But civil engineering and architecture are two very different beasts, and collaborating is not always smooth. Civil engineers are generally used to a linear process in which they produce calculations, make decisions, and present solutions. But when working with architects, this process tends to zigzag a little more.
1001 Woodward Plaza in downtown Detroit, Michigan. (Image courtesy of Jason Robinson Photography.)
“You get to a certain point in the process, the design changes, and from an engineering standpoint, that can be hard. Engineers don’t like change,” says John Kretschman, a civil engineer with SmithGroupJJR, who has worked with Ash on several projects.
On the architect’s side, design ego can get in the way of successful collaboration with a civil engineer. But at a multidisciplinary firm such as SmithGroupJJR, the culture encourages an integrated design approach rather than pitting architect vs. engineer.
“We tend not to prioritize one particular agenda over another,” Ash says. “For example, an architect may start with an urban or programmatic notion about how to orient a building, and at the same time, the civil engineer may have the most direct and elegant—but different—idea about orientation based on topography or resources. What happens from there is collaboration, discourse, and advocacy with the creative conflict resulting in a more beautiful, holistic solution than one that simply meets one project requirement or another.”