The paper centres around the experiences of Peter Terrell and Geoffrey Rooke since they started up in practice together in Paris in 1982, a time of general slump and despondency compared with the current dynamism in the approach to 1993. P. Terrell and G. Rooke
From the point of view of structural safety, the principal hazard for cladding in its many forms and various materials is that it can and sometimes has fallen off buildings. The extent of the risk depends on the number of people below at any time and also on the characteristics of the cladding itself. Fortunately, the incidence of death or serious injury from this cause has been small to date, but whenever failures do occur and public safety is threatened, there is serious recrimination against those involved in design, construction or maintenance.
The bulk of defects occur in the weathershield, and therefore the cladding, of buildings. Unless such cladding was also loadbearing, it has not traditionally been the responsibility of the engineer. In this age of specialisation, architects are less likely to be structurally qualified to deal with the secondary stresses which inevitably arise in the weathershield. Furthermore, the pattern of construction has changed, so that more engineering input is necessary.
The present state of specifications or recommendations governing the static design of welded structural hollow section (SHS) trusses and joints in various countries is reviewed, along with the calibration or adjustments made to suit particular Code formats. Recent international trends in the properties of manufactured tubes are described, and the impact these have on joint design is discussed. It is shown that recalibration of Eurocode 3 Appendix 6B proposals is warranted, prior to their adoption in the UK and elsewhere, and microcomputer-based design aids need to be subsequently produced for effective implementation. Professor J.A. Packer and G. Davies
This President was torn between giving a ‘state of the art’ report on the health and development of the profession and of the Institution-our successes and our failures-or a statement on the ‘art we profess’. On the one hand, there is the danger of merely repeating, with some updating, the excellent reports that have been given by Past Presidents, and on the other there is the possible danger of indulging oneself, of ‘fiddling while Rome burns’. Experience would suggest that the art of pursuing one’s own policies while appearing to compromise is essential to the survival of any President. This I hope to achieve. J.H. Armstrong
Over the last 2 years, I have read with interest several ‘viewpoint’ articles on this subject from respected engineers. I want to generally recap on what was said, basically agree with it, and thereafter suggest some rather radical ideas on how we, as an Institution, should proceed. P.L. Ross