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(1)TheStructuralEngineer. November 2015 Volume 93 | Issue 11. The flagship publication of The Institution of Structural Engineers. STRUCTURAL DESIGN WITH CLT ELEGANT STRUCTURES SCAFFOLDING HISTORIC BUILDINGS NATIONAL STRUCTURAL TIMBER SPECIFICATION SNOW LOADING. DESIGN FOR LIFE Embracing the client’s philosophy of ‘One Planet Living’ was central to the design of WWF-UK’s new HQ TSE47_01 COVER.indd 1. 22/10/2015 11:26.

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(3) ›. www.thestructuralengineer.org. Contents. PAGE 32 STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF CLT. TheStructuralEngineer November 2015. PAGE 10 ELEGANT STRUCTURES. 3. PAGE 40 SCAFFOLDING OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS. TheStructuralEngineer Volume 93 | Issue 11. Upfront. Professional guidance. Opinion. 5. Editorial. 48 Viewpoint: The dilemma of foreign practices. 6. Institution news: Yorkshire Regional Group celebrates new abbey in local awards. 24 Managing risk and contractual liability. Part 11: Net contribution and limitations of liability. 8. 28 Introducing the National Structural Timber Specifiication. 50 Viewpoint: Are we paying snow the respect it deserves? 54 Book review: An Introduction to MATLAB Programming and Numerical Methods for Engineers. Pail Lin Li Travel Award: open for entries Applications invited for Young Researchers’ Conference 2016. 30 Managing Health & Safety Risks No. 45: Small-scale works and CDM 2015. Enter the Engineering Architecture Prize 2016. Technical. 56 Book review: Rehabilitation of Metallic Civil Infrastructure using Fiber-reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composites. 32 Timber Engineering Notebook. No. 13: Crosslaminated timber construction – structural design. 57 Verulam. 40 Conservation compendium. Part 12: Scaffolding of historic structures. At the back. Industry news. Features 10 Elegant structures. Project focus 16 The Living Planet Centre – a sustainable home for WWF-UK. 59 Diary dates. Research. 61 Products & Services. 46 Spotlight on Structures. 63 Services Directory 64 TheStructuralEngineerJobs. Front cover: ©MORLEY VON STERNBERG The Structural Engineer PRESIDENT Tim Ibell FREng, CEng, BSc(Eng), PhD, FIStructE, FICE, FHEA CHIEF EXECUTIVE Martin Powell EDITORIAL HEAD OF PUBLISHING Lee Baldwin EDITOR Robin Jones t: +44 (0) 20 7201 9822 e: [email protected] EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Ian Farmer t: +44 (0) 20 7201 9121 e: [email protected]. TSE47_03 Contents.indd 3. www.thestructuralengineer.org ADVERTISING. EDITORIAL ADVISORY GROUP. DISPLAY SALES Patrick Lynn t: +44 (0) 20 7880 7614 e: [email protected]. Project focus: Allan Mann, FIStructE Features: Don McQuillan, FIStructE Technical: Chris O’Regan, FIStructE Opinion: Angus Palmer, MIStructE Professional guidance: Simon Pitchers, MIStructE. RECRUITMENT SALES Paul Wade t: +44 (0) 20 7880 6212 e: [email protected] DESIGN SENIOR DESIGNER Craig Bowyer CREATIVE DIRECTOR Mark Parry PRODUCTION PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE Rachel Young. Price (2016 subscription) Institutional: £390 (12 issues incl. e-archive, p&p and VAT) Personal (Early Bird): £100 (12 issues incl. p&p) Personal (Student Member): £40 (12 issues incl. p&p) Single copies: £35 (incl. p&p). Printed by Warners Midlands plc The Maltings, Manor Lane Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH United Kingdom. © The Institution of Structural Engineers. All non-member authors are required to sign the Institution’s ‘Licence to publish’ form. Authors who are members of the Institution meet our requirements under the Institution’s Regulation 10.2 and therefore do not need to sign the ‘Licence to publish’ form. Copyright for the layout and design of articles resides with the Institution while the copyright of the material remains with the author(s). All material published in The Structural Engineer carries the copyright of the Institution, but the intellectual rights of the authors are acknowledged. The Institution of Structural Engineers International HQ 47–58 Bastwick Street London EC1V 3PS United Kingdom t: +44 (0)20 7235 4535 e: [email protected] The Institution of Structural Engineers Incorporated by Royal Charter Charity Registered in England and Wales number 233392 and in Scotland number SC038263. 22/10/2015 11:14.

(4) TICKET S NO ON SA W LE. Building on the tremendous feedback from the 2014 Conference, our second Sustainability Conference will be held on Thursday 3 December 2015 at Institution Headquarters, 47-58 Bastwick Street, London. This year’s event will feature world-leading sustainability experts, discussing cutting edge industry practice, emerging materials, legal and insurance issues and other essential subjects for the structural engineer. Speakers include : ANGELA BRADY. PETER HEAD. DAVID BALL. Director of Brady Mallalieu Architects and Past President of RIBA discusses the need to speak up about Low Carbon Design. Founder and CEO of the Ecological Sequestration Trust, discussing the need for creativity when designing sustainable solutions. Chairman of the David Ball Group, examining what can be achieved with no-carbon (low carbon) concretes. TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE This promises to be another sell-out event. Don’t miss out, buy your tickets today:. Member : £105 | Non Member : £210 A limited number of student tickets are also available at £50. Contact us for details.. For more information on the event and to book online, visit www.istructe.org/sustainability-conference p04_TSE.11.15.indd 4. 22/10/2015 10:04.

(5) › www.thestructuralengineer.org. Upfront Editorial. TheStructuralEngineer November 2015. 5. Upfront Reaching new heights Robin Jones Editor. This month’s issue went to press against a background of job losses in the UK steel industry, with much of the blame being laid at the door of cheap imports from China, and a state visit to the UK by Chinese President, Xi Jinping, with trade and investment top of the agenda. While the job losses are unwelcome, both of these stories highlight the global nature of the economy and underscore the Institution’s aim of acting as an international voice for the profession. On a lighter note, an ongoing theme of recent articles by Chief Executive, Martin Powell, has been the increasingly global nature of the Institution and the need to continue raising its profile. It is therefore good to see individual members doing their bit by expanding the reach of The Structural Engineer. Thanks to Will Arnold of Arup for this picture in which he enjoys the June issue on Machu Picchu in Peru. I can’t help but ask sk other members: where do you read yours? Elsewhere in the issue, in Features, Mike Schlaich, the Institution’s 2015 Gold Medallist, sets out his vision of Baukultur and the importance of elegant structures (page 10).. The Structural Engineer provides structural engineers and related professionals worldwide with technical information on practice, design, development, education and training associated with the profession of structural engineering, and offers a forum for discussion on these matters promotes the learned society role of the Institution by publishing peer-reviewed content which advances the science and art of structural engineering provides members and non-members worldwide with Institution and industry related news provides a medium for relevant advertising. TSE47_05 Editorial v1.indd 5. In Project focus, we learn how sustainability was central to the design of WWF-UK’s new headquarters – the Living Planet Centre – another Structural Awards winner from 2014 (page 16). In Professional guidance, the series from Griffiths & Armour explains how net contribution clauses can be crucial in limiting liability should a dispute arise (page 24); Adrian Young of BM TRADA introduces the National Structural Timber Specification (page 28); and our health-andsafety series clarifies the effect of the CDM 2015 Regulations on smallscale works (page 30). sc In Technical, the Timber Engineering Notebook concludes a series of articles on CLT construction by discussing material properties and structural design (page 32); while m the th Conservation compendium examines the particular challenges of scaffolding historic buildings (page 40). c In Opinion, we present Viewpoint articles on the need for a robust approach to ethical considerations (page 48) and the ro risks ris posed by heavy snow in Scotland (page 50); while – to the delight of many readers, I’m sure – Verulam returns on page pa 57. Finally, if you are a subscriber to the magazine, don’t F forget that the deadline for ‘early bird’ subscriptions for 2016 is 1 December! You must submit your subscription form (www.istructe. org/thestructuralengineer/subscribe) by this date to save £25 on the regular price for personal subscribers.. The Institution has over 27 000 members in over 100 countries around the world is the only qualifying body in the world concerned solely with the theory and practice of structural engineering through its Chartered members is an internationally recognised source of expertise and information concerning all issues that involve structural engineering and public safety within the built environment supports and protects the profession of structural engineering by upholding professional standards and to act as an international voice on behalf of structural engineers . The Structural Engineer (ISSN 1466-5123) is published 12 times a year by IStructE Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Institution of Structural Engineers. It is available both in print and online.. Contributions published in The Structural Engineer are published on the understanding that the author/s is/are solely responsible for the statements made, for the opinions expressed and/or for the accuracy of the contents. Publication does not imply that any statement or opinion expressed by the author/s reflects the views of the Institution of Structural Engineers’ Board; Council; committees; members or employees. No liability is accepted by such persons or by the Institution for any loss or damage, whether caused through reliance on any statement, opinion or omission (textual or otherwise) in The Structural Engineer, or otherwise.. 22/10/2015 11:15.

