
because headroom will typically increase and
structural sizes reduce. In addition, steel and
concrete are always able to match timber
ëIGURE 4: Timber floor options and spans
Of course, these increases in performance
will come at a carbon cost. Again, it is time to
question the brief: what is the purpose of the
building and what comes first? These are not
simple questions to answer, but by inviting the
conversation (in the same way as we would
around cost), we can work out the priorities of
the project.
Facade
The type of facade has many impacts. Not least
the slab edge deflections, which often need
to be highly controlled. If we have a timber
structure, it may not be possible to achieve the
required values, especially when considering the
long-term deflections. However, there are two
questions that we can ask.
First, are the deflection criteria really
appropriate? If we need to change the structural
material purely to achieve slab edge deflections
for the facade, is the design really working,
or should we consider a different facade type
or support detail? Has the facade supplier
fully considered the carbon impact of its own
requirements?
Second, can we stack the facade off the
ground, rather than supporting it off each
floor. In this way, we may be able to allow for a
degree of movement and, as a result, continue
to utilise the proposed framing system.

Serviceability requirements often govern spans, whereas the converse is not always true. Of course, if we have opted for a loadbearing
2ND EDITION, 2017, BY PERMISSION OF BM TRADA

îFIGURE 5: Options
for structural system

a) Hybrid b) Framed c) Loadbearing

20
February 2022 | thestructuralengineer.org

Technical carbon_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 20 19/01/2022 14:05


ìFIGURE 6:
Incorporating straw-bale
insulation into wall panels
at Hayesfield School
ìFIGURE 7: Timber can be prefabricated
into cassette panels to reduce waste and
construction time
system around the perimeter of the building, the
conversation becomes quite different. Here we
might consider instead whether the walls may
also form part of the envelope, with insulation
between studs. Can we minimise on-site work
by prefabricating not just the structural panels
but by including insulation and cladding? Can
we consider the use of sustainable insulation
materials such as straw bale (Figure 6)?
Method of construction
Which leads us on to the consideration of
WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DESIGNING AND BUILDING
WITH TIMBER?
Attend the IStructE’s Modern uses of timber in a changing environment conference, 22–23
March 2022. Details at www.istructe.org/events/hq/modern-timber-conference.
Technical carbon_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 21
Carbon-driven design Technical
our concept. From materials to grids. From
foundations to facades. It also creates tensions.
Good tensions. Where before we might have
increased the load without thinking about the
carbon cost, or we might have limited facade
deflection without considering the carbon cost,
now we need to weigh one against the other.
This becomes especially powerful if the client
and other members of the design team have
bought into the desire for a low-carbon building,
as we can pose the questions to them. These
INTEGRAL ENGINEERING
questions often go unasked and undiscussed.
A client may not realise that we are designing
deflections for brittle finishes, and that this
in turn may have a carbon cost. By making
these tensions explicit, we can ensure that the
decisions we have often made on the architect’s
or client’s behalf become conversations.
We may change our facade supplier to one
who can accommodate greater slab edge
deflections. We may look for a contractor who
can facilitate prefabrication and minimise waste.
And while timber is not the only material that
can achieve our low-carbon goal, by starting
with timber in our iterative design process, we
can work towards a low-carbon solution which
doesn’t exclude it from the outset, giving us
greater choice as we develop the design.
REFERENCES
1) Norman J., De’ath R., Carr J. et al. (2020)
Conceptual design of buildings, London:
IStructE Ltd
2) Gibbons O. and Orr J. (2020) How to
SIMON SMITH
calculate embodied carbon, London: IStructE
Ltd
3) Arnold W., Cook M., Cox D., Gibbons
O. and Orr J., ‘Setting carbon targets: an
introduction to the proposed SCORS rating
scheme’, The Structural Engineer, 98 (10), pp.
8–12
prefabrication. By prefabricating the structure,
we can reduce waste (which also has – although 4) Roynon J. (2020) Embodied carbon:
structural sensitivity study [Online] Available
often unaccounted for – a carbon footprint), at: www.istructe.org/resources/case-study/
as well as make construction time shorter embodied-carbon-structural-sensitivity-study/
and reduce the risk of accidents. Timber can (Accessed: January 2022)
be easily prefabricated, from cassette panels 5) Norman J. (2017) ‘Section 5.1.1 Sawn
(Figure 7) to modular CLT buildings. timber floors’, in: Structural timber elements:
a pre-scheme design guide (2nd ed.), High
Wycombe: BM TRADA
Conclusion
By starting with the brief that our building should 6) Walker J. and Norman J. (2021) ‘Designing
timber buildings for longevity’, The Structural
have a limited carbon footprint, we can see how
Engineer, 99 (11), pp. 56–59
this helps us to make decisions as we develop
HAVE
YOUR
SAY
tse@istructe.org
@IStructE
#TheStructuralEngineer #TheStructuralEngineer
21
thestructuralengineer.org | February 2022
19/01/2022 14:05
 Technical Developments in structural glass
Developments in
structural glass
GRAHAM COULT
BEng(Hons)
Technical Director, Eckersley
O’Callaghan, London, UK
MAURO OVEREND
BE&A(Hons), MSc, PhD, CEng,
MIStructE
Professor of Structural Design
& Mechanics, Department of
Architectural Engineering + Technology,
TU Delft, the Netherlands
Introduction
The use of glass in structural design has
grown rapidly. It is an exciting material to
work with and in its finished state it has
an exceptional transparency. Although
it has a relatively low strength-to-weight
ratio, it is made from silica sand, one
of the most abundant materials in the
Earth’s crust.
As a purely elastic material, it can
break dramatically. In rare cases, this is
particularly true of fully tempered glass
(Box 1), as can be seen with broken
side or rear windows of cars.
Historically, there has been little
effective guidance for the engineer to
turn to for a standardised approach
to design. There have been various
draft guidelines, such as prEN 134745
and prEN 16612, which can perhaps
be considered as forerunners to a
European glass code that is currently
in development. prEN 16612 is now a
fully-fledged standard – BS EN 166126
– but its scope is limited to infill panels,
and so forth.
This lack of codified guidance has
required individuals or companies to
research the fundamental characteristics
of the materials, to test and to verify
basic design principles, or to carry out
desktop research of published papers,
etc. This is not a practical approach
for those who want to find a safe,
practical and time-efficient solution for
a simple common glass structure such
as a balustrade. Although professional
development must always be supported
and lauded, it is best served when
efficient and achievable.
Technical Glass_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 22
The Institution has previously
addressed this knowledge gap with the
publication of its guide to the Structural
use of glass in buildings7, aiming to
educate engineers and specifiers and to
provide guidance with design. The guide
has proved extremely popular, with
the second edition (published in 2014)
selling over 700 copies to customers
in more than 20 countries and being
downloaded over 1000 times a year
via the IHS Construction Information
Service.
An introduction to the material is
also available in Technical Guidance
Note Level 1, No. 35: Introduction to
structural glass8.
However, since the second edition
was published, the steady march of
progress has provided an even wider
variety of products from manufacturers
encompassing sizes (Figure 4), shaping
possibilities and an ever-greater number
of interlayer materials; not to mention
the decorative and other secondary
functionality.
This article introduces a series of
short technical notes which aim to
summarise some of these developments
for structural engineers to bridge the
gap until the planned glass Eurocode,
and an accompanying IStructE manual,
are published.
Glass Eurocode
The European glass code, ‘Design
of glass structures’, is expected to
be released for public comment as a
Technical Standard in mid-2022. The
document will be available through
BSI. After a period of nominally two
A HAMMER FALLING
ONTO A GLASS FLOOR
CAN HAVE SERIOUS
CONSEQUENCES IN TERMS
OF HUMAN INJURY AND
COSTS OF REPAIR/
REPLACEMENT
22
February 2022 | thestructuralengineer.org
years, during which users can provide
comments and feedback though the
UK’s committee, the comments will be
collated and debated at the European
level. The document will then be
issued as a draft European Standard
(prEN) for a further period of comment,
before eventually being published as a
European Standard (EN) along with a
national annex.
The most significant new feature in
this draft standard is the introduction of
two additional limit states in the design of
glass structures.
The familiar ultimate limit state (ULS)
and serviceability limit state (SLS),
which consist of combinations of
actions – ULS: persistent or transient
(fundamental), accidental, seismic design
situation; SLS: characteristic, frequent,
quasi-permanent combination – will
feature in this new standard and will be
similar to those used in the design of
other structural materials through the EN
1990 process.
However, these two limit states are not
sufficient to ensure a safe glass structure.
Some glass structures must also be
designed to fail safely in the event of
glass fracture. For example, a hammer
dropped onto a concrete slab has no
significant consequences, but a hammer
falling onto a glass floor can have serious
consequences in terms of human injury
and costs of repair/replacement. For
this reason, the new draft standard will
include a fracture limit state (FLS) and a
post-fracture limit state (PFLS).
The FLS is intended to ensure that,
at the instant of fracture, the glass
fails in a manner that does not cause
unacceptable risks of human injury
or economic loss. Whereas the PFLS
ensures that the fractured glass does not
cause unacceptable risks of human injury
or economic loss for a limited period of
time (e.g. until the fractured glass can be
replaced).
To demonstrate this, we can imagine
a scenario where routine maintenance
or cleaning is being carried out around a
rooflight, and the operative accidentally
drops a tool onto the glass panel with
enough force to initiate a fracture
(Figure 5).
20/01/2022 09:41

