Architects focus on the layout and design of buildings, while structural engineers ensure the design is safe and structurally sound. Both require extensive education and licensing, and work on different aspects of the design process. Structural engineers analyze the building’s weight distribution and material properties to determine if it can withstand stresses.
An architect and structural engineer perform complementary tasks in building design. Architects are individuals who are concerned with the layout and stylistic design of buildings. Structural engineers are the professionals whose expertise ensures that an architect’s design is sound and structurally sound.
Extensive education and licensing exams are usually required for an architect and structural engineer to work professionally. Architects generally study to earn a bachelor’s degree in architecture from an accredited institution. Structural engineers typically earn a bachelor’s degree in an engineering field, often in civil or materials engineering, although some continue to earn graduate degrees. These two professionals usually also need to obtain a license from their national or local government to carry out their respective jobs. These licenses usually require the individual to work for several years with a professional who is already licensed, as well as passing a special exam.
Once these professionals have completed the necessary education and obtained licenses to create building designs in their own state, an architect and a structural engineer often work on very different aspects of the design process. The architects talk to the people who are commissioning the structure to get an idea of what the clients want from it. He or she will take these ideas and translate them into detailed building plans. This includes features from all aspects of the building, including floor layouts and the specifics of its structural support system.
A structural engineer reviews the architect’s design to ensure its integrity and safety. An architect and structural engineer receive training in similar building fundamentals, but the architect’s education specializes in design and aesthetics, while the structural engineer specializes in testing the physics of that design. Structural engineers analyze the distribution of the building’s weight across the structural support system. This analysis allows the structural engineer to determine whether the building can withstand the geographic and climatic stresses the area inflicts and inflict on it.
Part of the structural engineer’s analysis involves the physical properties of the materials the architect wants to use in different components of the building. This allows the structural engineer to determine whether the overall design is correct and whether individual materials will be able to support their loads. The architect may have to change aspects of the design or the materials he uses in different building components, depending on the content of the structural engineer’s analysis.
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