(6) ›. 6. TheStructuralEngineer November 2015. Upfront Institution news. Yorkshire Regional Group celebrates new abbey in local awards Stanbrook Abbey – a beautiful new religious building in Wass, North Yorkshire – has won the Yorkshire Regional Group’s Structural Awards for its outstanding engineering excellence. BuroHappold, the engineers for the abbey, received the Award during a ceremony at The Met Hotel in Leeds on 9 October. Stanbrook Abbey, the new home for a community of Benedictine nuns, was recognised for its delicate form, its use of cutting-edge digital design techniques, and its bold but respectful use of a simple palette of materials. The judges said: “The structural engineers took full advantage of a variety of advanced technologies to create an innovative design where the concrete wall acts as a loadbearing element, supporting the roof members, a shear wall providing overall stability, a retaining wall reconciling varying ground levels, and an acoustic. barrier separating the church, chapel and guest wing residential spaces – while also performing a climate control function by providing exposed thermal mass.. “The end result is a masterpiece and a worthy winner. This is modern integrated structural design as it should be.”. Pai Lin Li Travel Award: open for entries. Applications invited for Young Researchers’ Conference 2016. The Institution is pleased to announce that the Educational Trust’s Pai Lin Li Travel Award is now open for entries. The Award makes grants of between £1000 and £3000 to members who wish to spend four to six weeks outside their own country, studying current practice or trends related to the use of any construction material in the field of structural engineering. The Award provides an unrivalled opportunity to sample the technical, economic, social and political conditions in another country and to examine how these various factors affect the practice of structural engineering. The Award is open to applicants from all grades of Institution membership. The entry deadline for applications is Friday 22 February 2016. Full details are available at www.istructe.org/eventsawards/people-and-papers-awards/pai-lin-li-travelaward/how-to-apply. The Institution of Structural Engineers’ Young Researchers’ Conference will be held on 6 April 2016 at Institution HQ in Bastwick Street, London. The annual Conference is a unique networking opportunity where young, forwardthinking researchers can share their work with an audience of industry professionals, academics and peers, and discover all the latest research happening in the field of structural engineering. It is also a great chance to win cash prizes, drawn from a pot of £2000. The Conference also features a keynote speaker drawn from outside the structural engineering fraternity. Recent keynote speakers included Lydia Hyde, Senior Scientist at BAE Systems, and Professor Molly Stevens, Imperial College London. The 2016 Conference is being made more accessible, with eligibility extended to both final-year undergraduates and MSc students (who are considering doing a PhD) and to first-year postdoctoral researchers. The application process is also being simplified, and researchers are being given more choice about whether to present their work. The deadline for applications is 4 December 2015. You can view complete information and apply online at www.istructe.org/events-awards/conference-andlectures/young-researchers-conference. Enter the Engineering Architecture Prize 2016 The Educational Trust’s Engineering Architecture Prize is now open to submissions. Student and Graduate members of the Institution (as well as sixth-form students) are eligible to enter. Prize money of £500 each is. TSE47_06 Inst News v1.indd 6. awarded to the three best essays. This year’s essay theme is ‘favourite structures’, inviting candidates to describe their favourite buildings or structures, and to talk about the collaboration between. structural engineers and architects involved in their design. The submission deadline is Monday 1 February 2016. Full details are available at www.istructe.org/about-us/fundsand-donations/educational-trust/ engineering-architecture-prize. 22/10/2015 11:16.

(7) Forterra is the new name for Hanson Building Products. We enter this new era as a leading manufacturer of a diverse range of clay and concrete building products, with tried and trusted brands used extensively within the construction sector. Built on firm foundations, the new name embodies our heritage, our commitment to excellence and innovation and our drive to give customers unparalleled products and service. As a leader and innovator, we help our customers build with ease and confidence, creating and providing the building blocks for life’s essential structures. For today, for the future, Forterra.. forterra.co.uk. p07_TSE.11.15.indd 7. 21/10/2015 09:11.

(8) ›. 8. TheStructuralEngineer November 2015. Upfront Industry news. BSI offers free white paper on using Eurocodes The BSI series of free, peer-reviewed white papers has been developed to keep those working in the construction industry up to date on developments and changes. The first paper in the series, Eurocodes: How to use them and how to realize their potential for your business, is available to download at http://shop.bsigroup.com/Browse-BySubject/Eurocodes/Eurocodes-2015/ Eurocodes-white-paper/. It has been five years since the conflicting British Standards to the Eurocodes were withdrawn. And nearly two years since the Building Regulations were amended to reference the Eurocodes. The introduction of the Eurocodes to the UK is a major change for engineers working in structural and civil engineering. The Codes were introduced to eliminate technical obstacles to trade and harmonise. technical specifications, thus creating a more open marketplace. The paper is intended to address the challenges that this change presents and provide useful insights into the benefits of using the Eurocodes for those who are relatively new to them.. Temporary Works Forum issues safety bulletin on stability of reinforcement. Updated standard for design of pitched roofs and vertical cladding. The Temporary Works Forum (TWf) has issued a safety bulletin: Stability of reinforcement prior to concreting. The bulletin is aimed at those specifying, managing, designing, detailing and installing reinforcement cages (whether this be permanent works designers or contractors) and seeks to draw attention to some key issues in ensuring stability and thus safety. Many do not realise that rebar cages can be dangerous, or that buckling can occur suddenly. Also, that cages built in situ can become progressively less stable as work progresses; something that can be counterintuitive. The bulletin is intended as an interim measure until the TWf updates its own guidance (TWf2013:01). More details, and a link to the freely available document, can be found at http://twforum.org.uk/publications/public-twf-documents/rebar-safety-bulletin/. BS 5534 Slating and tiling for pitched roofs and vertical cladding. Code of practice is essential for designers and specifiers of tiles, slates, shingles and associated products for pitched roofs and vertical cladding. It has been updated to address the issues in achieving quality and sustainability in the design and development of pitched roofs and vertical cladding. BS 5534:2014+A1:2015 corrects the demarcation lines of Zones 2 and 3 in the UK Wind Map found in Annex A. The standard was originally developed in order to meet new regulatory requirements and design standards as part of changes to UK Building Regulations, European Eurocodes and industry technical standards.. Study reveals positive impact of professional bodies A new study has found that professional bodies play an unsung role in promoting trust in British society and creating value in ways that score high on the current political agenda, such as productivity and social mobility. The Chartered Institute of Building’s latest report, Understanding the Value of Professionals and Professional Bodies, surveyed more than 2000 members of the public and over 150 MPs for their perception of professional bodies. The polling of the public found that 61% agree that professional bodies can help guide government on relevant policies.. TSE47_08 Indus News v1 .indd 8. And polling of MPs found that 48% score professional bodies at 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest) for effectiveness in supporting good policy making in their industry. But there is clearly work to do in communicating the value of professionalism in UK society. While four in five Britons (80%) have heard of professional bodies, only 41% say they know something about them, suggesting that membership institutions are unsung heroes in contributing to society. The report finds that professional bodies in the UK offer significant value to society. in five areas that top current social and political agendas, namely: productivity, social mobility, governance and ethics, international development, and policy formation. But perhaps the greatest value of professional bodies lies in the promotion of trust in society. Public polling found that a vast majority of those who know something about professional bodies agree that they would trust a professional more if they knew that they were a member of a professional body. The report is available at www.ciob.org/ management. 22/10/2015 11:17.