Box 1. Strengthening methods for glass
MATTHIAS HALDIMANN
Fully tempered glass is much stronger
that than the untreated/unstrengthened
glass that is manufactured in traditional
float plants. The float process, which was
first developed by Sir Alastair Pilkington
in 1952, introduced the mass production
of flat undistorted glass. (As an aside, Sir
Alastair was not related to the Pilkington
family for whom he was working.)
This added strength is achieved
by heating and air quenching a glass
sheet. The outer surface cools and
solidifies while the inner core remains
viscous enough to continue to contact.
When the whole panel reaches ambient
temperature, the core is in a state
of tension, while the exterior is in
equilibrium balancing compression
(Figure 1). This compressive residual
surface stress increases the ability of the
glass to carry load before the surface is
subject to tensile strain.
The strength of glass is around 40GPa,
but cracks that are invisible to the naked
eye create a problem. A.A. Griffith1
demonstrated in 1921 that such surface
cracks concentrate the stress such that
the actual strength of the brittle material
sheet is much lower than the theoretical
molecular strength.
If an applied load extends these
ìFIGURE 3: Young’s modulus of popular laminating polymers
Technical Glass_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 23
Developments in structural glass
îFIGURE 2: Fracture patterns of glass3
a) Annealed glass
ëFIGURE 1: Principle of glass tempering (adapted from Sedlacek et al.)3,4
ë
cracks into the tensile zone, then the
elastic strain energy of the glass is
released. (This can also happen because
of internal defects such as nickel
sulphide inclusions and air bubbles.)
Cracks can propagate through the
material at over 1450m/s2, so the fracture
can be sudden and unexpected.
A benefit of strengthening is that the
glass will crack into small cubic particles.
This is why it is often referred to as
‘safety glass’. However, this does not
mean that it is safe to use in any location.
From this same standard material
that comes from the float plant, we
can overcome the shortcomings of the
flaws in the material by adding strength
through heat tempering, but that comes
with consequences.
Alternatively, the glass could be
specified as heat strengthened. This is
subjected to similar heat tempering, but
the cooling rate is modified so that the
elastic strain is low enough to prevent
fragmentation into small particles
upon failure. Instead, cracks will stop
propagating if the glass is unloaded, but
it will separate into large sharp fragments
if the applied load continues (Figure 2).
To overcome these issues, polymers
were invented to bond glass sheets
23
thestructuralengineer.org | February 2022
Technical
MATTHIAS HALDIMANN
b) Heat-strengthened glass c) Fully toughened glass
together. Although not the first
laminating material, polyvinyl butyral
was developed by Carleton Ellis in 1938
and was immediately useful to minimise
injuries arising from motorcar accidents,
particularly in the windscreen.
To make the most of these laminated
panels, particularly in out-of-plane
loading scenarios, requires a knowledge
of composite design, in particular,
sandwich theory. The laminating polymer
has a more complex behaviour than
the glass. Not only are the materials
generally viscoelastic, but they are also
temperature dependent. To demonstrate
this, Figure 3 compares the Young’s
modulus of the more ‘popular’ materials.
The interlayer is selected on the
performance requirements, such
as strength, stiffness, operating
temperature, and load duration.
Additionally, it can also be chosen based
on requirements for clarity, colour, glass
surface profile, acoustics, and even fire.
The number of permutations that are
available is immense, and that is without
delving into how the glass can be
shaped into curved and more complex
forms. In this respect, designing with
glass is unlike many other traditional
materials.
20/01/2022 09:41
Technical Developments in structural glass

íFIGURE 4: Increase of
processing length

This example shows the variable

performance and limit states
the designer will be applying. It
demonstrates that a relatively intricate
level of design and assessment is
required for a seemingly inconsequential
or minor building element. However,
with such a wide use, unsafe practices
have occurred and unfortunately will
continue to do so. It is incumbent on
us all to work within our expertise and
design safely.

Upcoming articles
To help bridge the availability of
guidance and information, the Institution
plans to share further best practice.
A manual to accompany the glass
Eurocode will be published in due
course; but in the interim, we plan
to issue a series of technical notes
in The Structural Engineer, focusing
on individual topics and containing
examples of common design scenarios.
Upcoming articles are expected to cover
balustrades, treads and floorplates, and
finite element analysis.

REFERENCES

1) Griffith A.A. (1921) ‘The

phenomena of rupture and flow in
solids’, Philos. Trans. Royal Soc.
A, 221, pp. 163–198; https://doi.
org/10.1098/rsta.1921.0006
2) Nielsen J.H., Olesen J.F. and
Stang H. (2009) ‘The fracture process
of tempered soda-lime-silica glass’,
Exp. Mech., 49, p. 855; https://doi.
org/10.1007/s11340-008-9200-y
3) Haldimann M. (2006) Thesis 3671.
Fracture strength of structural glass
elements – analytical and numerical
modelling, testing and design,
Lausanne: EPFL
4) Sedlacek G., Blank K., Laufs
W. and Güsgen J. (1999) Glas im
Konstruktiven Ingenieurbau, Berlin:
Ernst & Sohn
5) European Committee for
Standardisation (CEN) (2009) prEN
13474: Draft European Standard:
Glass in building. Determination of
the strength of glass panes
6) British Standards Institution
FIGURE 5: Limit states for glass (2019) BS EN 16612:2019 Glass in
building. Determination of the lateral
load resistance of glass panes by
HAVE calculation, London: BSI
YOUR
SAY 7) O’Regan C. (2014) Structural use of
tse@istructe.org glass in buildings (2nd ed.), London:
IStructE Ltd

A RELATIVELY INTRICATE 8) Institution of Structural Engineers

(2014) ‘Technical Guidance Note
LEVEL OF DESIGN AND Level 1, No. 35: Introduction to

ASSESSMENT IS REQUIRED @IStructE structural glass’, The Structural

#TheStructuralEngineer #TheStructuralEngineer Engineer, 92 (3), pp. 38–42

24
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 thestructuralengineer.org/jobs
The Structural Engineer Jobs is the official jobs board
for The Institution of Structural Engineers.
The perfect place to find the latest

