Adding creativity to engineering

In the March issue of Modern Building Services, Philip King, a design director at engineering firm Hilson Moran, writes that to build sustainable buildings and sustainable practices, engineers will need to design and innovate for existing, older buildings. And that will require creativity.

Since university engineering programs do not traditionally attract free-thinking minds, King wants engineering studies to teach the math and science minded students how to engage the creative (right) side of the brain for the imaginative problem solving required in retrofit projects.

King writes:

But why do we need creativity, when our work requires the full command of digits and angles? Sustainability is the answer. For the last 10 years, we have been designing new buildings to perform better environmentally than ever before. The problem is that new buildings make up such a tiny proportion of the built environment and deliver only marginal improvements. We need to focus on the 99% of our buildings which are existing, old stock, and where making improvements is much more challenging.

King advocates for teaching a balanced approach that combines logical and analytical strengths with visual and lateral thinking skills.

Adding creativity to the engineering mix [Modern Building Services]

Image: Jared Tarbell

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com