Architectural Education in Civil Engineering Challenges and Future Development

Development of the structural form is directly influenced by the architectural concern for aesthetic appeal. The architectural challenge is to create building forms that satisfy the functional requirements, yet are aesthetically and economically successful. The structural challenge is to create structural forms that accommodate the functional requirements while supporting the imposed loads as efficiency as possible. However, the structural form may be expressed as part of the architectural design. Architectural form means different things to different people. The term is applied by analysis to describe a basic model or simplified structural shape on which analysis is based. Designers prefer more precise descriptions of architectural form, essentially including the type of material is that the form of analysis to be adopted and nature of joints assumed often depend on the type of material used. It is virtually impossible to conceive a structural form without reference to material. The paper explains that just as in nature, built architectural forms are evolutionary. They are conditioned by external factors such as need for construction economy, appropriateness of shape to intended function, material strengths and weaknesses, good appearance and ease of maintenance. New stereotypes emerge when new materials and construction techniques are introduced. Practical structures are rarely efficient in a load-bearing sense. Some of the above factors may require compromise in shape and layout. Nevertheless, there are usually several forms of structure which might be considered appropriate and economic for a given set of circumstances. The paper indicates that form and structure are inseparable – without structure there is no form, without form there is no structure. The effect of making a simple crease in a piece of paper is extremely interesting. With no additional material a once-flexible element is now able to stand upright or span across a gap; a plane separating two spaces becomes a form in three dimensions which can enclose space. Familiarity can blind us to such remarkable and mysterious phenomena. What are we giving to this piece of paper to enable such a significant leap in both stiffness and stability? It can only be form. The three great form-makers of our civilization – engineers, architects and sculptors – represent distinct approaches to form design; yet, in the final instance, they can each realise their own visions only by integrating the three different approaches in their form-making.