350
structural engineering vacancies.
posted on
jobs average
every month

TSE.Feb22_025.indd 25 20/01/2022 08:47

 Industry CPD Supplied and sponsored by Griffiths & Armour

Supplied and
sponsored by Industry CPD
Back to basics in troubled
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obligations to your insurer
This CPD module, Continuing professional development Introduction
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offers guidance to and Technician members of the Compliance with those conditions can be
engineers on when Institution must complete a specified challenging for insured engineers because,
they should notify amount each year. All CPD undertaken while the relevant wording might seem clear
their professional must be reported to the Institution enough on paper, in practice it can be innocently
annually. Reading and reflecting on misinterpreted, sometimes with painful
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1 hour of verifiable CPD Current market turmoil

The withdrawal of capacity from the UK PI
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engineers, higher excesses and restrictions in
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reducing the likelihood of claims being rejected
for a technical breach of policy conditions. But
when those insurers withdraw from the market,
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Claims made cover

Claims made, as a classification tag for PI
insurance, is in fact shorthand for ‘claims made
and notified in accordance with policy conditions’.
PI policies respond only to Claims (as defined)
which are both made against the engineer during
the policy period and also notified to the insurers
during the same period. If Claims are not notified
within the correct period, then the relevant
It is important to act condition will not have been satisfied and the
promptly and notify your
broker of any claims or
insurers will be entitled to refuse indemnity.
circumstances arising
within the policy period Claims v circumstances
The definition of ‘Claim’ under any PI policy

26
February 2022 | thestructuralengineer.org

CPD_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 26 19/01/2022 14:07


wording usually refers to the instigation or threat
of some formal procedure along the lines of
arbitration, adjudication or legal proceedings, but
by extension it usually also encompasses any
articulated form of demand for compensation.
Fortunately, the definition won’t usually contain
any surprises and furthermore the natural reaction
of most engineers upon becoming aware of
any such communication would be to contact
their brokers as a matter of priority. In practice,
therefore, it is relatively unusual for Claims not to
be reported promptly and within the relevant policy
period (although see below in relation to ‘Spurious
allegations’).
Misunderstanding is more likely to arise in
relation to the separate policy obligation to notify
‘circumstances which might give rise to a Claim’
(there are different versions of this wording, but
the variations are only minor and they amount to
the same thing). Any such misunderstanding can
be fatal if it leads to notifiable circumstances not
being communicated to the insurers within the
correct policy period.
The two-pronged test
In practice, a telephone call to their broker to
discuss a specific situation will always be the
best way for any engineer to decide, if they are
CPD_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 27
Supplied and sponsored by Griffiths & Armour
Consider the objective
test: are there
circumstances that might
give rise to a claim?
unsure, whether their circumstances are notifiable
for insurance purposes. However, and as an
insight into where any such conversation might
lead, it may be useful to bear in mind not only any
definition of ‘circumstances’ that might appear in
the policy wording, but also the following simple
and well-established legal principles.
Essentially, there is a two-stage test, the first
of which might in practice only be applicable in
hindsight:
1) The objective test – there must be
circumstances which might give rise to a Claim.
This question must be approached impartially,
as a matter of fact, and without considering
whether or not defences might be available.
All that is important under this limb is whether
ENGINEERS HAVE TO
BE PREPARED TO
ENGAGE IN A DEGREE
OF SPECULATION
AGAINST
THEMSELVES
27
thestructuralengineer.org | February 2022
Industry CPD
it could be anticipated by someone with an
all-seeing eye that a Claim might be attempted
against the engineer.
2) The second limb (the subjective test) then
recognises that the engineer doesn’t have an
all-seeing eye or the benefit of hindsight until
after the event, and it recognises that under a
claims made policy wording one can only notify
circumstances (considered objectively) of which
one has an awareness within the policy period.
Both limbs of the test have to be satisfied in
order for a circumstance to be notifiable. Two
examples might help to illustrate this:
Ò| An engineer’s client has engaged solicitors
and commissioned an independent expert
witness report which is highly critical
of the engineer’s work. This satisfies the
objective test outlined above, but if all of the
engineer’s staff are oblivious to these facts,
then the subjective test is not satisfied, and the
circumstance is not notifiable. It will become
notifiable as soon as any such knowledge
reaches the engineer, whether by the arrival of
the solicitor’s letter or an unofficial tipoff that
such a letter is in the pipeline.
Ò| An engineer discovers that one of their
former employees designed foundations
for a housing development based on a
site investigation report that contained
ambiguous or inconsistent conclusions.
The correct course of action would have
been to request clarification or further
investigation of the ground conditions.
Instead, the employee appears to have
made assumptions and the development
is now completed and occupied. There
have been no reports of any movement
to the structures, nor has there been
any contact from the building owners.
Whether this scenario satisfies the objective
test depends on the engineering assumption
made by the ex-employee. Unless the engineer
is now able to show that the assumptions were
deliberately conservative and were intended
to eliminate any risks associated with the
inadequate site data, then the objective test
will probably be satisfied – there would be a
realistic risk of the assumptions turning out to
be wrong, which might lead to movement in
the substructure and subsequently a Claim
against the engineer. The fact that the engineer
has made this discovery then satisfies the
subjective test. It makes no difference that
the building owners and/or tenants may be
oblivious to any such risk.
The second of these two examples shows
that engineers have to be prepared to engage
in a degree of speculation against themselves,
simply as part of taking a step back and being
objective for the purposes of the first test. They
are not, however, required to enter the realms
of fantasy and dream up farfetched possibilities,
19/01/2022 14:07
 Industry CPD Supplied and sponsored by Griffiths & Armour
If in doubt about a
particular situation, it
is always advisable to
call your broker
for advice
since clearly that would no longer qualify as an
objective view.
Spurious allegations
A Claim is notifiable even if it is time barred,
completely misconceived on its facts or
defendable for any other reason – all that is
important is that some assertion has been made.
On the relatively rare occasions where Claims
have not been notified when they should have
been, the reason usually given is that the engineer
didn’t think it was necessary to notify Claims
which appeared unlikely ever to be pursued.
Unfortunately, this still technically amounts to a
breach of policy conditions.
Claims within the excess
Similarly, the definition of Claim makes no mention
of the policy excess and therefore all Claims are
notifiable regardless of their value, but subject in
practice to a de minimis principle.
Potential consequences of a failure
to notify
An engineer’s notification obligations are drafted
into the policy wording as ‘conditions’ within the
ordinary meaning of the term – they are conditions
which must be discharged in order to trigger
the insurer’s obligation to provide indemnity.
The problem is that the condition can only be
discharged within the policy period and there is no
CPD_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 28
opportunity to rectify any breach of this condition
once the policy term has expired.
Some policies contain additional provisions by
way of safety valves to allow for cases where the
relevant condition was breached in all innocence,
as is nearly always the case. However, those
provisions operate subject to further terms and
conditions which may or may not be satisfied.
Everything depends on the specific facts of
each case. Furthermore, those safety valves
never operate to log notifications against policies
that have expired. They may instead afford
cover under a later policy period, possibly with
restrictions in cover which would not have
applied if the notification had been made under
the earlier policy.
Why is this now more pertinent
than ever?
As outlined at the opening of this article, a hard
market implies much more than hefty premium
increases. It often involves having to forge new
relationships with different insurance providers
where circumstances force brokers to consider
carefully their options within an already limited
circle.
New relationships in any context can prove
to be fragile beneath the surface if put to the
test too soon. One example of this would be
asking an underwriter to cover a claim which
should have been reported under a previous
28
February 2022 | thestructuralengineer.org
policy but wasn’t, simply because the engineer
misunderstood their policy obligations.
This is potentially embarrassing even at the best
of times because it amounts to a U-turn on the
declaration, usually signed at renewal, saying that
the engineer was not aware of any circumstances
which might give rise to a Claim. However, it is
more palatable to an insurer to cover that claim
under the current policy when there has been a
continuous relationship with the engineer, meaning
that the Claim would have been covered by the
same insurer if it had been notified at the correct
time under an earlier policy.
Where, on the other hand, continuity has
been broken due to movements in the market,
the equivalent situation is anything but palatable
A CLAIM IS
NOTIFIABLE EVEN IF
IT IS TIME BARRED,
COMPLETELY
MISCONCEIVED ON
ITS FACTS OR
DEFENDABLE FOR
ANY OTHER REASON
19/01/2022 14:07

