.st0 { fill: #C4D600; } .style0 { fill: #C4D600; } .style1 { fill: white; } What matters Menu How to navigate digital tools as a structural engineer Home » News » How to navigate digital tools as a structural engineer In this specialist Q&A, we interview computational engineering expert and bridge engineer Peter Nugent. Joining Buro Happold in 2015 as a graduate, he is now a charted engineer and avid contributor to the Buildings Habitat object Model (BHoM). Peter discusses his career journey, how digital tools improve structural design, and the versatility of computation. Senior Computational Bridge Engineer Peter Nugent. Image: Buro Happold What is your current role, and did you have any coding experience prior to joining Buro Happold? I’m a Senior Computational Bridge Engineer working within the bridge engineering and civil structures team that’s part of the Cities Group. A portion of my time is spent designing bridges and leading projects, the other is spent developing computational tools and integrating them into our workflows. Before joining Buro Happold, I had very little coding experience. Most of my understanding was learnt using MATLAB – a numerical programming language – whilst studying civil engineering at university. What advice would you give to engineers’ keen to learn more about computation? Once you’ve learnt the basics, pick a small task that you want to automate or solve digitally and try it. You’ll learn so much more by trying to develop something independently as opposed to following guided tutorials. This is true if you’re learning visual programming languages such as Grasshopper, or object programming languages such as Python or C#. Whilst it’s tempting to develop complex algorithms, I found that developing tools that were small in scope, but that were relevant to me and that I could use, kept me motivated. As you develop these small projects, you’ll find yourself thinking about what you can add, and how it can be expanded and improved. What are some of the challenges you faced? It can seem daunting at first, particularly with so many programming languages, so many different software packages and a seemingly infinite scope of what to do. That’s why it’s important to identify the challenges you want to address and then set a reasonable scope for what you want to achieve. Keeping up to date and informed with what others are doing in the industry is also very important. Also, don’t be afraid to stand on the shoulders of others. There are numerous different open source projects (BHoM and UnitsNet) and free plugins (Design Space Exploration and Human) that have been developed. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Are these tools only relevant at the early design stages when designs are progressing quickly? Not at all. In fact, the precise nature of information at the detailed design and construction stages makes it a perfect candidate for automation. You can reduce the risk of human error and handle large amounts of information with ease. At Buro Happold, we have been able to find uses of parametricism and the BHoM from the early competition stages right through to construction. Folkestone Harbour in Kent is an example of a project where we used survey data and visual programming to solve a 3D geometrical problem. Peter speaking at Footbridge 2017 Berlin about a bridge competition entry that was designed using parametric tools. Image: Buro Happold What is an overlooked aspect of integrating computational tools in structural engineering? Knowledge sharing. Often the engineers winning work and submitting fee proposals are different to those exploiting these digital tools. Therefore, it’s so important that individuals routinely present new developments to their team, company and the wider industry. Otherwise, the knowledge gained can become siloed. At Buro Happold, the approach is that everyone from graduates to Partners needs to learn a basic level of understanding of computational competency. I’ve found that most people are generally very receptive to embracing computation, as long as you can demonstrate the digital tools to them. For example, showing how quickly your structural analysis model can adapt to changes from the architect, or how easy it is to transfer data from one software to another using the BHoM. This is despite the construction industry having a poor track record for adopting digital workflows. Do you have an example where you’ve used computational tools on a live project? Folkstone Harbour is a great example. We used parametricism to solve a 3D geometrical problem during construction. The contractors installed glazing on several canopy roof structures. However, during installation, they realised that the quadrilateral glazing panels wouldn’t fit in the corners, and as a consequence, would need to be warped. This is incredibly expensive. As the structural engineers on the project, we realised the problem could be solved with triangulation. By using the survey data from the contractor as well as some parametric scripting, we were able to produce a script that satisfied the key constraints of the project, which were: The planar glazing panels could be cut from standard size (i.e., the width wasn’t too large) The offset from the steelwork to the glazing should be constant The angle of the glazing panels should be large enough so they could positively drain. In order to allow a seamless installation on site, we provided design sketches of both the setting out points and their offsets from the installed steelwork. Our solution also maintained the architectural intent of this historic regeneration project. The renovated train station at Folkestone Harbour in Kent, UK. Image: Buro Happold The construction industry is starting to embrace digitisation. How has computation improved your design skills or changed your outlook as an engineer? The use of computation has meant that I save a huge amount of time by automating the creation of analysis models. As a result, I can spend more time doing the actual design. With bridge design in particular, the devil is in the detail. You can have an optimised bridge, but if the details aren’t considered, then it’s going to be difficult to fabricate and construct, leading to issues later in the project. The adoption of computation and automation is still relatively new within the construction industry. There’s a huge amount of scope for new tools and developments, building upon what we’ve already discussed. For instance, we haven’t even touched on machine learning, virtual reality, digital twins or the climate emergency! It’s an exciting time to be a bridge engineer. We have the potential to make a lasting impact on how our industry approaches design. Date published 2/08/21 Share Take collective climate action. .st0 { fill: #C4D600; } .style0 { fill: #C4D600; } .style1 { fill: white; } Let's keep in touch Subscribe to our newsletter Sign me up What we do Projects Specialisms Sectors Quick links Find an office Find a specialist Social media Legal Policies and terms Buro Happold standard Ts&Cs Modern Slavery Policy Cookies Policy Cookies settings © 2021 Buro Happold