Engineering Degrees as Famous Buildings

Ken’s job is just beach. My job is just building.

I’ve been cryogenically frozen in the downstairs studio for days and the deepest, darkest recesses of my brain have begun to visualize every engineering degree as its own building. Imagine a conspiracy board with push pins and red string everywhere.

Alas, I have materials to material, mechanics to mechanic and differentials to differentiate. So, in 1000 words (ish), what building is YOUR engineering degree?

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Civil Engineering

Coined as transportation, energy, and bridge aficionados (aka nerds), allocating a building for civil engineering students doesn’t seem right. The next best thing? A bridge!

Composed of entirely American-made steel, the Golden Gate Bridge, located in San Francisco, California is one of the largest suspension bridges in the world, spanning over 1,280 m. It was the first of its kind and as such, was nicknamed the “bridge that couldn’t be built.” Its incredible safety factors enabled it to withstand the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989, earning its recognition from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) as one of the top 10 “civil engineering achievements.” For cost-estimating lovers out there, this bridge cost $35 million to build in the 1930s. Today, it would cost over $1.5 BILLION!

Did you know that the bridge’s distinctive red coat was a complete accident! It was originally a primer coat with the final colour being a gray, black or silver colour but after countless letters of support from residents, the red became a permanent addition [1].

Architectural Engineering

In case it wasn’t obvious enough already…us arch engs, we care about our buildings. A LOT.

And what better building to encapsulate that love than Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia. With a project end date of Winter 2026, the building will have been in construction for over 144 years. Antoni Gaudi worked on the Sagrada Familia for 43 years. With it, he tells a story of structural innovation and architectural inventiveness. He depicts the story of a massive architectural shift; the exteriors and interiors are not Gothic nor Romanesque or even Classical; they’re so unidentifiable, so much so that its features are often called an otherworldly, aesthetic transcendence.

I think that words are not enough to express how beautiful the Sagrada Familia is. What’s even more beautiful is how generations and generations of architects and engineers have dedicated their lives to its pursuit, all for the belief that their work would one day surpass them [2].

Geological Engineering

“Oh look! A pretty rock!” said every geo ever.

Geological engineering students might go into cardiac arrest from the joy of witnessing the shear amount of rocks in this building.

Dominus Winery, located in Napa Valley, California is composed of an exterior gabion façade. Gabion façades are galvanized, hand-woven baskets filled with stones of varying shapes and sizes. This method is often used for retaining walls. Here, it passively responds to California’s climate by providing protection against the heat during the day and cold gusts during the night. Space between the rocks provides passage for natural light and alleviates the need for artificial light [3], [4].

Environmental Engineering

Like The Lorax, enviro students speak for the trees.

The Hive (also known as The Learning Hub!), located in Jurong, Singapore also speaks for the trees; in 2013, it received Green Mark Platinum, Singapore’s highest environmental award. Located on Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) campus, The Hive is composed of 12 eight storey concrete towers that taper outwards as they move upwards, mimicking the form of plant plots composed of wet clay.

With no shortage of green spaces, the facility functions as a vertical urban jungle that heavily relies on passive ventilation. The building utilizes silent convection to remove hot air, thereby alleviating the need for HVAC systems [5], [6], [7].

Department of Systems Design Engineering

Biomedical Engineering

Agora Garden Tower, located in Taipei, Taiwan has twists and turns that exemplify what it means to be a BME. Like countless biomedical systems, the tower is a paragon of biomimicry. It follows a DNA’s form, created by shifting every floor plate 4.5º.

Functioning as an ultra-modern residential tower, the tower follows the ecosophy of self-sustaining biomes; this school of thought studies the synergy between nature and humans. Equipped with rainwater collection, photovoltaic roofs, light wells, compost pits, ecologic nests, and carbon emission absorption, Agora Garden Tower is the closest a building can get to functioning as a self-sustaining, living organism [8].

Systems Design Engineering

SYDE is a confluence of interdisciplinary studies, bridging gaps in multiple industries. Confluence is defined as the “the junction of two rivers,” as well as “a coming together or gathering at one point” [9]. Musée des Confluences, located in Lyon, France, does both. It’s situated at the junction of the Rhône and Saône rivers and acts as a platform for the convergence of technological, biological and humanist-based backgrounds to foster innovation. Its steel and glass façades are disrupted by “The Gravity Well”, an architectural and structural feature that resembles a whirlpool, plunging itself into the façade, thereby acting as a weight-bearing element that lightens the structure’s load [10].

Department of Chemical Engineering

Chemical Engineering

The hot and cold romance between chemical engineering and material sciences must be studied. But what do I know about romance; I’m a UWaterloo engineering student! Let’s stick to what I know: buildings!