and the possibility of cover being refused for the
late notified Claim becomes more real – not to
mention the negative implications in terms of risk
perception for the following year’s renewal.
Closing remarks
Underwriters can be easily spooked by anything
they might regard as negative factors in a
practice’s risk profile, but nothing reduces their
appetite more than surprises in the form of
Questions
1) Select the most appropriate option to
complete the statement. An engineer’s PI
policy provides cover for:
Ò| potential claims notified by the engineer within
the policy period, regardless of when the
engineer became aware of the circumstances
Ò| potential claims notified by the engineer within
the policy period, regardless of when the
claimant drew the problem to the engineer’s
attention
Ò| potential claims of which the engineer first
becomes aware during the policy period and
which are notified to the insurers during the
same period
Ò| any matters of which the engineer becomes
aware during the policy period – the date of
notification to insurers is neither here nor there
2) Based purely on the limited information
provided below, which of the following is
most likely to be an immediately notifiable
circumstance under a PI policy with
market standard terms and conditions?
Ò| An engineer’s client has ceased paying
invoices. The project is costing more than
anticipated and the client appears to be
running out of money. The engineer is
instinctively worried that some finger pointing
might ensue at some point
Ò| An engineer is concerned because the
steelwork fabricator has gone bust prior to
the completion of a project on which both
parties have been working. The engineer’s
duties included a review of the fabricator’s
connection details in relevant areas, none of
which the fabricator in fact ever submitted for
review
Ò| An engineer discovers that a recent recruit
to their firm was primarily responsible for
a sizeable PI claim against their former
CPD_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 29
Supplied and sponsored by Griffiths & Armour
undisclosed material facts or matters which
should have been notified in previous policy
periods but weren’t.
The good news is that engineers’ policy
obligations are generally the same as they always
have been and none of the advice set out in this
article should amount to new practice. Following
that advice and properly understanding the
obligations is, however, more important at a time
when the market is continuing to evolve and a
To claim your CPD certificate, complete the module online
by 31 March 2022 at: www.istructe.org/industry-cpd
employer only last year owing to fundamental
oversights in their design. They appear to
have left that firm under something of a cloud
and the engineer now has serious concerns
that there may be latent errors in their more
recent work
Ò| An engineer’s client circulates an aggressively
worded email to the entire construction team
complaining of a general delay and failure to
meet milestone dates. No individual party is
named, and the engineer doesn’t feel singled
out, but the wording makes clear that the
client is losing money and expects to recover
from whoever is responsible
3) Which of the following, based solely on
the information provided here, is most
likely to fall within the definition of a Claim
rather than a mere circumstance that
might give rise to a Claim?
Ò| An engineer submits an invoice for payment
and in return receives a pay less notice from
the client. The client asserts that as a result of
the engineer’s breaches of their obligations,
they have incurred losses which exceed the
invoiced sum. A short list of bullet points
identifies the perceived breaches and the
cost attributed by the client to each of these
Ò| A letter from an engineer’s client gives
notice of termination of the appointment.
Contractually, they are under no obligation to
give a reason for this, but they nevertheless
cite irreconcilable differences that have
formed between themselves and the
engineer’s site representative
Ò| A structural engineer receives a letter from
solicitors who represent the employer
under a design-and-build project which
was completed some time ago. There is
no contract between the engineer and the
29
thestructuralengineer.org | February 2022
Industry CPD
change of provider from one year to the next
is a very realistic possibility.
Griffiths & Armour is a leading
independent and privately owned UK
insurance broker and risk management
adviser. For further information visit
www.griffithsandarmour.com. Griffiths
& Armour is authorised and regulated
by the Financial Conduct Authority.
employer, but the letter indicates that some
deflection has formed in a beam designed
by the engineer. It goes on to advise that a
Claim will be made under the main contract
and it requests copies of drawings from the
engineer to assist in that regard
Ò| An engineer is tipped off that their contractor
client has instructed solicitors who are
currently compiling what they describe as a
‘claim dossier’. The strategy is to ambush the
engineer with a 28-day adjudication and the
engineer is expected to receive the relevant
copy referral notice over the next 10 days
or so
4) Which of the following best describes
the most likely outcome of an engineer’s
failure to notify a Claim or circumstance in
accordance with policy conditions?
Ò| The Claim against the engineer is uninsured
under the current policy but may be insured
under a previous policy against which it ought
to have been notified
Ò| The Claim is insured under the current policy
so long as the engineer was insured with a
different insurer in previous years
Ò| The Claim is uninsured, subject only to any
lifelines available under any applicable special
conditions in the current policy
Ò| The Claim is insured under both the current
and any relevant previous policy against
which it should have been notified, in which
case the two insurers will negotiate an
apportionment between themselves
Supplied and sponsored by
19/01/2022 14:07
 Opinion Planning
Blockchain
application
technologyprocedures
Viewpoint
Rebuilding trust with
blockchain technology
Alastair Low-Macrae argues that blockchain technology may hold the key to some
of the issues around trust and transparency that the industry is currently grappling
with, particularly in the context of BIM.
The ongoing Grenfell Tower Inquiry has exposed
some significant issues with our modern
construction industry. One of the stand-out
systematic problems highlighted is the inherently
fragmented nature of the industry.
This fragmentation is evident in the way that
all projects are contractually set up. From
subcontracting to complex supply chains –
critical information can be lost, incorrectly
recorded or simply misplaced during the
exchange of information between the many
parties involved in the design, construction and
management of a modern project.
To regain the trust of society, our industry will
not only need to implement the
recommendations of the inquiry and
fundamentally re-examine its culture, but also
provide transparency in our systems of design
and construction, so that we can be held to
account without ambiguity. I believe that this can
be achieved via the application of blockchain
technologies, and the trust and transparency
they enable in the systems in which they are
applied.
What is a blockchain?
Blockchain technologies allow the recording,
transfer and storage of data in such a manner
that it is practically impossible to change, hack,
or cheat the ledger of record. The technology
uses complex cryptography to individually
encrypt each data entry (or block). These blocks
are then added to a digital ledger of transactions
(or chain) that is duplicated and distributed
across the network of users.
The advantage of this is that every user can
check the history of records and be certain of
their accuracy. Each time someone in the
network adds more information to the record, it
is shared with all the other participants, who can
check the record against their own to ensure
that the chain is unbroken. When consensus is
achieved, the entry is confirmed and added to
the chain. This process is what makes the
system decentralised, commonly referred to as
distributed ledger technology (DLT).
There are various ways in which the ‘work’ or
computing power associated with the
cryptographically backed transactions can be
completed. The original cryptocurrency project,
bitcoin, uses a proof-of-work protocol, while
Viewpoint + HP_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 30
many of the new third-generation smart contract
projects, such as Cardano, Ethereum 2.0 and
Polkadot, use proof-of-stake protocols. These
modern work protocols use a fraction of the
computing power and are far more scalable,
allowing more transactions that can be
interoperable between different projects. The
technology is evolving at a dramatic pace, in
part due to significant investment, which is
leading to new applications and greater
adoption.
One of the best references for understanding
this technology from a technical standpoint is
Blockchain revolution1, by Don and Alex
Tapscott. It is quite an eye-opener and outlines
how a technology that is still in its infancy may
change the world.
Applications in construction
In 2011, the UK government published a
Construction Strategy2 that required all publicly
funded projects to be completed to BIM Level 2
by 2016. Most engineering and architectural
consultancies now believe, rightly or wrongly,
that they are working to the Level 2 BIM
protocol, essentially producing a 3D model that
contains data and can be federated into a single
information source along with models produced
by other members of the design team.
A viewpoint published in The Structural
Engineer in 2018 entitled, ‘BIM: what’s the
point?’3, raises some important issues with the
existing standards. These are mainly associated
with future file compatibility, reliability of
information and uniformity of use. However, I
believe the introduction of DLTs to the existing
BIM standards will ultimately solve these issues
and allow the next level of BIM standards to be
realised.
The use of DLT will allow future owners to
confidently share their BIM assets with multiple
parties, be they consultants, contractors,
surveyors, developers or asset managers. The
information produced by these parties can then
be brought through the distributed ledger and
recorded with confidence, evolving the model
over time without losing the history of previous
revisions.
The possibilities arising from having trust in
the BIM asset and its associated data are vast.
In addition to the inherent benefits of being able
30
February 2022 | thestructuralengineer.org
to record information in a transparent and
trusted way, other innovations can be linked in to
this record of information to gain further benefits.
Lifecycle analysis and the circular
economy
DLT can be used to track the history of materials
from source to site, helping increase confidence
in the supply chain and allowing the embedment
of verified material sources in the BIM asset. This
will become more important when carbon taxes
are introduced and developers need to start
auditing the environmental credentials of the
materials they are using. The level of equivalent
carbon emissions is just one of the numerous
environmental impact factors that should be
considered holistically within the assessment of
a project’s sustainability.
My thought piece, The Carbon Conundrum4,
outlines the nuances of this assessment, and
digitising the environmental data into a BIM
asset would only help to better understand the
sustainability of a project. It’s not about awards
and ratings, it’s about transparency and trust;
blockchain-enabled BIM assets would allow
auditors to accurately and honestly scrutinise
the lifecycle of a project.
Trusted and accurate records of information
are critical to assessing the reusability of a
material. A blockchain-enabled BIM asset would
be capable of storing information for individual
steel elements. This includes design stresses,
subgrades and the latest date of painted
coatings. The data block associated with this
physical element could then be transferred to
another physical site and digital model for reuse
– retaining its historical records and data. This is
how a true circular economy can be achieved.
Interestingly, this has already been adopted
by the world of contemporary art. Non-fungible
tokens (NFTs) are an application of DLT and their
adoption has exploded over the past year. How
long until asset managers begin to create NFTs
for their properties?
Live payment systems
The current system of clients paying contractors
and contractors paying subcontractors is highly
inefficient. Furthermore, late payment – and
indeed non-payment – has been a major issue
for decades, leading to low growth and
19/01/2022 14:09
 Blockchain technology Opinion

