…in one prescient phrase. Mechanical engineer Albert Buenger, writing in the Journal of the Western Society of Engineers in 1939–about air conditioning, but clearly about so, so much more:
“…there will probably never be an architect who provides sufficient space for the engineer’s requirements, nor on the other hand will there ever be an engineer who will ask for only a reasonable amount of space for his equipment.”
Albert Buenger, “What Air Conditioning Means to the Architect.” Journal of the Western Society of Engineers, Vol. 44, no. 1. February, 1939. 23.
From an unsigned editorial in the Engineering News, 1896: “The construction of the exceptionally high buildings with steel framework, which now form such a noticeable feature of the larger American cities, has led not only to the development of a new and large market for structural steel and iron work but also to new problems in structural design…These difficulties are probably appreciated not at all by the owner, and only to a limited extent by the architect (unless he is himself an engineer experienced in structural work), and the designing engineer can expect but little credit for the successful results of his labor, since the work is all built in and enclosed as soon as erected, so that the casual observer never gives it a thought, and even if anyone were interested in it, it is hidden from examination.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, if the work of that experienced engineer could stand up to fire better, architects wouldn’t have to spend so much time hiding all of it, now, would they? Just sayin’…
LikeLike
Maybe architects should stop setting fires.
LikeLike