The Water Cube (also known as The National Swimming Centre), located in Beijing, China is composed of an iconic “bubble” façade made of Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), a fluorine-based synthetic polymer. The façade is assembled using a combination of welded ETFE films, installed onto steel frames that are inserted with inert gas. These cushions allow for natural daylighting and act as good insulators. The concrete slab’s high thermal mass allows for natural heating and cooling [11].

Department of Computer & Electrical Engineering

Computer Engineering & Electrical Engineering

Frank Gehry’s Stata Center, located in MIT’s Cambridge, Massachusetts is what I believe to be an algorithm personified (building-ified?). That isn’t too far from the mark with a CATIA software aiding its construction. Its wacky shapes and irregular form lean at unnatural angles and mesh modern and old architectural schools of thought, exemplifying the progression of the tech industry. Its large, almost cartoonish windows create a disorienting effect at night when its very stark lights are left on display [12].

Nanotechnology Engineering

In two years, I have met exactly two nanos. From limited conversations with them, I know that they build some tiny, tiny things. Buildings may not be tiny, tiny things, but they do use nanotechnology in varying forms.

A mind-blowing example of this is Rome’s Jubilee Church (also known as Dio Padre Misericordioso Church) that is composed of stark, white concrete that never darkens. The paint used on this concrete was composed of nanostructured titanium dioxide (TiO₂) particles that never become dirty. This is because when UV light strikes the building, the TiO₂ becomes a catalyst for oxidizing grime. So, the paint does not simply repel smog; it eats it [13]. No longer a big eats small world, eh?

Software Engineering

Computer-aided design is a progression that software engineers and computer scientists are responsible for.

So, along with bragging rights, it only makes sense for me to (reluctantly) hand over the iconic Sydney Opera House, a modern expressionist building that would never have been built if not for modern-day computational design and structural analysis tools. Located in Sydney, Australia, the opera house is composed of seemingly impossible shell roofs that led to 8 years of design and analysis and 3 years of ceramic form cutting. More than 1 million roof tiles cover its façade [14], [15].

Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

There’s nothing that screams mechanical engineering more than the BMW Welt, located in Munich, Germany. Composed of a double cone shape, its sleek form and glass façade emulates the shape of an automotive vehicle. As such, its form is representative of its task of exhibiting and delivering cars.

Not only does its exterior follow this function, but so does its interior, with air being brought in through a low induction system, calculated to consider the airflow required for the elimination of exhaust gases [16].

Mechatronics Engineering

Robot Building in Bangkok, Thailand is literally a robot in the form of a building. The 20 storey structure narrows on certain floors to provide the body of the robot, with circular windows acting as eyeballs and glass reinforced concrete as bolts on the building’s sides. It even has an antenna at its very top! Not only is Robot Building a playful rendition of the common stereotypical robot, but in the 1980s, it also challenged multiple architectural movements including modernism and postmodern classism [17], [18]. Like architecture, isn’t the tech industry meant to work with and challenge societal norms?

Department of Management Science and Engineering

Management Engineering

Management engineering is all about optimizing systems; what better building system is there than one that insulates AND produces energy? Algenhaus in Hamberg, Germany is the first smart building to be fitted with photobioreactors. Algae is grown INSIDE the façade; they produce biogas that can be used for heating a building or even powering a motor. This concept works by sandwiching the algae in two sheets of glass, suspended by water. The sun allows for the algae to photosynthesize and when enough multiply, they are moved to a chamber that uses them to produce biogas/methane [11].

Maybe you’ll give these buildings a visit someday? And if it’s after you graduate, make sure your iron ring is in the picture!

References:

[1] https://www.lovetoknow.com/life/lifestyle/importance-golden-gate-bridge

[2] https://www.rostarchitects.com/articles/2023/2/18/the-story-of-sagrada-familia-by-architect-antoni-gaudi

[3] https://mmdusa.net/portfolio/dominus-estate/vineyard

[4] https://www.herzogdemeuron.com/projects/137-dominus-winery/

[5] https://architizer.com/blog/practice/details/heatherwicks-learning-hub/

[6] https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/03/thomas-heatherwicks-learning-hub-at-nanyang-technological-university-in-singapore-is-designed-for-21st-century-learning.html

[7] https://www.archdaily.com/607594/learning-hub-heatherwick-studio

[8] https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/architectural-facts/a5492-10-things-about-you-did-not-know-about-agora-garden-taipei/

[9] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confluence

[10] https://www.permasteelisagroup.com/project-detail?project=1840