depressed productivity. To combat this, the UK
parliament is debating the Small Business
Commissioner and Late Payments etc Bill [HL],
2019–21, which aims to introduce Project Bank
Accounts (PBA) for all public construction
projects. These bank accounts will hold money
centrally and help to avoid the inefficiencies
associated with the existing trickledown
process.
DLT can then be used to interface between
this PBA and the centralised BIM asset to
facilitate payments based on the work actually
completed. Imagine, as a piling contractor,
seeing money enter your account for each pile
installed and signed off. Deductions to each
payment could be made for H&S or specification
errors, incentivising contractors through
continuous payment to hit predefined
performance targets. This would be a stark
difference to the current system, which can
result in poor quality, late payments and
contractual disputes.
How do we make this happen?
The digitisation of built environment assets will
likely be driven by a combination of legislation
and private investment. The introduction of
legislation focusing on climate change is coming
and assessors will likely require audited records
of the materials used in construction projects.
Companies like Autodesk and Bentley will be
key players in the development of software
that will integrate DLT and allow the trusted
digitisation of building assets to be realised.
The risk that many consultants face –
including structural engineers – is of a tech
giant, such as Sidewalk Labs (part of the
Google/Alphabet group), forming a purpose-
built client developer focused on mining data
from every aspect of the project’s lifecycle. A
company like this would completely
revolutionise the way in which projects are
designed, built, used and reused.
Structural engineers will always be relevant
and required. Yet, the way we work and the
design processes we employ will look very
different in the coming decades.
Alastair
A Low-Macrae
CEng,
C MIStructE, FRSA
Alastair is a Senior Engineer at London
Structures Lab, a tech-focused structural
engineering consultancy. He is a member of
the Institution’s Structural Futures
Committee and his research is being
developed through a Fellowship with the
Royal Society of Arts.
REFERENCES
1) Tapscott D. and Tapscott A. (2018)
Blockchain revolution (updated ed.), s.l.:
Penguin Business
2) Cabinet Office (2011) Government
Construction Strategy [Online] Available
at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/
government-construction-strategy
(Accessed: January 2022)
3) Leighton K. (2018) ‘BIM: what’s the
point?’, The Structural Engineer, 96 (9),
p. 34
4) Low-Macrae A. (2020) The Carbon
Conundrum [Online] Available at: www.
londonstructureslab.com/post/the-carbon-
conundrum (Accessed: January 2022)
HAVE
YOUR
SAY
tse@istructe.org
@IStructE
#TheStructuralEngineer #TheStructuralEngineer

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Viewpoint + HP_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 31 19/01/2022 14:09

 Opinion Book review

Review
Mike Cook takes hope from this inspirational book which illuminates a path towards the profound
transformation required to arrive at a sustainable future for the planet.

Flourish: design THIS IS A BOOK THAT IS WELL SUITED TO

ANYONE – engineer, architect, planner, contractor,
and dangerous model for our long-term future.
Survival relies on a symbiotic relationship between
paradigms for client – who is interested to hear how we could all living things and in the long term it is through

our planetary evolve new ways of thinking and living that could
secure the safe and just world we need to build.
collaboration and empathy that life forms prevail.
This is true of human life as much as any other.
emergency COP26 may have given us a glimmer of hope that
things are starting to change, but the reality is that
5) Planetary health: we must rethink the
measures by which we judge what is right – our living
national governments and big businesses are simply metrics. It is no secret that gross domestic product
Authors: Sarah Ichioka and not brave enough to initiate the paradigm shift that (GDP) is a dangerous master, and the authors
Michael Pawlyn is needed, let alone follow it through. insist that we must find new metrics to guide our
Publisher: Triarchy Press In essence, the message is that we have to regenerative development. Such measures need to
Price: £20 change our mindsets – not just yours and mine, be based on what we value, and what will ultimately
ISBN: 978-1-913-74326-0 but everyone’s. At first, this seems daunting, but give us and future generations the opportunity to
the authors both believe that such change can be flourish alongside nature and the whole ecosystem.
contagious, so it is up to us the start the ball rolling. This skim across the chapters does not do justice
The book sets out five themes, one per chapter, to the depth of discourse that the authors develop,
that illuminate a path of necessary transformation. using examples from the past and the present,
It is a compelling narrative that helps the reader illustrated well and explained within the context of
grasp the breadth of change needed without it other great thinkers and writers.
becoming overwhelming. As structural engineers,
It is, in fact, inspiring. The many of us have
authors talk to the reader embarked on a journey to
as if in conversation use our work to reduce
rather than a lecture, and A COMPELLING the harm we do to this
this makes it a rather NARRATIVE THAT planet and focus on
personal journey of
discovery through what
HELPS THE READER the benefits we could
bring. Currently, there is
is quite new territory for GRASP THE BREADTH a focus on reducing the
many of us.
Looking just briefly
OF CHANGE NEEDED CO2 emissions that arise
from our projects – the
at these five themes WITHOUT IT materials we use, the
shows how profound the BECOMING efficiency with which
changes must be:
1) Possibilism: looking
OVERWHELMING we use them, and the
questions we ask about
back at whatwha has made the need for new build
profound change
ch happen rather than reuse. But
in people’s lives
l helps us see how big events, like we can see that this will not be enough to create a
plague and war, can stimulate big change, but zero-carbon construction industry, let alone to save
also that big visions, such as Martin Luther King’s the planet.
‘I have a dream’,
dre can start to spread inspiring and I think this book, alongside others, such as Kate
contagious ideas. We must believe big change is Raworth’s Doughnut economics and Jason Hickel’s
possible and believe in possibilism. Less is more, does set out a way we could approach
2) Co-evo
Co-evolution as nature: we need to take a the future that rings true and feels important. I
fresh perspective
perspe on our relationship with nature hope it is read widely and that the authors’ dream
and the planet.
plan This means returning to the idea of changing mindsets, one at a time, is contagious
that we are an integral part of the natural world, not and that this will start to drive the paradigm shift we
its master. This
T demands a new, more generous, know is essential.
attitude to a all life around us.
3) A long
longer now – deep time: we have to see
ourselves within
w a far longer timeframe than we Mike Cook
have become
becom used to, recognising our role in the MA, PhD, CEng, FREng, FIStructE
context of millions
m of years of historical evolution, Dr Mike Cook is Chair of the Institution of
and d responsibility
respons to future generations far beyond Structural Engineers Climate Emergency Task
tthose
hoose we will
wi even know. Group, a past Vice-President and Gold Medallist in
4) Symbiogenesis:
Symbi this means changing our 2020. He is a Visiting Professor at Imperial College
beliefs about
abou our relationship with our fellow citizens and Chairman of Seratech Ltd, a zero-carbon
and recognising
recogni that survival of the fittest is a poor concrete start-up.

