The specialist generalist engineer

The organic and reactive professionalisation of the construction industry has resulted in a complex picture which has brought with it a series of problems and threats to the engineering sector. Technical aspects of building projects are becoming increasingly important design drivers, with stringent performance requirements, modern materials and complex systems taking the place of traditional construction methods. Yet the engineering sector appears to be becoming more and more disparate; with holism becoming harder to obtain due to commoditisation and inappropriate procurement. This paper proposes, in principal, a potential solution to this through the upskilling of engineering professionals to become ‘specialist generalist technical lead’ designers within a renewed and simplified core design team. Consulting structural engineers or facade engineers, being tuned to be as technically competent as they are practical, and as design sensitive as they are aware of technical feasibility and cost, are perfectly suited to fulfil an increased need for this specialist generalist figure who can complement the architect from a technical perspective and harness the best of specialist designers, while maintaining a holistic outlook on the technical and sustainability aspects of a project.