Structural Art and the Example of Félix Candela

Abstract

Engineers believe correctly that they are crucial to the nation but usually remain anonymous technicians in the public mind. This misunderstanding is based on three misconceptions that engineers have, which in turn have molded the public’s perceptions and understandings. While the deep problem is the same for each major branch—civil, mechanical, electrical, and chemical—we shall focus here on our own civil engineering profession. First is the misconception that engineering is applied science—that scientists discover new things and engineers take those things and apply them. While this does on occasion help, as a general principle it is historically incorrect. Second is the misconception that the fundamentals of engineering are mathematics and science—that students must study such subjects at a high level to then move to engineering science and finally to engineering itself. While math and science form one part of engineering education, the study of exemplary engineering ideas and works are at least as essential a foundation for engineering education. Third is the misconception that elegance in structural engineering is the province of architects, while engineers ensure that it will stand; only architects can make it a work of art. This argument is contradicted by the most talented structural engineers over the past 200 years whose motivation included appearance along with efficiency and economy. Each misconception is reflected in our own profession, which often seems to have little interest in the recent history of engineering and therefore tends to see engineering as the work of teams of technologists and committees of experts. In short, the neglect of history has the direct effect of dehumanizing modern engineering. There are already some structural engineering professors who sense that missing and critical part of engineering education and are trying to address the misconceptions, which brings us to a most recent illustration: the present Candela project, which has three parts—a college course, a book, and an exhibition. This project grows out of an introductory engineering course first taught at Princeton University beginning in 1974 and enrolling more students than any other engineering course ever offered at Princeton. Through the example of the Candela project, this article illustrates an effective and inspiring way to teach structural engineering not only to engineers, but to anyone interested in learning about our built environment. We use Candela’s “voice” and example to 1 illustrate the central ideas to such teaching, 2 describe the highest achievement possible for a structural engineer becoming a structural artist , and 3 discuss the challenges for the structural engineer practitioner and academic.