32
February 2022 | thestructuralengineer.org

Book review_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 32 19/01/2022 14:10


Review
John Lyness recommends this comprehensive book to all those interested in the development of
structural forms, those developing physical models, and those structural analysts making physical
model comparisons with CAD output.
Physical models: THIS BOOK PROVIDES an extensive historical
review of the engineering use of physical models of
Their historical structures of all types, over the last two millennia.
and current The book comprises five chronologically ordered
sections, with each containing up to 10 articles
use in civil written by a relevant expert in each structural or
physical model area.
and building Each article narrative is substantiated by a
engineering reference list and complemented by figures and
photographs of physical models. Very usefully,
design wherever possible, model scales are given
throughout and although the detailed coverage of
similitude derivations is not given in each article,
Editor: Bill Addis they can be accessed using the reference lists.
Publisher: Ernst & Sohn On a first reading of the book, it becomes
Price: £85.00 (print); apparent that, by the 20th century, physical
£76.00 (e-book) modelling expertise had become highly developed
ISBN: 978-3-433-03257-2 in a number of laboratories, design consultancies
and material development institutions. This
enabled the use of new materials for the design of
structures such as reinforced concrete (RC) shell
roofs, highway bridges, cooling towers, dams and
arenas.
Section A presents reviews and critiques of
physical models of structures from classical times
up until the end of the 19th century. The coverage
describes models used for masonry structures
and catenary (chain) models that were used for
bridges and ecclesiastical buildings. Towards the
end of this period, roof and bridge spans increased
substantially in parallel with the development of new
structural theories and materials.
The inversion of tensile catenary and hanging-
net models allowed the development of new
‘compres
‘compressive’ structural forms. The limits of the
applications of inverted tensile form models in
applicatio
design are wisely pointed out.
Togeth
Together, Sections B and C cover the physical
modelling of structures from the 1890s to the
1980s. Th This period includes the recoveries from
WWI and WWII which stimulated the development
structural materials and structural forms.
of new str
The ususe of RC, prestressed concrete and steel
fabrication rapidly expanded in response to the
modernisation of transport infrastructure, water
modernis
resources infrastructure and the construction of
large build
buildings. Principal among the structural
developments were the use of RC plates, RC shells
developm
for arch ddams and large roof spans in the forms of
folded pla
plates or shells.
was also a time for experimentation and for
This wa
refinements
nemen to physical model construction. Within
th
hese sections,
these sec model materials such as plaster
of Paris, micro
m concrete, rubber, gels, soap films
Persp are described, in addition to another
and Perspex
mo materials in other book sections. The
dozen model
dim
use of dimensional analyses and physical similitude
33
thestructuralengineer.org | February 2022
Book review_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 33
Book review Opinion
also evolved together with more representative model
loading systems and improved model instrumentation.
During the 20th century, the limits of model
instrumentation, the equivalent model loading
systems and the limits of model material behaviour
were quantified and allowed quantitative accuracy
assessments of model results. Also, the appropriate
use of physical models for form finding, elastic
behaviour and collapse behaviour verification was
rationalised so that the choices of physical model
scales, types and model boundaries could be
optimised for each of the design stages.
From the book, the peak use of physical models
in structural design appears to have been identified
as post-WWII. However, the case is made for the
continued relevance of physical models. Small-
scale models can now be efficiently produced using
3D printing technology or 3D reductive sculpting
processes.
Since the 1960s, instrumentation and
data-processing technologies have become
more inexpensive for recording experimental
measurements. This has been particularly
advantageous when recording and analysing
time–history results for the physical models used in
structural dynamics.
In Sections D and E, the use of models in some
contemporary areas of application is described – wind
loading, earthquake loading, geotechnical centrifuge
models, acoustic design, photoelasticity and
photogrammetry techniques, 3D printing for small-
scale model creation and the development of ‘shaking
tables’ for earthquake modelling.
Section E looks to the future and describes in
more detail the use of models to determine air flow
dynamics and gusting around structures, a review of
the principal global earthquake modelling institutions,
geotechnical centrifuge modelling case studies,
and the physical models used in connection with
the assessments of the acoustic and ventilation
performance of structures.
In summary, this comprehensive book provides
very thorough historical and engineering reviews of the
use of physical models and describes the advances
in structural forms and materials that necessitated
the development of these models to resolve design
problems and verify the structural behaviour of the
design – with public safety always a concern.
John Lyness
John Lyness is Reader Emeritus in Civil Engineering
at the Ulster University and currently the Research
Director of the Dry Stone Walling Association
of Ireland. Previously, he worked in offshore
engineering in London, structural design in Belfast
and then in the Ulster University.
19/01/2022 14:11
 Opinion Letters

Verulam
Send letters to…
HAVE All contributions to Verulam should be
YOUR submitted via email to: tse@istructe.org

SAY Contributions may be edited on the grounds

of style and/or length by the Institution's
Readers’ letters, comments and queries publishing department.

beaten up over the questions of Pooling our

supervision and responsibilities which his
own little anecdote confirms that, in knowledge
reality, he has little or no control over. DAVID BRETT
Forms of agreement between What a fascinating article: ‘100 not out:
consulting engineer and client, where a century of The Structural Engineer’ by
the client is appointing a contractor for Allan Mann was in the January issue
the execution of the permanent works, – about the history and evolution of our
will contain wording which leaves the flagship publication.
degree of supervision to the judgement We all stand on the shoulders of our
and discretion of the engineer. How distinguished ancestors, and learn from
helpful is this? Certainly not an issue on their research and experiences in the
which to abate fees. pages of our magazine.
In my view, it is less confusing to all if We also live in an ever-changing
we recognise and follow two very simple world, and The Structural Engineer has
understandings, namely had to change with it. The pandemic will
Ò| the consulting engineer does not owe probably mean that many of our
the contractor a duty of care members will be working remotely in
Anniversary Ò| the consulting engineer has the right
to assume that a contractor is
future so the magazine will become
even more important to keep them
issue competent in executing the informed and included in IStructE affairs.
permanent works designed by the
PETER SPARKES engineer.
Superb issue. Great cover, great content,
great style. Well done. Everything about
this publication is right. Knocks others Brian may be technically correct that
into a cocked hat. designers can assume contractors
Please do not change. are competent and, no doubt,
contractors can assume designers
This says it all: who are we to demur? are competent. However, in real life
there is a continuing theme in
‘safety’ that things go wrong

Design because of unauthorised departures

from design intent, or perhaps
responsibilities because of confusion in design
intent, or from construction error
BRIAN HUGHES and even design error. If we care
To my mind, Melvin Hurst (Verulam, about ‘safety’, prudence demands a
January 2022) is allowing himself to be degree of checking and verification.

