Soon after the original projects in the field of transportation, such as roads, canals, dams and bridges, projects in the field of public utilities were completed in ever increasing numbers and at a pace dictated by a rapid expansion of urbanisation.
With the broadening of civil engineering came the demand for new buildings in the age of industrialisation, because the revolution in the sectors of production and trade demanded new sorts of construction works such as harbour buildings, warehouses, railway stations, exhibition halls and factories.
In addition, the enormous growth of cities required not only efficient infrastructure systems for public utilities and transport, it caused an increasing shortage of land leading to a demand for a new type of building, the high-rise, in which civil and structural engineers were heavily involved (Fig. E).
At the end of the 19th century, further important social stimuli brought about by the development of new power plant technologies to produce electricity and the invention of the motorcar had consequent effects on the scope of work of civil and structural engineers. This resulted in new and further developed methods and technologies for the construction of hydroelectric power plants, dams, power transmission infrastructure and innovations in road, tunnel and bridge building. The same applied to the invention of new technologies for transmitting signals in the form of radio and later television services in the first half of the 20th century, for which the design of transmission masts was crucial. The knowledge gained from projects such as the first prestressed concrete television tower, which was 217 m high, designed by Fritz Leonhard and completed in 1956, became very important for innovations in high-rise building construction in the second half of the 20th century.
The civil and structural engineer today
The methods, technologies and achievements developed over the last 250 years are a testament to the drive to innovate, capabilities, design skills and entrepreneurial courage of civil and structural engineers. Today, the work of civil and structural engineers has never before been of such enormous importance to society, because they contribute significantly to the fulfilment of key basic needs, such as protection and safety, water and energy supplies, mobility and transport. Because of current social, political, economic and environmental changes, civil and structural engineers are therefore increasingly required to contribute actively in the development of forward-looking solutions to overcome present challenges.
Especially against the backdrop of the continuous high growth of the world’s population, the consequent rapidly increasing CO2 emissions and the consumption of resources and land make a radical switch to sustainable construction urgently necessary.
What will this mean for civil and structural engineers? What are the present and future fields of action to secure the fundamental needs of our society within the framework of sustainable development?
Technology
Construction represents 40 % of the world’s energy and material consumption. Civil and structural engineers hold the key to achieving the urgently required reduction of resource consumption in the building sector and the conversion of our energy supply systems to use renewable energy. A good example of this is the development and implementation of highly technical, nationally and internationally oriented concepts for energy supply. Wide-ranging approaches to solutions are also apparent today, for example the design and realisation of infrastructure to ensure the large-scale use of regenerative energies, such as hydroelectric power, wind and geothermal, as well as the use of solar energy to produce heat and electricity. The development and above all the construction of appropriate systems for energy conversion, distribution and storage etc. could not be imagined without civil and structural engineers.
Therefore, an important task in the future will be to maximise the proportion of renewable energy in the total energy supplied for power, heating and cooling to minimise the consumption of fossil fuels and the associated CO2 emissions to the greatest extent possible.
On the scale of cities and districts, engineering solutions such as innovative energy and water supply systems (Fig. I) already contribute much to the reduction of resource consumption with respect to raw materials, water and fossil-based energy.
The development, design and construction of completely closed systems must be driven forward with great vehemence to keep our ecological footprint in this area as small as possible. The exclusive use of renewables and the cascading use of thermal energy are key elements of a sustainable future.
Of particular importance in this are the development and implementation of solutions for sustainable mobility, which not only offers to minimise resource consumption and emissions, but also to curb the further advance of impermeable surfaces. Particularly in the light of increasing global urbanisation, sustainable solutions to secure our existence must be developed and implemented.
In the context of buildings, there are already solutions that amount to much more than simply increasing their energy efficiency. In recent years, plus-energy buildings that create more energy than they use over a year have been developed and the implementation of these principles can be expected soon to be seen in whole city districts. Design must consider the complete lifecycle in future – from production and materials through operation to demolition and reuse.
Research
Construction is highly important to our future and therefore scientific research is a crucial activity for civil and structural engineers. To make the most of this opportunity, theoretical and application-oriented research must come together seamlessly and be supported by affiliated computer clusters, laboratories and testing institutes. The latter two types of establishment frequently assume a central role in the field of approvals, standardisation and legislation, including assistance in the political decision-making process.
Material- and construction-related questions in research are equally important as investigating issues in the fields of energy supply, mobility, supply of potable water, disposal of wastewater, earth science, metrology up to and including the optimisation of design, manufacture and construction processes through the use of digital methods over the complete value-added chain.
It is particularly in the field of research where enormous efforts will be required in the future to develop sustainable solutions for the whole of humankind with respect to the resources essential for life, such as water, food, energy and space in which to live, as well as the ever-present fundamental needs such as protection and safety, health and mobility.
The solutions, however, must not be allowed to concentrate on individual aspects in isolation. Interdisciplinary thinking is called for to be able to offer targeted solutions for fundamentally sustainable activities in the building sector. All dependencies and interactions of the prevailing relevant geographical, climatic, political, social, cultural and economic aspects must be taken into account.
Society
The changing political, social and economic challenges all over the world means that the “civil engineer” must become more active in political decision-making processes. Using the profession’s specialist knowledge, experience and the available methods of analysis and planning, civil and structural engineers must deliver a sustainable overall result by finding alternative approaches to solutions.
Important aspects of implementation – such as political and social boundary conditions, transparent and effective communication and the assessment of economic viability – will become increasingly part of the work of engineers in the future. Their sound contributions will make it easier to find good, implementable solutions against the background of ever-more complex decision-making processes.
Informing, educating and motivating all stakeholders, in particular the actors from the fields of politics, commerce, public administration and environmental groups, by trained and experienced engineers represents a significant contribution to overcoming future challenges.
Conclusion
Our society today is facing enormous challenges. All the actors in construction must address the issues of the sustainable treatment of the Earth’s ecosystem and solve the seemingly insoluble conflicts of objectives of providing prosperity, health and security of supply to all while achieving a radical reduction of resource consumption and the minimisation of CO2 emissions. Because of their inventiveness and their technical skills, civil and structural engineers carry a special responsibility for the development and implementation of sustainable solutions necessary to secure our future.
