Over the coming weeks, we will be exploring what the ‘art’ of engineering means to us at Civic Engineers. What’s clear, is that from initial conversations, the expression can mean very different things to different people.

For some, the engineering design itself is ‘art’, for others the use of the word ‘art’, is more about the method used to create the visual representation, whilst for some the collaborative journey, where engineering creativity is embedded in the DNA of the project enabling a deliverable, resilient project is defined as the ‘art’ of engineering. We’ll be looking at all these definitions and asking our teams across our Studios to share their thoughts.

We’re going to start by looking at the ‘sketch.’ The definition of ‘art’ is termed; “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form.” Expressing our designs in visual form is central to our design process and our primary communication tool at every stage of the process. Whilst we apply BIM processes across our building and civil engineering projects, using tools such as revit, civils3D and Tekla, we still believe in focusing heavily on the power of the sketch. All our engineers and technicians are encouraged to sketch and to focus on the quality of their sketches and drawings, they should be works of ‘art’ and visually stunning. After all, engineering isn’t just about calculations and analysis! Take a look at some of our recent sketches; To enable our teams to create sketches and to share our love of the ‘art’ of engineering, we have recently had some unique pencils created. These pencils, which we have sent to many of our clients and collaborators reinforce the importance of the sketch. Sketches are the start of the design process and they ultimately are transformed into the buildings, spaces and streets that change our cities and towns and have a positive impact on both the environment and people’s wellbeing. Our pencils aren’t just any ordinary pencil however, they are pencils that, like our projects, have a lasting legacy as they are ‘sproutable.’ They can be used, then planted and will grow into a sunflower, symbolic of the  lasting legacy we hope our work has.