Recent examples of inappropriate analysis of masonry structures, leading to their unnecessary designation as unsafe, suggest modern engineers could benefit from a wider appreciation of elementary principles. The 1820s procedure of Thomas Young – perhaps best remembered for his modulus of elasticity – is a good place to start. This paper sets out the principles of Young's visionary approach and how it was adopted and developed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for his record-breaking Maidenhead Bridge over the River Thames in England. It also speculates how Brunel's father Marc Isambard may have further developed the method for assessing his Thames Tunnel design.

Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow airport was one of the largest infrastructure projects in Europe over the last five years. It included approximately 14 km of tunnelling to provide underground infrastructure for rail, road and effluent discharge. In all cases the tunnels were delivered without major incident, thanks to a single integrated team which made all aspects of risk management central to its delivery philosophy. This paper describes the four key projects for which the key aspect of delivery was tunnelling – the airside road, the storm water outfall and the Piccadilly line and Heathrow Express extensions. It discusses the range of aspects that made up the delivery of this infrastructure, ranging from design through to performance of tunnelling machines and the control of surface settlement.

Critical to opening the new £4·3 billion Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow airport was the availability of a public transport service on extensions to both the Heathrow Express and London Underground's Piccadilly line, not least as this was a key requirement of the planning permission. A sub-surface tracked transit system also needed to be operational to provide a passenger link between the two main terminal buildings. This paper describes the challenge of managing the design, delivery and integration of new railway systems into existing, occasionally old, public systems with continually evolving management structures and without impacting on existing rail services. This was greatly assisted by the application of a system engineering approach.

When Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow airport opened on 27 March 2008, it was almost 23 years since the publication of the 1985 Airports Policy White Paper that had encouraged its development. This paper explains the challenges inherent in trying to deliver a major infrastructure project through the UK planning system, and describes how the absence of clear and updated government policy contributed to the record 525 days spent at the planning enquiry before consent for the £4·3 billion airport expansion could be granted. It also recognises that the project involved issues of national importance that affected many thousands of people, particularly those living under the flight paths.

London Heathrow airport's Terminal 5 project provided an opportunity for owner BAA to set and deliver new standards in environmental sustainability for the construction industry. As this paper describes, opportunities were pursued at each development stage to improve performance and firmly embed environmental awareness and corporate responsibility into decision-making processes. Throughout the design and construction, project teams and suppliers were encouraged to apply innovative techniques and best practice to deliver exemplary environmental performance.

This paper describes the design and construction of the vast piled basement structures for the three terminal buildings at London Heathrow's £4·3 billion Terminal 5 project, together with 1 million m2 of associated aircraft pavements. The basements are up to 20 m deep and involved the excavation and reuse of 6·5 million m3 of gravel and clay. The aircraft pavement involved a number of innovations including development of a new high-strength concrete, which delivered a thinner construction and resulted in programme and environmental benefits.

Moving two rivers from the middle of the Terminal 5 project site at London's Heathrow airport to a new alignment around the western airport perimeter was a critical and highly environmentally sensitive sub-project of the T5 programme. The rivers diversion had to be completed before the original river structures could be demolished to enable continuation of the main terminal development. As described in this paper, the £45 million diversion project included the creation of two 3 km long river channels, phased realignment of 3 km of highway and landscape works to the western boundary of Heathrow.

Heathrow airport's Terminal 5 project has gained widespread recognition for a safety performance some four times better than industry norms and for setting new benchmarks for occupational health and safety. The sheer size of the £4·3 billion project, its structural and managerial complexities and the 60 000 people that have worked on site have presented significant challenges. As this paper describes, safety leadership—as distinct from safety management—coupled with real engagement of, and respect for, all concerned has led to cultural change. This has not only reduced the number and severity of injuries but has also resulted in improved worker health, satisfaction, morale and performance.