Enter a sketch in the next competition – deadline 1 March 2022

The Dr D awin i g Bo
B ardd Sket
Sk etch
etch
ches must be: To take part, su
ubmit you
ourr
is The Structural • hand drawn (no CAD, except for o ‘gu gu
g uided fre
ree- entries
s to
t : tse@istructe.org
Enngi
gine
ine
eer
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uarterly
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rtt y hand’) Each pub blliish
s ed e entryy will
skket
e ch hin
i gc co
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gnnmment
enn receive e a frree sin nglgle e--bo
boookk
judg
dged
dg ed by Ro
ed Ronn Sl
S ade • at a suitable scale fo or pu
ublb ic
cattio
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tooo from theh Ins nstitit tu
t ttiio
onn’ss cur
u rent
FISt
S ru
St ruct
ctE
ct E of WSSP
P. intricate/detailed). list
st of tiitles
st ess.
e
P ease also submit a sho
Pl ort descriptio on (15 50 wordrd
ds)
s
to
o put the sketch into con
context.
nte
ext
xt. Background sketc
ch by Kev
K in Lyons (Lyons O’Neill)

34
February 2022 | thestructuralengineer.org

Verulam + HP_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 34 19/01/2022 14:12


I was fortunate to be working at Arup
during the time that Sir ‘Ted’ Happold
(Past President) was there, so was
impressed with his prophetic words
about the effects of climate change long
before this became a current issue.
We are now faced with new problems
to comply with ESG (environmental,
social and governance)
recommendations to reuse buildings,
components, and materials whenever
possible, and to design buildings for a
200-year life.
We have to ‘think beyond the brief’,
and try to guess what the building or
structure could be used for once its
initial use has been achieved. This leads
us onto design parameters such as wind
speeds which have increased during my
career, and could increase significantly
over the foreseeable future according to
a distinguished meteorologist colleague,
with extreme weather events becoming
ever more frequent.
We need to pool our knowledge to
meet the challenges of the future, so
The Structural Engineer will continue to
perform a vital role if we can
encourage members to ‘have their say’
and give us the benefit of their
knowledge and experience.
CM Exam on-
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Verulam + HP_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 35
In her Presidential Address (page
10), Jane Entwistle stressed the role
of the Institution in sharing
knowledge; it’s what we are here for
and how we all benefit from
membership. A glance over Allan’s
article will serve to recap what
knowledge had been generated and
shared over the century. He
concluded by reminding us that none
of this would be possible without
generous contributions from our
authors: so please continue to share!
Correct use of
grammar
STUART MARCHAND
I have to disagree with David Brett’s letter
in the November/December 2021 issue
of The Structural Engineer regarding
‘Using correct grammar’. The rules of
grammar are there to assist in producing
clear, concise and unambiguous English.
I am sure that if a linguist said to an
engineer that it really did not matter too
much where brackets were put in
equations, the engineer would reply
35
thestructuralengineer.org | February
October 2019
2022
Letters Opinion
WE ALL STAND ON THE
SHOULDERS OF OUR
ANCESTORS, AND LEARN
FROM THEIR RESEARCH
AND EXPERIENCES
robustly that it does matter. The fact that
some brackets may not be required, but
are inserted for clarity, is beside the point.
Similarly, incorrect use of grammar can
lead to changes of meaning. The fact
that the media totally ignore the rules of
grammar simply makes it harder for our
young people to learn what good English
looks like.
Whether or not text is grammatical
seems an endless topic arousing
passion. What we can surely all
agree on is that ‘communication’ is a
vital part of our skill set in the sense
of using language to convey to
others what we want built. How
many disputes have there been
about ambiguity?
Buy now for
12 months access
www.istructe.org/onlineexamprep
19/01/2022 14:13
 At the back Diary dates

Unless otherwise stated,

evening technical meetings
start at 18:00 and are free of
charge to attend.

History Study Group meetings

start at 18:00 and are free of

Diary dates
charge to attend. Registration
is not required except for the
Annual Business Meeting held
in January.

Industry workshops and CPD

courses are held at HQ unless Note that more current information may be available from
otherwise stated.
the Institution website: www.istructe.org/events

ONLINE CONFERENCES 9–10 February 10 March

15 March
Young researchers conference
13:00–16:00
Price: Free
Register: www.istructe.org/events/hq/2022/
young-researchers-conference/
22–23 March
Modern Uses of Timber in a Changing
Environment conference
14:00–18:00
Price: Members: £175.00 + VAT; Standard:
£275.00 + VAT; Student members: £45.00 +
VAT
Booking: www.istructe.org/events/hq/
modern-timber-conference/
ONLINE CPD COURSES
3, 10, 17, 24 February
Conceptual design for structural engineers:
an introduction
Presenter: Oliver Broadbent
10:30–12:30
Price: Members: £295.00 + VAT; Standard:
£395.00 + VAT
Booking: www.istructe.org/events/hq/2022/
conceptual-design-for-structural-engineers/
Temporary works design
Presenter: Ray Filip
10:00–17:30
Price: Members: £535.00 + VAT; Standard:
£715.00 + VAT
Booking: www.istructe.org/events/hq/2022/
temporary-works-design-course/
11 February
Eurocode 8: worked examples of the dynamic
analysis and seismic building designs
Presenter: Professor Costas Georgopoulos
10:00–17:00
Price: Members: £295.00 + VAT; Standard:
£395.00 + VAT
Booking: www.istructe.org/events/hq/2022/
demolition-and-structural-refurbishment/
3 March
Demolition and structural refurbishment
Presenter: Charles Treasure
10:00–17:30
Early booking price: Members: £295.00 + VAT;
Standard: £395.00 + VAT
Booking: www.istructe.org/events/hq/2022/
eurocode-8-worked-examples-of-the-dynamic-
analysis/
Writing skills for engineers
Presenter: Penny Taylor
10:00–17:30
Price: Members: £305.00 + VAT;
Standard: £415.00 + VAT
Booking: www.istructe.org/events/
hq/2022/writing-skills-for-engineers/
21 March
Lateral stability to building structures
Presenter: Chris O’Regan
14:00–18:00
Price: Members: £215.00 + VAT;
Standard: £285.00 + VAT
Booking: www.istructe.org/events/
hq/2022/lateral-stability-to-building-
structures/
29 March
Rapid calculations for engineers
Presenter: Rachael De’Ath
10:00–13:30
Price: Members: £185.00 + VAT;
Standard: £245.00 + VAT
Booking: www.istructe.org/events/
hq/2022/rapid-calculations-for-
engineers/

4, 11, 18, 25 February and 4 March 8 March REGIONAL GROUPS

Net-zero structural design
Presenters: Will Arnold and Oliver Broadbent
10:30–12:30
Price: Members: £535.00 + VAT; Standard:
£715.00 + VAT
Booking: www.istructe.org/events/hq/2022/
net-zero-structural-design/
8 February
Eurocode 9: design of aluminium
structures
Presenter: Meini Su
10:00–17:00
Price: Members: £295.00 + VAT; Standard:
£395.00 + VAT
Booking: www.istructe.org/events/hq/2022/
eurocode-9-design-of-aluminium-structures/
Business and strategic planning
Presenter: Parag Prasad
10:00–13:00
Price: Members: £215.00 + VAT; Standard:
£285.00 + VAT
Booking: www.istructe.org/events/hq/2022/
business-and-strategic-planning/
9 March
Dealing with domestic clients
Presenter: Rob Langley
13:00–17:00
Price: Members: £215.00 + VAT; Standard:
£285.00 + VAT
Booking: www.istructe.org/events/hq/2022/
dealing-with-domestic-clients/
Note that events are subject to change
due to Covid restrictions. Please
visit www.istructe.org/get-involved/
regional-groups/ for up-to-date
information and registration details.
CHESTER & NORTH WALES
3 February
Timber and concrete composite
bridges – Hessenpoort business park
in Zwolle (Online)
Ronald Rozemeijer
18:00
Secretary: James Drew