(9) › www.thestructuralengineer.org. TheStructuralEngineer November 2015. 9. Features Articles with a broad scope often accompanying a significant Institution award or event.. 10 Elegant structures Good structures are an important part of our quality of life. They contribute to what in German is called Baukultur – the culture of building, explains The Institution of Structural Engineers’ 2015 Gold Medallist, Mike Schlaich. It is the responsibility of structural and civil engineers to furnish buildings and our built technical infrastructure – bridges, towers, roofs – with good (i.e. high-quality) structures to make a positive contribution to the culture of building and to satisfy ourselves.. TSE47_09 Features opener v1.indd 9. 22/10/2015 11:18.

(10) ›. 10. Feature Elegant structures. TheStructuralEngineer November 2015. Elegant structures Mike Schlaich, Professor of Structural Engineering and Chair of the Department of Conceptual and Structural Design, Berlin Institute of Technology (TU Berlin), Germany; Managing Director, schlaich bergermann partner, Germany. Synopsis. Introduction. Good structures are an important part of our quality of life. They contribute to what in German is called Baukultur – the culture of building. It is the responsibility of structural and civil engineers to furnish buildings and our built technical infrastructure – bridges, towers, roofs – with good (i.e. high-quality) structures to make a positive contribution to the culture of building and to satisfy ourselves. In this article, adapted from a keynote lecture at the IABSE 2015 Conference in Nara, Japan, The Institution of Structural Engineers’ 2015 Gold Medallist, Mike Schlaich, explores the idea of ‘elegant structures’ and asks whether elegance is an ingredient of a highquality structure.. Not much has been written about elegant structures and one might think that this is because elegance is not an issue to be concerned with when engineering structures. Once we identify elegance as a part of beauty, we arrive in the field of aesthetics, i.e. how matters move our senses, and the aesthetic quality of our structures is clearly of importance. The intent of this paper is the – admittedly personal – definition of structural elegance, to show that it is clearly an ingredient of good structures and to demonstrate what we engineers must do to achieve them.. What is elegance? Like many other terms, ‘elegance’ has changed its meaning over time. The word stems from the Latin verb eligere (select), which later appeared in the French noun élégance. We use it today when we want to describe something of selected beauty. It is more than beauty only. Although subjective, we relate elegance to:. S. . Figure 1 Marilyn Monroe. Figure 2 Audrey Hepburn. • beauty plus selected taste, like a stylish fashion model or a famous actress • beauty plus lightness, transparency and movement, like a graceful ballet dancer • beauty plus streamlined shapes, like a noble sports car • beauty in the sense of sensual purism, of being reduced to the bare minimum, like a black-and-white nude photograph Very importantly, elegance appears effortless1. We find that something is elegant when we feel, but do not see, all the work that was needed to achieve it. Sometimes superficial luxury is mistaken for elegance. Then the word loses its allure; consumerism has had its day. Following the definitions given here, are the actresses shown in Figures 1 and 2 beautiful? Are both elegant? Looking at furniture, the Lounge Chair by Ray and Charles Eames (Figure 3) is most beautiful (and very comfortable), but many would agree that the Barcelona Chair by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (Figure 4) is more elegant. I am sure that aesthetics are looked at quite differently in different cultures. What does elegance mean in different languages, how is it translated? I am told that in Japanese and Chinese the word for elegance is the same: . It is just pronounced differently: ‘yuga’ in Japanese; ‘you ya’ in Chinese. In Arabic it is completely different: (‘anaka’). Does this affect the way we define and design elegant structures? Such thoughts require further and deeper analysis than is possible here.. Is elegance desirable?. TSE47_10-13 Feature v1.indd 10. ALAMY. ALAMY. What are the ideals of good structures? When we study landmark structures, we find that. 22/10/2015 11:19.

(11) www.thestructuralengineer.org. 11. engineers and architects try to follow similar principles. The Roman architect Vitruvius, perhaps the most cited writer in this context and certainly one of the first to write about structural design, coined the terms firmitas, utilitas and venustas as the fundamentals of good structures as early as 25BC. Firstly, they must stand up (firmitas); secondly, they must be useful in the sense of durability and robustness (utilitas); and, finally, they should be pleasing (venustas)2. Volkwin Marg, a contemporary German architect, defines the culture of building as the synthesis of two sides of a coin – technology and art – which, he says, can only be achieved when architects and engineers creatively work together. He reaches back to the Platonic triad: truth, goodness and beauty. Intellectual truthfulness where structure and form coincide; goodness in the sense of our buildings’ contribution to society and its individuals; and, finally, beauty in the aesthetic sense which starts to shine when goodness and truthfulness are successfully combined3. In the context of this article, lightweight structures seem especially interesting and the German engineer Jörg Schlaich identifies them as ecological (green), social and cultural. They are green in the true sense of sustainability, as they minimise the use of our resources and they are easy to assemble and to recycle. They are social because they require the employment of a proportionally high number of skilled designers and well-trained workers. Finally, they “can make a significant contribution to enrich the architectural spectrum”. Refined lightness triggers positive emotions and we like the beauty of lightweight structures because we understand them, as nothing is hiding the flow of the forces. They are an “integral part of the culture of building”4. In the 1980s, David Billington, an American engineer, coined the term ‘structural art’ – the art of structural engineering parallel to. TSE47_10-13 Feature v1.indd 11. N. Figure 3 Lounge Chair by Ray and Charles Eames. N. Figure 4 Barcelona Chair by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. architectural art. He defines the ideals of structural art as efficiency, economy and elegance. He notes that engineers are not scientists, as they invent rather than discover. They invent good bridges, towers, long-span roofs and high-rise buildings by successfully combining minimised use of materials at minimal cost with conscious aesthetic decisions5. The Japanese architect, Tadao Ando, does not list a triad when he writes about elegance and the aesthetics of simplicity as part of the Japanese way of life. According to Ando, ‘Wabi-Sabi’ – modest and weathered – inspires elegance in architecture by minimising and minimising again until only utility and beauty are left. The Wabi-Sabi house is the result of “modest living, learning, being pleased with a life that does without anything superfluous and living in the moment”6. Looking only at the few writers cited here, it is interesting to note that only one of them, the engineer Billington, uses the term elegance. What is surprising at first is also that sustainability is not explicitly mentioned. However, once we look closer, we detect that. "It is important to create public awareness about good design of structures". sustainable building, i.e. resource efficiency and environmental responsibility throughout the lifecycle of a structure, is an inherent feature of the principles set out here. Engineers, architects and sculptors all create three-dimensional structures and, therefore, they have to follow these principles alike. The difference between them is the importance they give to each of the principles. Of course, the sculptor also has to make sure their work stands up, but no code requires a 100-year design life for the work. The sculptor can concentrate on moving the senses. The prototype of the architect’s building is the one-family house and there firmitas is usually easy to achieve. Social issues become more important. Volkwin Marg calls architecture a “dance in chains” because so many boundary conditions make ‘dancing’ much more difficult than it is for the artist, the sculptor who can freely choose which way to go. For us engineers this is even more the case. Numerous restrictions by codes and standards provide us with the excuse to give up dancing all together, to only follow some of the principles that define a good structure. We seem to be so absorbed by dealing with the chains, by arranging them, by making them bearable and by trying not to break them, that we forget that, yes, dancing is still possible, that it is actually a must, a responsibility. If we learn how to dance in chains, there is a good chance that elegance will result. If we approach our work holistically, we will be rewarded with good structures that contribute to the culture of building. The principles of good structures (Figure 5) all include elements of beauty and elegance and clearly show that we may not work without bearing them in mind. There is evidence for this. In all fields of engineering and architecture, elegant structures have appeared and we see and feel that elegance. 22/10/2015 11:19.

