Eminent Structural Engineer: David P. Billington (1927-2018). Inspiring Generations Through the Integration of Engineering and Art

Paya-Zaforteza, I.; Garlock, MEM. (2018). Eminent Structural Engineer: David P. Billington (1927-2018). Inspiring Generations Through the Integration of Engineering and Art. Structural Engineering International. 29(1):175-178. https://doi.org/10.1080/10168664.2018.152885117517829

Structural Engineering Heroes and their Inspirational Journey

[EN] In the nineteenth century, civil and structural engineers received much public acclaim for their built works (e.g. Brooklyn Bridge, Eiffel Tower). One hundred years later, the engineer was perceived by many as "out" or as not requiring much skill. This paper examines how this erroneous perception of structural engineering can change by presenting structural engineers as heroes. Using parallels to the monomythical hero, and examples of engineers, the authors present the journey and characteristics of the structural engineering hero. The journey, which has many paths, begins with the engineer leaving the comfortable "Ordinary World" of design into a "Special World", where new forms, new materials, and/or scale for projects is needed. For underrepresented groups of people such as women and minorities, the heroic journey could be simply becoming an engineer and developing a career in conditions of equality and equity. As structural engineering heroes enter the Special World, they may face trials of nature and criticism, and face constraints of economy, time and knowledge. In the final Act of the journey, they return to the Ordinary World wiser, disseminating their knowledge and inspiring others. The authors define the characteristics of structural engineering heroes by four "P"s: they are prepared, they are planners, they have (super) powers and they are persona grata. The education of the structural engineer should train and inspire future engineers using the lessons learned from the heroes and their diversity. By doing so, what seems exceptional today can become common in the future.Paya-Zaforteza, I.; Garlock, MEM. (2021). Structural Engineering Heroes and their Inspirational Journey. Structural Engineering International (Online). 31(4):584-597. https://doi.org/10.1080/10168664.2021.1919038S58459731

Timber gridshells: beyond the drawing board

In March 2011, a week-long workshop that invited participation from all architecture and architectural technology students at Sheffield Hallam University, UK was organised with the objective of enhancing students’ thinking and experience by construction thinking. It was aimed at creating a sense of realness to realise a design project collectively. Timber was set as the material of exploration. The students had to make use of bending to design and create a timber gridshell structure. This made use of a quality traditionally felt to be a structural weakness of the material. To do this, students form-found non-mathematically and non-digitally using paper gridmats. This paper describes the aims, activity and outcome of the timber gridshell workshop as a way of preparing architects and technologists of the future and introducing the challenges of architectural design in terms of economics and construction process, aesthetics, effective communication and structural intuition by working with a given material – all important aspects in achieving effective architecture

CONSIDERATIONS FOR RETROFIT OF EXISTING STEEL BUILDINGS FOR RESISTING BLAST AND PROGRESSIVE COLLAPSE

One of the organizers of the proceedings, Mr. Faschan is a Partner at LERA and a Structural Engineer with twenty-five years of experience. He has worked on a wide range of cultural and commercial project types that have been recognized for achievements in structural design including high-rise buildings and long-span structures. Mr. Faschan is currently one of LERA's Project Director for the Shanghai World Financial Center, which will be the world's tallest building at 1614-ft. (492-m.). Mr. Faschan also has significant experience in design of blast resistant and collision resistant structures. He was the Project Director of the WTC Reconstruction efforts following the 1993 bombing. Mr. Garlock is a Senior Associate and a Structural Engineer with ten years of experience at LERA. He has worked on a large range of high profile public use facilities as well as low, mid, and high-rise buildings. His experience in high security projects has included a justice center and a bank for the Federal Reserve System. He managed LERA's efforts during the WTC Recovery Project and has also managed several projects for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He is currently managing LERA's efforts for the NIST Investigation into the WTC Collapse. Richard B. Garlock P.E., M. S. Mr. Sesil is a Partner and a Structural Engineer with twenty years of experience at LERA. He has worked on award-winning projects both in the United States and abroad, spanning the entire range of building types. His expertise in the design of structural systems for high profile, high security and public use facilities includes courthouses, embassies and banks for the Federal Reserve System. Mr. Sesil, also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University, has completed numerous landmark projects of international renown including the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Center, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Miho Museum & Bridge in Japan and the Prada SoHo boutique in New York City. Daniel A. Sesil P.E., S.E., M. S. ABSTRACT Evaluation and subsequent strengthening of existing structures for extreme loading cases, such as blast, require a realistic and pragmatic design approach. Effective communication between Owner, Structural Engineer, Architect, Risk Analyst, Insurance Providers, and other stakeholders is paramount to a finished project that is satisfactory to all. The benefits of structural steel for use in the renovation of existing buildings are well documented and are applicable to the type of retrofitting required for resistance to blast and progressive collapse. The performance of steel construction during the 1993 bombing of The World Trade Center is further evidence. Combination of the existing conditions of the structure and the nature of the threat leads to strengthening techniques that may not be the first choice in the case of new construction. Less intrusive types of strengthening are favored. The general approach for strengthening of existing buildings starts with researching the original construction documents and then performing a condition assessment of the building. Vulnerability analysis is a multi-step process where there is constant dialogue about the possibilities of non-structural methods to decrease the threat on the building. With the goal of enhancing a building's performance under an extreme event, we have provided a range of upgrades from enhanced perimeter protection to structural hardening

