Rethinking materials – why engineers must lead on reuse

Tom Howarth found himself fully immersed in a major steel reuse project just a couple of years after graduating – now he's bringing his knowledge and experience to bear on developing a template for the 'circular city'. Helena Russell reports.

A textbook approach to design is an impediment to wider reuse, believes Tom Webster, who argues that the profession must place more value on the actual performance of reused components.

Structural engineers must learn to share their experiences, innovations and failures more openly if the pace of sustainability change is to accelerate, believes Anna Beckett.