(12) ›. TheStructuralEngineer November 2015. 12. Feature Elegant structures. . Figure 5 Principles of good structures. N. Figure 7 F. Candela, Bacardi factory, Mexico. W. Figure 6 L. Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, USA. does not appear alone, but rather in a package with the other principals. Figures 6–9 present four examples of elegant structures: a house, a roof, a tower and a bridge. The books cited in the reference list show numerous other examples, but by their nature they can only show static images. We are conditioned by the media we have at hand. However, the new trend of electronic books also makes it possible to show the elegance of movable structures7. Will this affect the way we design?. How do we achieve elegance? When our structures have a holistic quality, they can also become elegant. The direction we follow to achieve this, what we call the ideals and principles we want to follow does not really matter. We can follow any of the directions described here. We do not have. TSE47_10-13 Feature v1.indd 12. to become dogmatic in our efforts to design good structures. What is important, however, is that in addition to the principles we understand the design of a structure as a conscious act, an act of conceiving the solution by carefully considering the local context, the boundary conditions to our design, which can be of a topographical-physical, technical-fabricational or politico-cultural nature. It is interesting to note that good structures often show a readable flow of forces, perhaps because they are easy to understand and because we like what we understand. Elegant structures are often lightweight structures. It is important to create public awareness about good design of structures and there is still much to be done in this area: • Competitions: design competitions for buildings should ask for teams that include. engineers and there should be more design competitions for our infrastructure, especially for bridges • Advisory boards: in many cities around the globe there are advisory boards which help politicians make the right decisions about new buildings. These should include engineers • Discussions and guidelines: architects criticise and discuss each other’s work much more than engineers do. In the community of engineers we need more discussions about the design quality of our work. The results of such an exchange could be helpful guidelines and state-of-theart reports on good design • Education: perhaps most important of all are our students. Conceptual and structural design can be taught at university level. Ten years ago ‘Conceptual and Structural. 22/10/2015 11:19.

(13) www.thestructuralengineer.org. 13. N. Figure 8 V. Shukhov, Shabolovka Tower, Russia. N. Figure 9 R. Maillart, Salginatobel Bridge, Switzerland. Design’ was introduced to the curriculum of the engineers at the Berlin Institute of Technology8 and the author can confirm that it is a successful concept. In Berlin, however, at present only one-third of civil engineering students are female and none of the professors, which is certainly not enough. The author is convinced that we will see more elegant structures when these numbers increase Conceptual and structural design of structures is a creative act based on sound theoretical knowledge and the principles described here. If the result appears to have been reached effortlessly, we have achieved an elegant structure. This is not easy to do and it requires experience. Many of the great engineers achieved their greatest successes only when they were between 40 and 60 years old. There is still hope for many of us.. References E1. De Botton A. (2006) The Architecture of Happiness, London, UK: Hamish Hamilton. E2. Vitruvius (2012) De Architectura Libri Decem (in Latin and German), Wiesbaden, Germany: Marix. E3. Marg V. (2008) Architektur ist – natürlich nicht unpolitisch (in German), Munich, Germany: Prestel. E4. Schlaich J. and Bergermann R. (2005) leicht weit – Light Structures (in German and English), Munich, Germany: Prestel. E5. Billington D. P. (1995) The Tower and the Bridge: The New Art of Structural Engineering, Princeton, USA: Princeton University Press. E6. Ando T. (2014) ‘Der Geist des Wabi Sabi’ (in German), Lettre International, 105 (summer 2014). E7. schlaich bergermann und partner (2014) moveables [Online] Available at: www. moveables.sbp.de (Accessed: October 2015). E8. Schlaich M. (2006) ‘Challenges in education: conceptual and structural design’, IABSE Symposium: Responding to Tomorrow’s Challenges in Structural Engineering, Budapest, Hungary, 13–15 September, Zurich, Switzerland: IABSE, pp. 22–28. Summary In addition to firmitas and utilitas, structures need to be beautiful to become holistically good, to become a Gesamtkunstwerk. Good structures stimulate good life, they can add to our quality of life. Elegance appears when the challenging task of fusing the principles of good structures seems to be achieved without much effort. If the response to a challenge appears effortless, elegance has appeared. A good life is not easy, it is a challenge, but we want to live it elegantly. My claim here is that elegant structures stimulate elegant life.. Acknowledgements This article is adapted from the author’s keynote speech at the IABSE Conference in Nara, Japan, in May 2015 and was first published as: Schlaich M. (2015) ‘Elegant structures’, IABSE Conference Nara 2015: Elegance in Structures, Nara, Japan, 13–15 May, Zurich, Switzerland: IABSE To find out more about The Institution of Structural Engineers’ Gold Medal – including 2015 winner Mike Schlaich – visit www.istructe.org/ gold-medal-address. TSE47_10-13 Feature v1.indd 13. 22/10/2015 11:19.

