Do you find that Contractors are more adventurous when seeking new ways to use these materials
compared to Clients who are often more conservative?
I think both contractors and clients are constrained in using materials with insufficient proven design
life. However we may be moving towards disposable and replacement materials with shorter design life
which may influence clients to be adventurous in using new materials.
What is your perception of the biggest change that has occurred since you first started to design
bridges?
The biggest change has been the explosion of bridge building in the Far East such as in Japan, Korea
and China. Fundamental research in materials and techniques are being carried out in these countries
leading to innovative design and construction.
Do you think that it is really necessary to develop new materials? Cannot we build bridges with
materials, technologies, skills and experience we already have but with a larger focus on the design
and its innovation, environment, sustainability, safety, durability, cost and labour savings,
maintenance, and comfort for users and the community? Without being seen as hindering progress?
As bridges are considered to be built across large expanses of water such as the Gibraltar Straits,
Yemen-Djibouti crossing, Red Sea crossing, it will be vital to reduce weight so by necessity new
materials and methods will be necessary. This will need to combine innovative design and construction
methods such as currently being considered for the E39 project in Norway.
For HZMB special steel resistant to corrosion was developed. Are you going to reflect it in your future
designs? Or was it specific to this remarkable project only?
I don’t recall any special steel resistant to corrosion being developed for HZMB project. You may be
thinking about stainless steel reinforcement which we have used on HZMB and also other bridges like
Stonecutters, Queensferry Crossing.
Another very frequently discussed topic is the collaboration between architects and engineers. You
yourself moved to London to study architecture there and afterwards you were given the opportunity
to utilise your knowledge of architecture in Arup. Let me ask you a few questions related to this topic:
Have you enjoyed working with bridge architects? How is the collaboration of design engineer and
architect best managed to achieve the best outcome for the project?
In Arup we have been working with architects since the 1960’s. Initially it was with in-house Arup
Associates but since then with other architects. So it is quite natural for me to work with architects.
Sometimes architects lead but on large bridges we invariably lead and most good and able architects
are comfortable with this arrangement.
How does your understanding of structures interact with your thoughts on aesthetics?
It helps to know how structures work which means that form and function can be combined to create a
visually pleasing structure which indirectly means aesthetically pleasing design.
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