2022 Structural Engineering Fellowship
An Ontological Study of Structures and Their Materiality

The ontology of our structural materials, their nature of being with respect to humankind, science, and the environment, fluctuates along a broad spectrum between the microscopic and the inconceivably large. In the microcosmos, the chemical, mechanical, and thermal properties of materials are analyzed and manipulated such that we understand their composition and maximize their utility. At the opposite end there are colossal systems of resource extraction, energy consumption, and global capital flows that exhaust materials at the whim of interminably evolving power structures. Confined between the two polarities is what little remains visible to the naked eye. It is what we, as individuals or a collective, willfully imbue into our construction: the role that materials play when a structure cultivates connected communities, generates global knowledge in engineering theory and practice, or expresses local artistic and cultural values.

Envisioning this ontological spectrum is difficult. This research, therefore, aims to uncover these opaque material relationships—with people, nature, and science at small-to-large scales—through an in-depth study of thirty structures located across the globe. Through various cultural lenses, analyses of responsible, as well as irresponsible, relationships with materiality will be conducted. The study will investigate both traditional building materials that have characterized the past as well as innovative building materials that will shape the future—both of which have the potential to redefine our present-day relationships with structural materiality. Each case study will be connected to at least one of three core concepts: community impact, environmental sustainability, or engineering innovation.

Community Impact

As communities develop, intense material consumption for the construction of new infrastructure is imperative to make way for further growth. The networks by which materials are extracted define whether this consumption generates an overall negative or positive impact; be it for the community itself or external communities involved in the broader extraction network. The Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre [1] in South Africa, for an example with a positive impact, is built from locally sourced construction materials that, employing local labor for the design and fabrication, stimulates internal economic synergy while establishing trade skills among the employed. Droneport, a concept installation in Italy for resource-constrained communities in Africa, is another example that not only utilizes local material networks but intends to establish new modes of connectivity by enabling drone travel to hard-to-access areas.

Community-based structures, beyond their efficient local material networks, can also act as cultural artifacts that are wrapped in pride and artistic expression. Moreover, when the materials are properly integrated, both structurally and culturally, they can foster resiliency and strength; improving the quality of life of its denizens with beautiful designs that act in harmony with both the natural and social landscape. To observe how the structures selected for this research affects a given community, the following questions are posed to guide the study:

• Do these networks shape nonexploitative networks of extraction, production, and waste?
• What manner of social and cultural landscapes might these networks define or redefine?
• How do corporations, communities, and individuals play a role in shaping these networks?

Environmental Sustainability

Modernization’s fundamental structural material, reinforced concrete, is ubiquitous due to its utility but attached with it are a plethora of environmental costs (with respect to climate change, it is responsible for at least 8.0 percent of the world’s carbon emissions). [2] Exploring new relationships with materiality, and perhaps revisiting old relationships, is imperative. Motivated by this necessity, this study will investigate select structures built from sustainably sourced materials that create minimal ecological impact. Responsible material use, via recycled and organic alternatives, is exemplified by buildings such as the EcoArk in Taiwan—which is composed of 1.5 million recycled plastic bottles—and, additionally, Indonesia’s Arc at Green School that, as a series of intersecting bamboo arches, derives its strength from opposing anticlastic organic grid shells.

The ethics of environmentalism, however, can be ambiguous. Rio de Janeiro’s Museum of Tomorrow, with an award-winning sustainable design, was erected by construction companies who allegedly paid egregious bribes to politicians for overpriced public contracts. Thus, while making environmentally conscious contributions to its community, this structure may have also divested funds that could have otherwise been invested in Rio’s dilapidated favelas. To navigate potentially nebulous paradigms surrounding sustainability, the following questions are posed:

• Can its use limit the long-term impact of the human consumption of materials?
• Imagining scaled up resource extraction, which biospheres may be impacted the most?
• What role does the material’s adoption play in combating the climate crisis?

Engineering Innovation

Steadily, the bold use of materials will pave the way for the future of structural engineering. With the ingenuity and creativity to make infrastructure stronger, more efficient, and cheaper than ever before, steps will be—and have been—taken toward a reality unknown to any generation before ours. Innovative material fabrication methods that utilize 3D-printing technology, such as the MX3D Bridge in the Netherlands or the Dubai Future Foundation Headquarters in the United Arab Emirates, exemplify bold strides forward that will transform the construction industry. Moreover, with structures that employ ultra-high strength concrete or steel, such as in the Haneda Airport in Japan or the Marina One in Singapore, it is apparent that, all over the world, engineers will dare to innovate, break norms, and redefine material relationships. The following questions are posed to guide the study of innovative structural materials:

• Which stakeholders stand to benefit the most from widely adopting the innovative material?
• Is the production and resource extraction of the material feasible at scale?
• What are research concepts for new structural systems inspired by the given material?

Conclusion

It is the responsibility of structural engineers to make use of materials that are ethical, responsible, and efficient. Within complex systems of financial and political interests, however, it is an obligation often thought infeasible when glancing at our cost-benefit analyses. But what must be understood, and what this study hopes to convey through the chosen structural case studies, is that there are costs greater than capital; costs that have the potential to irreversibly compromise (or strengthen) the livelihood of future generations. This research, by drawing lines between materiality, community, nature, and science, hopes to unveil how these costs can be addressed by establishing, via the built environment, responsible material relationships.

The deliverable of the study will be a report that aims to inspire material consumption that, with innovation, sustainability, and people considered, builds toward a better and more efficient tomorrow. The case-by-case analysis of the selected structures, which is connected to at least one of three core concepts (community impact, environmental sustainability, or engineering innovation) will demonstrate engineering design opportunities that are reverent of the past— via traditional material use—or illustrates ambitions for the future—with the innovative materials of tomorrow. Ultimately, by studying the material ontology of our structures, structural engineers might identify ways to advance engineering scholarship, foster interconnected communities with a collective identity, and implement designs that express local artistic and cultural values.

Notes

[1] Michael H. Ramage, John Ochsendorf, Peter Rich, James K. Bellamy, and Phillipe Block, “Design and Construction of the Mapungubwe National Park Interpretive Centre, South Africa,” ATDF Journal 7, no. 1/2 (2010): 14–23.

[2] Laurent Barcelo, John Kline, Gunther Walenta, and Ellis Gartner, “Cement and Carbon Emissions,” Materials and Structures 47, no. 6 (2014): 1055–1065.

Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, and the United States

Kenya, Mozambique, and South Africa

Germany, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom

China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, and United Arab Emirates