(14) IABSE Milne Medal. Now We Have To Think Structural engineering is at a point in history where advances in technology are taking us back to the drawing board. We no longer need to build with products derived from industrial mass production. In a resource constrained and TECHNOLOGICALLYENABLEDWORLDWECANGOBACKTOlRSTPRINCIPLESINHOWWEBUILD using materials that are suited to digitally controlled tools. We can make our own KITSOFCLOSELYlTTEDANDSTRUCTURALLYOPTIMISEDPARTSIFWEHAVEAFUNDAMENTAL understanding of how materials can be shaped and assembled to form a new generation of structures that are lighter and do more.. 4IM,UCAS 4IM,UCASISASTRUCTURALENGINEERBASEDIN,ONDON(EISA 0ARTNERIN0RICE-YERSAND,ECTURERIN3TRUCTURAL$ESIGN at the Bartlett School of Architecture. (EENJOYSCOLLABORATINGWITHCLIENTS

(15) ARCHITECTS

(16) CONTRACTORS and artists on producing simple and elegant work ranging from buildings and bridges to large and small works of art.. Annual Institution Events. Conferences & Seminars. $ATE. | Thursday 19 November. 4ime. | 17:30 Registration 18:00 Lecture, 19:30 Dinner. Venue | International HQ 47 - 58 Bastwick Street London, EC1V 3PS Price. |. Lecture only - Free to attend Lecture plus dinner - £70 St Barts Brewery, EC1A 9DY. Special Interest Series. Technical Lecture Series. A series of lectures organised in partnership by the Institution and other leading organisations.. Registration is required in advance by visiting the events section of the Institution website, www.istructe.org, and following the instructions provided. Registration will close Friday 13 November. Space is limited and latecomers will only be admitted to the OVERmOWFACILITY

(17) NOTTHEMAINLECTURETHEATRE)FYOUHAVEANYQUESTIONSPLEASECONTACTTHE%VENTS4EAMATEVENTS ISTRUCTEORG. UK. Nationa l Group. Developments in Structural Concrete: Extending Life – Exploiting Materials. DISC 2015. This event from ƄEUK will examine extending the life of existing concrete assets and enhancing the durability of new ones by exploiting recent developments in concrete material and construction technology. Hammersmith Flyover: design for refurbishment of a badly corroded structure - Stuart Moore Hammersmith Flyover: refurbishment, made possible by Ultra High Performance Fibre Reinforced Concrete - Boris Cousin. Date. | Thursday 26 November. Time. | Registration from 13:30 Seminar from 14:00 - 17:30. Crossrail Custom House Station: A kit of parts - Ed Newman-Sanders Piecing together Custom House Station - Cameron Corsby Sponsored by:. Annual Institution Events. Venue | International HQ 47-58 Bastwick Street London, EC1V 3PS Price. Conferences & Seminars. Special Interest Series. A programme of conferences and seminars organised by the Institution and industry partners. A series of lectures organised in partnership by the Institution and other leading organisations.. | £90 (exclusive of VAT). Technical Lecture Series. lb UK is the UK Group of the International Federation for Structural Concrete (www.ŵbuk.org). Members of lb UK are entitled to one delegate place free. Registration is required in advance as space is limited. To book your place, please visit the events section of the Institution website, www.istructe.org and register before Wednesday 18 November. If you have any questions please contact the Events Team at [email protected].. p14_TSE.11.15.indd 14. 22/10/2015 10:07.

(18) › www.thestructuralengineer.org. TheStructuralEngineer November 2015. 15. Project focus Peer-reviewed papers focusing on the structural engineering challenges faced during the design and build stages of a construction project.. 16 The Living Planet Centre – a sustainable home for WWF-UK John Gerrard of Expedition Engineering explains how the design of the new Living Planet Centre in Woking was developed to control its environmental and social impact. As a result of this clear vision, and the way the building was designed and constructed, the Structural Award-winning project has achieved the highest standards of sustainable construction.. TSE47_15 Project focus opener.indd 15. 22/10/2015 11:20.

(19) ›. 16. TheStructuralEngineer November 2015. Project Focus Living Planet Centre. The Living Planet Centre – a sustainable home for WWF-UK John Gerrard BEng, CEng, MIStructE, Associate, Expedition Engineering. Synopsis. The new Living Planet Centre for WWF-UK in Woking is a stimulating, multipurpose facility which combines the charity’s offices with a public education and exhibition space housed within an exemplar sustainable building. At the outset, the building’s design was developed to control its environmental and social impact. As a result of this clear vision, and the way the building was designed and constructed, the project has achieved the highest standards of sustainable construction. The Living Planet Centre demonstrates that a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ sustainable building can be delivered to budget when clients, design teams and contractors work closely together towards a common goal. This collaboration has created an inspiring working environment for a charity which aims to raise awareness of the issues that affect our natural world. Introduction Working from a rented, outdated building in a business park on the edge of town, WWFUK was in desperate need of offices in a new location so that it could actively engage with the public and local community. Following a generous donation, made explicitly for such a. TSE47_16-22 Project Focus v1.indd 16. relocation, WWF-UK embarked on a projectspecific fundraising campaign. In parallel, it ran an architectural ideas competition prior to a suitable site being identified. After considering several locations with the successful architect, Hopkins, WWF-UK accepted a gift from. Woking Borough Council of an existing car park site on the edge of the town centre, adjacent to the Basingstoke Canal. A shortlist of like-minded consultants was then approached to collaborate on this ambitious project. Expedition was pleased to be chosen as the civil and structural engineers, along with Atelier Ten as the environmental engineers. The team’s challenge was to deliver an exemplar office and outreach space that was consistent with the charity’s brand values and budget; and at the same time return a similar sized parking facility to the council. As a champion of ‘One Planet Living’1, the client’s aspirations for sustainable development were paramount: this project would put WWF’s reputation on the line. Therefore, it was fundamental that the project’s sustainable objectives were defined early on in the design process. These included: • building strong links with the community • creating an accessible and open building • establishing an educational outreach programme to support WWF’s goals • enhancing local biodiversity. 22/10/2015 11:22.

(20) www.thestructuralengineer.org. 17. . Figure 1 Living Planet Centre. Winner: Education or Healthcare Structures. • incorporating long-term flexibility and adaptability • ensuring low operational costs • responsible use of resources in both the building’s construction and operation • going beyond industry-accepted sustainability standards. RICHARD STONEHOUSE. Building overview WWF’s Living Planet Centre houses 300 staff over two storeys in a collaborative, openplan environment, together with conference and educational facilities and the new ‘WWF Experience’ exhibition. The building sits over a public car park run by Woking Borough Council. The building itself is topped with a dramatic and structurally efficient 37.5m wide curving timber diagrid, composed of crossing glued laminated (glulam) timber elements. These are capped with a zinc roof featuring photovoltaic panels for energy production and large metal wind cowls to help naturally ventilate the building. The eastern and western gable ends are glazed, with timber louvres providing protection against solar gain.. TSE47_16-22 Project Focus v1.indd 17. Work space is arranged around a doubleheight internal ‘street’ which adds a central focus to the environment. The internal mezzanine is designed as a sway frame allowing for easy future adjustment of internal partitions and layout to thoroughly future-proof the building. A new pedestrian bridge has been constructed over the canal from the town centre. The bridge links the building’s public piazza at the podium level to the community. Surrounding the site, existing trees have been retained and a new wetlands area has been created to provide a ‘nature corridor’ from the Basingstoke Canal to Horsell Moor and to enhance the public realm along the historic canal (Figure 1).. Design The structural engineer’s role in BREEAM (2011)2 is limited, with very few credits being attributable to the work for which they are responsible. Typically, points may be awarded for the specification of recycled aggregates, but opportunities for additional points are rare. The engineer’s contribution to the project’s. sustainability objectives therefore takes on a wider approach, including: • the design of efficient structural forms • the careful assessment, selection and specification of structural materials throughout the building • working the structural elements hard to creating as efficient a design as possible – a lean design which still allows future flexibility • using the structure for more than ‘holding the building up’ – e.g. multifunctional elements, thermal mass and aesthetics Expedition’s role as structural engineer was to support and enclose the space in a way that responded to and ultimately contributed to the project’s sustainability objectives. An early decision made by the team was that the building's structure would be exposed, avoiding the need for secondary finishes and thereby reducing the embodied energy and ongoing maintenance issues. (There are only two pieces of primary structure that cannot be seen in this building: the pile caps and the piles!) Therefore, it was vital for the structure. 22/10/2015 11:22.

