How Structural Engineers Account for Building Loads
During my summer internship, I noticed how one or two pages are dedicated to information about the structure of beams,...
The Advantages of Composite Construction
During my internship, I noticed that some buildings used a combination of structural steel and reinforced concrete rather than relying...
The Hidden Danger of Progressive Collapse
One might think that in such a large building, one component failing or breaking wouldn’t be a huge problem. However,...
Building Foundations, the hidden contributor
When visiting a site of an in-construction building, I noticed that even before construction began on the walls and other...
What Outrigger Systems Are and Why They Are Important to Buildings
As buildings become taller, keeping them stable becomes an increasing challenge. Usually, engineers use strong cores made of steel or...
How Shear Walls Work to Keep Buildings Standing
While looking over drawings of building plans, I noticed how some walls were marginally thicker than other walls in the...
Reinforced Concrete vs Steel – How Engineers decide?
I have always wondered what criterion drives architects to choose reinforced concrete vs steel for a building’s structure. Some buildings...
Why Skyscrapers Sway in the Wind
Growing up in the bay area, I was always one drive away from large buildings in that dominated the San...
Structural Failures – How Engineers Learn from them
With the vast amount of infrastructure around the world, several collapses have happened and likely will continue to happen. Rather...
Why Construction Sequence matters?
After structural designs are ready, a building must be built up to its standards. At first, I assumed all that...
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