An overview of historical and contemporary concrete shells, their construction and factors in their general disappearance

Only through understanding why concrete shells’ loss in popularity over the course of modern history can designers be equipped with the skills to create and apply this type of construction. Through modifications to design processes, construction stages, material understanding and relevant formwork improvements will architects and designers be able to meet the demands of the 21st century and beyond. To understand why concrete shells are no longer commonly built is to understand its construction process. An amorphous material, the fundamental relationship between formwork and the resultant concrete shell needs to be raised, appreciated, understood and analyzed for a holistic understanding of concrete shells. Through understanding this, issues and factors affecting concrete shells can be tackled and designed out in reviving this type of structures because they can be efficient in structural performance, economical in cost and provide high aesthetic value. This paper discusses concrete shells as an architectural solution by asking the question to what constituted their popularity and factors that led to their demise in the modern age of technological advancement, construction process and environmental concerns. This paper presents a cultural perspective and an overview of seminal, historical and contemporary concrete shells so as to bring about a renaissance of such structures in our built environment once again because of all the benefits it can offer.</p

Gridshell as Formwork: Proof of Concept for a New Technique for Constructing Thin Concrete Shells Supported by Gridshell as Formwork

This paper documents an empirical experiment conducted in August 2014 as proof of concept for a new method of constructing concrete shells. An idea initially presented by the first author in 2012, it uses redeployable gridshells onto which fabric is midstressed and concrete applied. Primarily, this system addresses key issues that led to their decline in use: construction methods/formwork systems were not reusable, nor were they easily customizable to create different shapes. Employing 27 man-hours over seven days, two concrete shells were achieved using the same reusable and reconfigurable formwork. Lightweight (0.6 kg) PVC gridshell formwork supported 106.92 kg of concrete to create a concrete shell that covered 1.11 m2 (floor area). The construction verifies a low-cost (£6.06/m2) efficiency and material utilization in the construction of very strong wide-spanning thin concrete structures. Detailed analysis of formwork behavior during construction and detailed measurements of resultant shell results prove this new method of deployable gridshells as a reusable and reconfigurable formwork to construct very strong concrete shells very quickly. Whilst the emphasis of the research focused on the construction process, the vaults were tested and sustained a failure load of 4.2 kN (4.32 times their deadweight), applied as a point load at the crown

Collapse risk and residual drift performance of steel buildings using post-tensioned MRFs and viscous dampers in near-fault regions

The potential of post-tensioned self-centering moment-resisting frames (SC-MRFs) and viscous dampers to reduce the collapse risk and improve the residual drift performance of steel buildings in near-fault regions is evaluated. For this purpose, a prototype steel building is designed using different seismic-resistant frames, i.e.: moment-resisting frames (MRFs); MRFs with viscous dampers; SC-MRFs; and SC-MRFs with viscous dampers. The frames are modeled in OpenSees where material and geometrical nonlinearities are taken into account as well as stiffness and strength deterioration. A database of 91 near-fault, pulse-like ground motions with varying pulse periods is used to conduct incremental dynamic analysis (IDA), in which each ground motion is scaled until collapse occurs. The probability of collapse and the probability of exceeding different residual story drift threshold values are calculated as a function of the ground motion intensity and the period of the velocity pulse. The results of IDA are then combined with probabilistic seismic hazard analysis models that account for near-fault directivity to assess and compare the collapse risk and the residual drift performance of the frames. The paper highlights the benefit of combining the post-tensioning and supplemental viscous damping technologies in the near-source. In particular, the SC-MRF with viscous dampers is found to achieve significant reductions in collapse risk and probability of exceedance of residual story drift threshold values compared to the MRF. © 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrech

Ethical framework of assistive devices: review and reflection

The population of ageing is growing significantly over the world, and there is an emerging demand for better healthcare services and more care centres. Innovations of Information and Communication Technology has resulted in development of various types of assistive robots to fulfil elderly’s needs and independency, whilst carrying out daily routine tasks. This makes it vital to have a clear understanding of elderly’s needs and expectations from assistive robots. This paper addresses current ethical issues to understand elderly’s prime needs. Also, we consider other general ethics with the purpose of applying these theories to form a proper ethics framework. In the ethics framework, the ethical concerns of senior citizens will be prioritized to satisfy elderly’s needs and also to diminish related expenses to healthcare services