(21) ›. TheStructuralEngineer November 2015. 18. Project focus Living Planet Centre. S. Figure 2 Exposed structure throughout. to be beautifully designed and detailed. We worked closely with the architect on the detailing between each element to achieve the high quality required. Walking around the completed building, it is evident that the contractor, and their specialist subcontractors, also rose to, and met, this challenge (Figure 2). The decision to expose the structure throughout the building allowed us to express the structural form: a great opportunity to showcase structural engineering – as so often our work is hidden for no-one to see.. Roof structure Creating the desired airy, open feel inside the building – a specific requirement of the client – led the team towards a clearspan roof structure. At concept stage we presented a range of options for the structural arrangement, from highly efficient doubly curved structures through to simple but less efficient long-span bending elements (Figure 3). The roof structure had many conflicting design drivers, such as its orientation to suit. TSE47_16-22 Project Focus v1.indd 18. environmental performance, an efficient structural form, the planning envelope and its aesthetic appearance both inside and outside. It was not a difficult decision for the team to agree that timber was the right choice for the arched roof, as it satisfied so many of the project’s objectives. As structural engineers we needed to ensure its structural arrangement was efficient and worked with the architecture and servicing requirements. A simple diagrid solution was agreed upon – a structurally efficient and aesthetically pleasing arch form composed of a series of repeated elements. The arch geometry was extruded along the length of the building. The arch roof is created using straight lengths of glulam (585mm × 150mm in crosssection) fixed to galvanised steel fin plates which project from a solid steel cylindrical node. Each fin plate is rotated ever so slightly relative to the next to generate the facets of the curved form. Fixing of the timber members to the fin plates is adapted to suit the depth of visible timber. Capped steel dowels are used where the full depth of the timber element is. visible and simple bolted connections where the fixing is concealed behind infill panels. Horizontal services are distributed out of sight behind infill panels along the length of the roof through a series of holes cut through the primary diagrid members (Figure 4). The springing points for the arch roof sit outside the main building line on the edge of the podium slab in order to maintain the headroom over the internal mezzanine. With a clear span of nearly 38m, early structural analysis showed, as expected, that deflection was governing the structural design of the roof. We suggested that the introduction of a structural support in the perimeter facade would help to limit roof deflections and improve the efficiency of the design. Working with the architect, we integrated an additional line of ‘imperceptible’ support in the facade line. This improved the structural efficiency without compromising the architecture and the enjoyable views out over the canal and woodlands. The resulting form is testament to the ability of the team to compromise, and work through conflicts, to meet the project’s. 22/10/2015 11:22.

(22) www.thestructuralengineer.org. 19. W. Figure 3 Efficiency of roof form options. furnace slag (GGBS) • 31% locally recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) instead of virgin materials. S. MORLEY VON STERNBERG. Figure 4 Timber diagrid installation. high aspirations. A ‘coarse’ grid arrangement for the structural roof elements was preferred over a finer grid, as it reduced the number of components to be manufactured and erected. Off-site fabrication benefits were: • reduced material wastage • improved site safety • reduced construction programme • cost savings. Superstructure It was tempting at first to try and bury the council’s car park in a basement as car transport does not fit very well with WWF’s ethos. However, it was apparent to us that this approach would involve large amounts of excavation and spoil removal, with significant environmental impact and added disruption from construction traffic (not to mention the impact of the long-term upkeep of a subterranean car park). The team therefore took the decision that the building would be built above a new ground-level car park.. TSE47_16-22 Project Focus v1.indd 19. The structural form and architectural layout was developed to: • sit over the public car park • coordinate the office building grid spacing with standard parking bay sizes • avoid expensive and resource-intensive transfer structures and their associated impact on embodied energy Having investigated the material options and considered architectural and servicing requirements, we recommended that a sustainably specified in situ concrete frame be selected for the podium slab and internal mezzanine structure. This relatively simple, structurally optimised, exposed concrete frame provided a balance of robustness, durability, future flexibility and inherent acoustic, fire resistance and thermal mass properties. All the structural concrete has: • 50% of the Portland cement (OPC) replaced with the by-product ground granulated blast-. Together these steps achieved significant savings in embodied CO2 (CO2e). The mezzanine floor soffit is exposed in situ concrete. This thermal mass is activated using a mechanical night cooling strategy. A phasechange material has been used in the roof to give an equivalent thermal mass (equivalent to 50–70mm of concrete as a diurnal heat store) but at a fraction of the weight. This design choice allowed the servicing strategy to be followed without significant impact on the structural design of the roof. Lateral loads on the glazed gables are resisted by bespoke fabricated steel columns spanning between the reinforced-concrete podium slab and timber diagrid roof. Lateral loads across the roof are distributed via a 45mm thick laminated veneer lumber (LVL) diaphragm and then through the primary glulam members to the inclined perimeter steel circular hollow section (CHS) props that spring from the podium slab. The podium slab transfers these lateral loads into the reinforced-concrete shear walls around the plant rooms located at car park level.. Substructure The results of the ground investigation indicated that a piled foundation solution would be appropriate. Discussions then focused on the various credentials of suitable piling types, i.e. continuous flight auger (CFA) piling, steel helical piling and precast-concrete driven piles. The use of steel helical piles was initially attractive in that they could be removed – allowing the ideal prospect of WWF eventually leaving the site effectively as they found it. CFA piles were less attractive on this front but had the advantage of being commonly used and comparatively affordable. The use of precast-concrete driven piles was even more cost-effective but, with nearby residents, concerns over noise and vibration levels would need to be adequately addressed. Following a detailed comparative assessment, and discussions with piling companies, we recommended the use of precast-concrete driven piling, implementing noise reduction measures. This solution proved to be the most sustainable: with the least embodied carbon, the shortest time on site, less power to install, and negligible spoil (which was lightly contaminated) to be disposed off site; it was also the cheapest option. The driven piles were installed in less than three weeks and without complaint from the neighbours.. 22/10/2015 11:22.

(23) ›. TheStructuralEngineer November 2015. 20. Coordination with earth ducts Large-diameter earth ducts were laid in the ground as part of the heating and cooling strategy for the building (Figure 5). Reinforcedconcrete ground beams would normally be used to stabilise individual precast piles (or pairs of piles). However, as the earth ducts run extensively across the site, we proposed that lower-capacity piles be installed in groups of three to remove the need for ground beams. This not only reduced material use, but simplified construction of both the earth ducts and foundations – a key decision saving time, money and materials.. S. Figure 5 Earth ducts being installed. Project Focus Living Planet Centre. Carbon emissions analysis The ambition for the project was to break new ground in carbon emissions reductions, and to ensure that the Living Planet Centre would be an exemplar of low-carbon office design. The team, guided by Sturgis Carbon Profiling, undertook carbon emissions analysis from the point where the building received planning consent through to practical completion. The scope was to eliminate and subsequently measure CO2e emissions of all materials, including furniture, during the design, tender and construction processes, and also the ‘whole life’ emissions over the building’s 60-year design life3. This included understanding the relationship between CO2e emissions costs and operational emissions savings (i.e. capital carbon versus operational carbon), and meant working closely firstly with the design team and client/project manager, secondly with the contractor team, and finally with the client as occupier. An initial ‘carbon budget’ was calculated, of 1884kg CO2e/m2 (based on the Planning Consent scheme), and this was used as a baseline position. In addition, a range of carbon-reduction design options was produced. These options led to the use of more carbon-efficient materials, higher recycled. content and longer lifespans. The team also targeted local sourcing (i.e. reduced diesel use), efficient procurement, and reduced waste throughout the fabrication and assembly processes. During the tender process the carbon consultant produced Employer’s Requirements to help define what information was required from subcontractors in order to assess how carbon emissions were expended through the supply chain. The carbon requirements included raw material sourcing, fabrication, and the relative emissions costs of, for example, HGV delivery from Aberdeen (at 0.375kg CO2/ kg) of material transported versus ship delivery from coastal China (at 0.336kg CO2/kg) – the ship is better! To minimise increases in environmental impact during construction, the carbon consultant (uniquely as far as we are aware) set a pre-construction ‘contract carbon budget’ at tender stage, and monitored this during the construction process, producing a post-completion final assessment. The contractor exceeded expectations, improving on the budget by 35%! This equated to a 42% reduction in CO2e over the baseline position. It is unusual to set contractors ‘carbon budgets’ but this does not need to be the case. On this project it demonstrably inspired. . Figure 6 WWF Experience exhibition. TSE47_16-22 Project Focus v1.indd 20. 22/10/2015 11:22.

