Hey! Hope your Saturday is as pleasant as mine :) I'd like to share my current inspiration source: "The Tower and the Bridge" by David B. Billingon. I must say it is oriented towards engineering in general and structural engineering in specific. So, I am totally enjoying it!
What is appealing about the book is its captivating perspective of engineering. Billingon doesn't approach bridges, networks and towers as dull expression of steel and concrete calculations but as an art...
Below is one of favorite bridges which demonstrates the inevitable need for paying back some respect for resources ♥
As an introduction to his discussion, Billingon conveys the historical and political circumstances which launched the relatively new field of structural engineering. According to the book, structural art is democratic because it possesses aesthetic freedom withing the brim of efficiency in materials (iron, steel, concrete...) and economy! It would be relevant to mention that the usage of iron in structural design emerged following the Industrial Revolution and its prices were high, and , hence, the need for its optimal usage.
Another noteworthy point is expressing the difference between Architecture and Civil/Structural Engineering as being similar to that between drawing and photography! What a deep analysis! In addition, Billingon says structures relevant to structural design are usually of large scale and of single use in comparison to those of Architecturally based design projects. Structural designers follow delicate procedures to control natural forces and offer the produced form safe and enduring resistance. Architecture designers, on the other hand, approach the designed forms as means of manipulating spaces.
This is briefly what I read till now. Yet, I totally recommend it for engineers or any person interested in technology and evolution. It is not your usual engineering manual readings; it sheds light on the spirit and mentality lying within humans' innovation...
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