The Inter-relationship between Structural Engineering and Architecture Essay

The Inter-relationship between Structural Engineering and Architecture - Essay Example Throughout human history, architects have ranged from learned men revered by royalty, to anonymous craftsmen rising through the ranks of guilds. Both have built castles, cathedrals, and chateaux. Until the last century, there were no schools of architecture, no building codes, etc. There were no ready-made building materials to purchase structures. Anyone could hang out a shingle as an architect, and did (Schekkerman). Barbacci (Barbacci) describes; traditionally, the architect was a master in control of all functional, structural, and aesthetic decisions; the method of construction; and the supervision of the building process. This tradition continued until the 19th century, where the complexity of the application of structural steel forced architects to deligate the matter to the structural engineers. The primary role of the architect as the overall builder was further diminished during the 20th century by the growth in complexity of building systems such as the passenger elevators (Schekkerman). Today, building human shelter is no longer a work of any single individual, rather by a group of specialists from various fields. Thus, building a shelter is already a collective effort amongst talents of a team. Architects now had to collaborate with mechanical and electrical engineers as well. Engineers in these disciplines were experts in their subject matter but not on buildings and could not assume the role of the architect. The need for people whose professional focus was on the design of buildings but whose education as engineers allowed them to master the technologies and materials in structural, mechanical, and electrical systems led to the emergence of architectural engineering as a new profession (Schekkerman). The relationship between practising architects and structural engineers is to achieve the common goal of creating a work of architecture. Yet the very roots of modern misconceptions about this process are that the conventional' architect purports to represent art while the conventional' engineer purports to represent science. This was not, however how the creators of Gothic Cathedrals saw it (Ardill).Circa 25 BCE, Vitruvius described the role of an architect as (Schekkerman): The ideal architect should be a man of letters, a mathematician, familiar with historical studies, a diligent of philosophy, acquainted with music, not ignorant of medicine, learned in the responses of jurisconsultis, familiar with astronomy andastronomical calculations. The architect has the vision; the structural engineer creates the reality. Engineers are artists grounded in concrete, steel, and glass (among other materials), and it is up to them to ensure that a building can be built as it was designed. Engineers work in close partnership with architects throughout the design process, and when analysing the finished product, it is often difficult to clearly define between the two professionals (Hagberg).The Architect has always been perceived as the "Artist". Most Architectural drawings can be a true work of art that has been affectionately created with a zealous eye for detail. The architect coordinates the entire design and ensures that from the aesthetic point of view his intentions are being conveyed with every