(24) www.thestructuralengineer.org. 21. the contractor to achieve more.. Procurement and construction The procurement and construction process on the Living Planet Centre was critical to delivery of the targets set during the tender process. Given the nature of the procurement route (design and build), the responsibility for delivery ultimately sat with the successful contractor, Willmott Dixon. The primary targets that related to this process were: • a BREEAM rating of ‘Outstanding’ • to beat the embodied carbon budget The key to achieving these two targets was to ensure correct and controlled procurement of goods and materials through the contractor’s existing supply chain. The procurement process in general offered an opportunity to exceed targets, as well as ensuring procurement of materials with responsible sourcing certification. On this project the responsibility for delivery of the project’s sustainability objectives was successfully passed down from the client to the designers, then to the contractor, its subcontractors and, ultimately, the product suppliers. This process began with the development of a project-specific Responsible Procurement Policy (RPP) detailing the expectations in the following areas for the supply chain: • responsible procurement accreditations • waste • full Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification4 (required by WWF-UK as a key supporter of the scheme) • recycled content • volatile organic compounds As we have found on other projects, a particular challenge to achieving full FSC certification was the formwork for the in situ concrete works. The architect, based on their experience, specified a particular formwork board for the extensive exposed concrete works, as they knew it helped achieve a high-quality finish. However, the contractor discovered that this particular board was not FSC certified (although it was sustainably certified by another organisation). The contractor managed to source an alternative FSC certified formwork board and consequently prepared samples and benchmarks which were agreed. The contractor proposed a change from the specified traditional sand-and-cement screed to a screed board – with the benefits of reducing the construction programme and realising a carbon saving. However, it was. TSE47_16-22 Project Focus v1.indd 21. discovered that the screed board contained a small proportion of recycled paper, which meant tracing the source of the recycled paper to ensure FSC compliance – an unusual task for the contractor and the supply chain but ultimately worthwhile and beneficial to the project. The RPP provided the team with a good communication document but also ensured that subcontractors were contractually obliged to deliver on the targets. Further collaboration encouraged targets to be beaten wherever possible and issues worked through, including: • utilising ‘post-consumer reclaimed’ screed board in place of a wet screed by undertaking a risk assessment on the waste paper sources in Germany • using a joiner based on their proven track record by setting up an FSC certified workshop on the site premises • using 100% recycled rebar within the concrete frame • delivering a fair-faced-finish concrete frame with 35% recycled aggregate Overall the process realised a high level of performance, with full FSC certification achieved in addition to a further 98.9% of the major building elements being sourced with a Building Research Establishment (BRE) recognised level of responsible sourcing5. It was typically the ancillary components, such as rubber movement joints, that could not be certified as responsibly sourced; so further work is needed by the industry to increase the number of building products that can be certified as responsibly sourced. With specific regard to the construction process, the contractor was wholly responsible for the scope of emissions that related to the energy used to construct the building. As such, various processes were implemented to reduce site-based emissions. Low-energy site setup Eco-cabins were utilised, providing lowenergy light fittings throughout, better U-values and improved air tightness. In addition the site staff drying rooms were fitted with dehumidifiers, drastically reducing the energy load during a very wet year. Energy monitoring Real-time energy monitoring was an essential part of the process as it offered the opportunity for initiatives to be trialled and improvements logged. It also visualised energy use, providing a useful tool to encourage behavioural change.. Cabin zoning Non-essential areas of the site setup were automatically switched off out of hours. Waste In addition to reducing the energy load applied to the construction process, reducing waste was a fundamental principle. These reduction techniques started during the design stage, where opportunities for prefabrication were maximised. This included precast planks and the glulam diagrid structure. In the construction process, the primary approach was to reduce waste through tighter controls and behavioural change. Simplification of targets into skip numbers allowed easy understanding throughout the site and subcontractor teams of what their requirements were. Incentives were then applied to these targets and different trades made responsible for their own waste. Takeback schemes were maximised and most items were delivered with reduced packaging. Critically, the procurement-to-construction process was linked to the same sustainability targets, which placed responsibility on delivery through the supply chain, ultimately ensuring success. All timber waste, as well as some other unused materials, were donated to a local charity which utilised it in community projects. Overall, the site saw a 30% reduction in waste compared to industry standard wastage rates, with 99% of all waste diverted from landfill.. Ongoing monitoring User training and controls were identified at the concept stage as key issues that would affect the operation and operational carbon savings of the building: i.e. the building had been designed to be efficient but would the client know how to use it so that it would perform as designed? Therefore, the controls philosophy was discussed with the user group at various project milestones to ensure that the operation and level of user interaction was correctly understood and could be implemented at handover. A building log book and building user guide were compiled and handed over to the client during the commissioning and witnessing stages to reference and reinforce understanding of the installed systems and the modes of operation. The contractor is currently leading the Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) process to ensure that the building is operating (and being used) as designed. In particular, this is looking at both the technical (hard) and people (soft) sides of sustainability. The POE process has initially set out baseline information in two ways.. 22/10/2015 11:22.

