Design Archives - Being Brunel
Metric Driven Design
June 30, 2016
Metrics; measurements with purpose. It’s a term I’d long left associated with those business managers that trade buzzwords with each other; inheriting, instead, the engineer’s standard unit- a deliverable. And…Read More
Cost and Consequence
June 28, 2016 3
About once a month my train to work is delayed. There are signal failures, over running works, unexpected weather; the litany of excuses is endless. Only last week I sat in Waterloo and watched hours of trains get canceled…Read More
The World’s Deepest Structures
June 5, 2016
In keeping with tradition, this week I’ll be taking a look at the deepest structures in the world. Having celebrated the most visible of our achievements, it seems only fitting that I turn my figurative…Read More
The IABSE FoD 2016 Competitions
May 30, 2016
It’s not a secret that I like the IABSE Future of Design conferences. Normally my pre-conference build-up focuses on the speakers, however today I’d like to just quickly draw your attention to the two, now open, competitions that are run before, and…Read More
Art and Approximation: A Review
August 20, 2015 3
“It’s better to be roughly right than precisely wrong”
Attributed to John Maynard Keynes (an economist), few quotes so accurately reflect my experience in design. Throughout my career I’ve become increasingly technical- I even…Read More
Genetic Algorithms for Engineering
July 24, 2015 1
Machine learning is the topic of the hour; so in an attempt to stay relevant I thought I’d join in and share some of my own experience. Genetic algorithms are a ‘learning’ approach that can be used to find…Read More
Future of Design North 2015: Part 2
July 20, 2015
If you haven’t heard of the IABSE Future of Design events (then you should at least read the first post of this two-parter)- they’re a series of conferences aimed at celebrating and sharing the best of (structural) design. This year … Read More
Future of Design North 2015: Part 1
July 9, 2015 1
With a quote from Prince Phillip about how the world that surrounds us is the vision of architects and engineers, the IABSE Future of Design North started off as it meant to continue; celebrating…Read More
The Future of Design 2014: Part 2
November 11, 2014 1
I’m sure you’ve all been at the edge of your seats waiting for the second part from the highlights of the IABSE 2014 Future of Design conference; and for that I can only apologise- some times life gets in the way. I expect it’s a good sign…Read More
The Future of Design 2014: Part 1
October 7, 2014 6
Every year I go to the IABSE Future of Design conference (sample size: 2 years). It has a good selection of speakers, but more than that- it has a good selection of attendees. It’s nice to meet people the same level as…Read More
