More ancient history, from the same project as the cast-iron column base I showed recently. This is the new steel frame (with its concrete floors on metal deck) that was erected inside the shell of the old building. All of the structure you see here (except for the old brick wall in the background) was my design. That’s nothing special today, as I hope that I can adequately design steel and concrete without it being noteworthy, but it was a big deal to me in 1988 when I took this picture.
This renovation was the first time that I designed more or less everything in a building by myself – reviewed by the project manager, of course – and saw it through to construction. That’s a big deal for any engineer in the early stages of their career. But more importantly, I got to do a fair amount of the field work during construction, so I got to see what my designs actually looked like. It’s one thing to know that you’ve specified columns that weigh 100 pounds per running foot, but it’s something entirely different to see those columns in place and get the sensation of their physical size.
I realized then that I want to see all of my designs in person both during construction and after completion because that’s the only way for me to really understand my own work. I used to joke about that being the result of my limited imagination but it’s actually something more basic: the design work is mostly in the realm of modeling and math, while the field work is mostly in the realm of the physical world with all its imperfections. In the 30 years since I have always tried to see the reality in person and I have encouraged engineers I work with to do the same.
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