(25) ›. 22. TheStructuralEngineer November 2015. Energy performance The baseline has been set by the design-stage information. Social performance A questionnaire was completed after a short period of occupancy by users of the Living Planet Centre in which they provided their initial thoughts on the building. The questionnaire, in particular, looked at the health and well-being of the building’s occupants and how the internal environment has affected their ability to perform their jobs. The monitoring will last in the region of 15 months from occupation. During this time, energy and building performance will be continually monitored, with any outliers or times of high use being immediately investigated and resolved. Ultimately this pro-active approach will ensure that the building is properly and effectively commissioned for all seasons and functioning as designed. With specific regard to the social sides, initial feedback has been taken on board by WWF-UK staff and consultation has begun to resolve any immediate concerns. The POE process will be completed with a measure of how the occupants’ opinions have changed over their first 15 months in the building. The POE process will provide an effective document for the building’s occupants on possible improvements, but importantly will also provide a reference document for the team on lessons learnt.. Project Focus Living Planet Centre. the way the building was designed and constructed, the project has achieved the highest standards of sustainable construction. The structure of this building is visually celebrated, making a clear contribution to the exemplary working environment. Visitors are encouraged to the Living Planet Centre, where they can engage with the ‘WWF Experience’ and can learn more about the work that WWF is involved with around the world (Figure 6). The Living Planet Centre demonstrates that a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ sustainable building can be delivered to budget when clients, design teams and contractors work closely together towards a common goal. This collaboration has created an inspiring working environment for a charity raising. • all aspects of the structure have been designed to be an efficient form – particularly evident in the arched timber roof • each element of the structural material has been optimised to minimise material consumption • wastage has been reduced through repetition and off-site fabrication • materials have been carefully specified to minimise their environmental impact • the structural design has been coordinated to integrate building technologies – which in turn offer substantial savings in the building’s energy use At the outset, the brief for the building was to control its environmental and social impact. As a result of this clear vision, and. TSE47_16-22 Project Focus v1.indd 22. Acknowledgements The author is grateful to colleagues at Expedition Engineering, as well as Hopkins, Atelier Ten, Sturgis Carbon Profiling and Willmott Dixon, for their input into this article.. Project team Client: WWF-UK Structural engineer: Expedition Engineering Architect: Hopkins Service engineer: Atelier Ten Carbon profiling: Sturgis Carbon Profiling Landscape architect: Grant Associates Quantity surveyor: Gardiner & Theobald Project management: Doherty Baines Contractor: Willmott Dixon. References and further reading E1. E2. E3. Summary Expedition’s role as structural and civil engineers was to play an important part in a collaborative design that meets the needs of a charity, that champions ‘One Planet Living’. This was achieved in a number of ways:. awareness of the issues that affect our natural world.. E4. E5. WWF International and BioRegional (2008) One Planet Living [Online] Available at: www. oneplanetliving.com/index.html (Accessed: October 2015) BRE Global Ltd (2011) BREEAM New Construction: Non-Domestic Buildings – Technical Manual [Online] Available at: www.breeam.org/breeamGeneralPrint/ breeam_non_dom_manual_3_0.pdf (Accessed: October 2015) Sturgis S. and Roberts G. (2010) RICS Research Report: Redefining zero: Carbon profiling as a solution to whole life carbon emission measurement in buildings, London, UK: RICS Forest Stewardship Council (2015) Types of certification [Online] Available at: www.fsc-uk.org/ fsc-certificate-types.93.htm (Accessed: October 2015) BRE Global Ltd (2014) BES 6001: Framework Standard for Responsible Sourcing [Online] Available at: www.greenbooklive.com/filelibrary/responsible_ sourcing/BES-6001-Issue-3-Final.pdf (Accessed: October 2015). Further reading Bordass W. (2001) Flying blind: Everything you wanted to know about energy in commercial buildings but were afraid to ask, London, UK: EEASOX and the Association for Conservation of Energy British Council for Offices (2009) Guide to specification, London, UK: BCO Thirion C. (2010) ‘2030, the structural engineer’s role in beating Professor Beddington’s Perfect Storm prescriptions’, The Structural Engineer, 88 (15/16), pp. 20–23. 22/10/2015 11:23.

(26) ›. www.thestructuralengineer.org. TheStructuralEngineer November 2015. 23. Professional guidance Articles that provide information and advice on everyday matters affecting the practising structural engineer.. 24 Managing risk and contractual liability. Part 11: Net contribution and limitations of liability 28 Introducing the National Structural Timber Specifiication 30 Managing Health & Safety Risks No. 45: Small-scale works and CDM 2015. TSE47_23 Prof guid opener.indd 23. 22/10/2015 11:24.

(27) ›. 24. TheStructuralEngineer November 2015. Professional guidance Contractual liability. Managing risk and contractual liability. Part 11: Net contribution and limitations of liability Case study 1. This month’s article from Griffiths & Armour explains the benefits of net contribution clauses and clauses which limit an engineer’s liability. Introduction The intention behind a net contribution clause (NCC) is for an engineer’s liability in a multi-party dispute to be limited to an equitable proportion of any losses. It seeks to modify the effects of joint and several liability, a principle which otherwise applies in circumstances where more than one party is liable to the same claimant for the same loss. By way of an example, let us suppose that a £100 000 loss has been incurred by developers due to errors of workmanship and design defects, both of which have apparently caused the same loss. Let us assume that an independent expert or arbitrator has advised that while these were concurrent causes, it was the workmanship errors which were the more dominant cause and that an equitable apportionment might see the contractor contributing £70 000 and the designer £30 000. The principles of joint and several liability do not recognise equitable apportionment along these lines and they place no obligation on the claimant developers to pursue both the designer and the contractor. Instead, the developers could choose to pursue only one of the two for £100 000, leaving that single defendant to find a means of bringing the other party into the main action or somehow effecting recovery from them. There may be a range of legal routes for doing this, but the important point is that the costs burden of pursuing any of these options would usually fall to the original defendant. The same defendant party would also be left with the risk of the second defendant party being uninsured or insolvent. NCCs seek to protect against those risks (Case study 1).. TSE47_24-26 H&S Legal risks v1.indd 24. NCCs had not been tested by the courts (save for a Scottish case in 2009: Langstane Housing Association Limited v. Riverside Construction (Aberdeen) Limited) until the case of West v. Ian Finlay & Associates in 2014. Mr and Dr West appointed Ian Finlay & Associates (Finlay) as architect in connection with the refurbishment of their property. Maurice Armour (Contracts) Limited (Armour) were the contractors. Shortly after completion of the works the Wests identified significant damp problems, principally attributable to poor workmanship by Armour, but partly due to poor supervision by Finlay. Armour became insolvent and the Wests issued a claim against Finlay for the entirety of their losses, which exceeded £800 000. Finlay’s appointment contained an NCC with the following wording: “Our liability for loss or damage will be limited to the amount that it is reasonable for us to pay in relation to the contractual responsibilities of other consultants, contractors and specialists appointed by you.” The court at first instance held that Finlay was liable and that his liability was not reduced in any way by the above clause. The court found that the wording of the clause was ambiguous and should therefore be considered in the context of Regulation 7(2) of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract (UTCC) Regulations: “If there is doubt about the meaning of a written term, the interpretation which is most favourable to the consumer shall prevail…”. The court held that the reference to “other… contractors” in the NCC could be construed as referring not to Armour, but to other contractors with whom the Wests were proposing to enter into separate contracts wide of the main building contract. This interpretation operated in favour of the Wests and it therefore took precedence. Finlay appealed the decision. The. Court of Appeal held that the words were unambiguous – there was no need to refer to Regulation 7(2) of the UTCC Regulations – and that rather than being interpreted the words could simply be given their normal meaning. However, the Court did consider the effect of Regulation 5(1) of the UTCC Regulations to assess whether the clause was fair. Regulation 5(1) states: “A contractual term which has not been individually negotiated shall be regarded as unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer.” While it was accepted that the clause had not been individually negotiated and that (in effect) it operated to the detriment of the Wests, it was also accepted that the principle of good faith had been satisfied since the clause was prominently displayed within the agreement, and the parties were of equal bargaining power. The key issue therefore was whether the clause caused a “significant imbalance” to the parties’ rights: “In other words, it is necessary to consider whether the NCC was so weighted in favour of [Finlay] as to tilt the parties’ rights and obligations under the Agreement significantly in [Finlay’s] favour.” While the Court found that the clause created an imbalance, it found that this imbalance was not significant for the following reasons: • NCCs are commonplace in standard forms of professional appointments • the clause would not be regarded as unusual in a commercial contract • it would be the Wests who would make the final decision regarding the appointment of the contractor and (given Mr West’s background in banking) would be alive to the fact that the financial stability of the contractor was of importance Consequently, the Court allowed the appeal and held that the clause was enforceable.. 22/10/2015 11:24.

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