36
February 2022 | thestructuralengineer.org

Diary_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 36 19/01/2022 14:14

 Diary dates At the back

MIDLAND COUNTIES SOUTH EASTERN COUNTIES YORKSHIRE

15 February 22 February 16 February
Refurbishment of the historic Curzon Inaugural Meeting of South Presentations by Yorkshire Regional Group
Street station for HS2 (Online) Eastern Counties Region 2022 and Young Members (Online)
Jackie Heath annual visit by the President Various
17:30–19:00 (Online) 18:00–19:30
Chris O’Regan, Jane Entwistle and Contact: David Richardson
Secretary: Mahdi Hussein Darren Byrne (D.Richardson@leeds.ac.uk)
17:45–19:30
NORTHERN IRELAND Secretary: Nic Webb
Secretary: Anil Kumar
8 February OTHER EVENTS
The local implications of climate change SURREY 15 June
Dr John Lyness Building Conservation Summer School
18:15 14 February 2022: Conservation Engineering Day
Venue TBC Connections & Joints in Fibre Speakers: James Miller, Sarah Tattersall, Jon
Reinforced Polymeric Composite Avent, Brian Jarvis, Sinclair Johnston, Ed
16 February Structure (Online & in person) Morton
Leadership skills for structural engineers Behrouz Zafari 08:30–17:00
(Online) Jacqueline Wilson Hall (PRMB1099), Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester GL7
13:00–17:00 Main Building, Kingston University, 6JS
Penrhyn Road, Kingston-upon-Thames, Price: £195.00
22 February Surrey KT1 2EE Booking: www.tickettailor.com/events/
It shouldn't happen to an expert (Online) 18:00 for 18:30 start buildingconservationsummerschool/582744
(Joint meeting with Engineers Ireland)
Nick Russell Secretary: Ruslan Koutlukaev INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES
18:15
WALES Cape Town, South Africa
Secretary: Laura Killeen
8 February Monday 5–Wednesday 7 September 2022
INDIA Inauguration of incoming Chair and Eighth International Conference on
presentations by the President and Structural Engineering, Mechanics and
10 February Darren Byrne (Online) Computation
Climate change (Online) Nikki Stockbridge, Jane Entwistle, Web: www.semc.uct.ac.za/
Mike Sefton and Will Arnold Darren Byrne Register: www.semc.uct.ac.za/semc/register_
18:00 IST 18:00 exhibit/registration
Contact: Prof. Alphose Zingoni
Secretary: Geoff Carter (alphose.zingoni@uct.ac.za)

WESTERN CANADA
16 February Regional Group Committee members
Chartered Engineers Pacific – Annual should submit details of forthcoming
General Meeting (Online) events to: regionsupport@istructe.org
19:00–21:00 PST

Enter a sketch in the next competition – deadline 1 March 2022

The Dr D awin i g Bo
B ardd Sket
Sk etch
etch
ches must be: To take part, su
ubmit you
ourr
is The Structural • hand drawn (no CAD, except for o ‘gu guided free
rre
ee- entries
s to
t : tse@istructe.org
Enngi
gine
ine
eer s qua
er’’s uarterly
rtt y hand’) Each h pub blish
liis ed e entryy will
skket
e ch
chini g comp
co
omp
mpet
e ition, • from a real project or ass sssig
gnm
nment
enn receive e a frree sin ng glle e-
e-bo
book
ok
judg
dged
dg ed
ed by RoRonn Sl
S ade • at a suitable scale fo or pu
ublb ic
cattio
ionn (i( .e
e. no
ot to
too o from theh Ins nstitit tu
t ttiio
onn’s cur
u rent
FISt
S ru
St ruct
ctE
ct E of WSSP
P. intricate/detailed). list
st of tiitles
st ess.
P ease also submit a sho
Pl ort descriptio on (15 50 word rd
ds)
s
to
o put the sketch into con
context.
nte
ext
xt. Background sketc
ch by Kev
K in Lyons (Lyons O’Neill)

37
thestructuralengineer.org | February 2022

Diary_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 37 19/01/2022 14:14

 At the back Spotlight on Structures

All articles in Structures

are available free of
charge to paying-
grade members of
the Institution as one
of their membership
benefits. The journal
is available online at:
www.structuresjournal.
org

Read the latest issue

Volume 35 of Structures (January 2022) is now available to read at
www.sciencedirect.com/journal/structures/vol/35.
Editor-in-Chief, Leroy Gardner, has selected a paper on the flexural
buckling resistance of high-strength aluminium alloy H-columns as
his ‘Featured Article’ from this issue. The article will be available free
of charge for six months.

Editor-in-Chief’s Chinese and American specifications MPa and 557 MPa were collected and
can predict flexural buckling resistance analyzed. Finally, a new flexural buckling
Featured Article of such columns safely with an average curve was suggested for the estimation
Experimental investigation underestimation of 13%, 12% and 8%, of flexural-buckling resistance of high-
and design method of the respectively. Eighty-one column buckling strength extruded members.
flexural buckling resistance of tests available in the literature performed
high-strength aluminum alloy on extruded sections made of aluminum Ò| Read the full paper at https://doi.
H-columns alloy with the yield stress between 388 org/10.1016/j.istruc.2021.11.013
Lin Yuana, Qilin Zhanga,
Yuanwen Ouyangb
a
College of Civil Engineering,
Tongji University, Shanghai, PR
China
b
Shanghai Tongzheng Aluminum
Alloy Structure Engineering
Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai,
PR China

High strength aluminum alloy

members can be used if the
required cross-sections are
larger than those obtainable by
extrusion. The application range
of the current design codes for
aluminum structures is limited
for normal-strength material and
whether high-strength members
can be designed with the existed
buckling curves is examined.
Fourteen H-section columns made
from 7075-T6 were tested under
axial compression. The effects of
the different material properties
and imperfections on the flexural
buckling behavior of normal-
and high-strength columns
were analyzed numerically. The
column curves in European,

Register for alerts

If you’d like to receive regular updates about new content in Structures, register for email alerts at www.sciencedirect.com/.

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Spotlight_TSE Feb 2022_The Structural Engineer.indd 38 19/01/2022 14:30

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Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Leeds, Liverpool, find out more, please contact us at info@gmz.consulting
Manchester and Norwich, or to help us establish To see our YouTube channel for a few examples of how we
new teams in Southern England and Southern like to work, scan the QR code or go to
Scotland. https://bit.ly/3oGalmh.

Working for KPS offers exclusive access to

an exciting portfolio of current and upcoming
projects across the built environment, unrivalled
variety of work, competitive remuneration and
Seeking Senior
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professional development and career progression
Structural Engineers
opportunities at all levels.
We work collaboratively and rigorously,
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DLPLQJWRDFKLHYHSURIHVVLRQDOTXDOLÀFDWLRQDQG projects. Our team is characterised by its
have strong demonstrable experience within collective, people-focussed approach,
\RXUÀHOGVRIVSHFLDOLVP7HPSRUDU\ZRUNV and takes joy in delivering projects which
experience advantageous but not essential. We are functional, elegant and refined.
are particularly recruiting highways and drainage
designers. We’re looking for someone who is
passionate about structural engineering
For more information, or to submit your CV, email and delivering high-quality designs for
recruitmentkps@kier.co.uk clients. You will have a first-principles
mindset supported by strong expertise
in analysis and design, excellent
interpersonal skills and be a proactive
problem solver.

engenuiti.com/jobs/
recruitment@engenuiti.com

Make the journey. Leave a legacy.

42
February 2022 | thestructuralengineer.org

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43
thestructuralengineer.org | February 2022

P&S recreated.indd 43 19/01/2022 13:46

 Upcoming online
CPD courses
Eurocode 8: an
introduction to
seismic design
of buildings
10 February
09:30-17:30 GMT
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Members: From £295 + VAT
Learning outcomes
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Demolition
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Business Dealing with
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10:00-13:00 GMT 13:00-17:00 GMT
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