BUILDING TO LEARN SOCIETY

There is a move to get undergraduates away from their lecture theatres and knee-deep in mud by tackling mock-ups of actual projects. Chris Wise and Ed McCann argue that the lessons students learn on a building site provide a context for formal education which will be invaluable BUILDING in the dirty real worlds of and design. Together they have put their energies where their passions lie and have helped create the Constructionarium, a 10 acre site in Norwich. They have also been TO LEARN actively pushing for curriculum changes in the UK.

Civil engineering students at ’s evidence of a correlation between Certainly, a huge concrete oil rig is a 25 Imperial College float 25 tonnes of hand- excellence in research and good teaching tonne demonstration of intent! constructed reinforced concrete oil rig of engineering practice. Astonishingly, Critically, the Constructionarium wouldn’t onto an artificial lake in Norfolk and then at the end of their second year, over half of have happened without the active sink it, to much applause from their the undergraduates we saw who could involvement of industry. Experience tells us mates. Behind this moment of delight invert matrices, analyse beam stresses and that educational change like this needs lies seven years of increasing clarity about even plot Mohr’s circle, could not draw strong direction and visionary support from 21st century engineering education, the basic components of a suspension its accrediting institutions, flexibility from its triggered by our experience of working bridge or a water supply system. Students Government paymasters, and a lot of help closely with over 500 students in some today do not seem to understand the from industry who in the end will benefit 200 project sessions. difference between a tunnel and a pipe, from good graduates. a valve and pump, an excavator and a bulldozer and so on! This prompts the TIME FOR A NEW fundamental question: HOW AND WHAT TO TEACH EDUCATIONAL MODEL How should we educate engineers today? We are civil and structural engineers Whenever we ask this we get head- who lectured at Imperial College. As WHAT IS THE PURPOSE scratching and a catalogue of difficulties, practitioners who sometimes teach, we OF A 21ST CENTURY but the simple answer is to give them have had excellent access to the world of ENGINEERING EDUCATION? relevant experience: sufficient, balanced, engineering education. Close up, this The educational needs of those seeking and gained through patient practice. has been a revelation. Received wisdom careers in engineering science or The key drivers for that experience are the in the UK has it that one learns theory engineering practice are very different. forces which drive engineering practice itself: at university, and the rest in practice. We While engineering science may be feel that this logic is wonky and outmoded: best served by universities, the relevant “Engineering is the art of directing the great it is not based on the needs of 21st experience to teach engineering practice sources of power in Nature for the use and engineering but has been post-rationalised is now rooted firmly in an industrial setting convenience of man”(from the current to suit academic career structures rewarded undergoing rapid change. Charter of the Institution of Civil Engineers) primarily through research. We feel that an essential starting point Contrary to The Royal Academy of for learning begins with a critical assessment This definition goes back to 1828; it implies Engineering’s own recent report to the of the skills needed by the 21st century the need for art, synthesis, choice, design, House of Commons Science and Technology engineer. The Constructionarium described materials, theory and construction, and has Committee, we have only seen occasional here aims to develop some of these skills. survived pretty well. So how can we help Underneath the arches…students carefully suspend the Stockton Bridge precast decking from its cables students today learn about things like nature, © Expedition Engineering

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“I admit there were times when I wanted to crawl under a table and hide from it all – especially when the concrete lorry appeared in the distance and we were still frantically building rebar cages! I don’t believe there is any other way of gaining experience and perspective like this – even summer placements do not give you the complete management of a project as we had on the Constructionarium.” Jenny Austin,Year Three student, 2005

Figure 1

DO ENGINEERS BECOME GOOD BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY LEARN AT art, invention and ideas and even ‘the world’? context course in law, communications and through a gorge into a 4 m deep lake, it UNIVERSITY, OR IN SPITE OF IT? The authors think it is entirely reasonable to team behaviour, all natural partners to even has some deliberately dodgy ground educate a 21st century student for practice construction. to give students muddy practice in deep by providing a properly relevant, balanced The Constructionarium has developed basements. Our research shows little correlation between student performance in theoretical subjects foundation course, pretty much covering the into a three-way partnership of contractor, and in design projects (see Figure 1). Somehow, good design students are getting their skills skill set asked for by the professional bodies university and consultant. For Imperial, outside of the teaching environment. Without being formally taught, these good designers (see Figure 1). Doyle’s provides site supervision and THE CONSTRUCTIONARIUM show a balance of skill which is remarkably close to the stated requirements of professional On site in Norfolk today projects built at a construction plant, training and materials, institutions. The Institution of Structural Engineers ‘Notes to Candidates for Chartership’ scale of about 1:10 are built by construction and Expedition Engineering Ltd conducts emphasise the necessary breadth of skills required: ‘companies’ of about 16 to 24 students, who THE GROWTH the designs. In 2003 the pilot was held at take responsibility for one site for a week. In OF AN IDEA developer Stanhope’s Chiswick Park. 1. a sound understanding of core 6. commitment to the public interest in all The realisation that a swathe of skill sets time, we’d like students to learn even more engineering principles aspects of their work, including: health, weren’t being learnt inspired us to try to by designing their own projects and then 2. the ability to use relevant existing safety and risk; financial; commercial; legal; improve the students’ ability to do real EARLY DAYS building them, but this needs further technology coupled with the ability to environmental; social; energy conservation engineering projects. Unlike exams, real In West London, Doyle’s built a 60 m long curriculum change. For now, they tackle locate and use new research and and sustainability projects are ‘open’ problems done in teams, artificial river and lake. Student teams were versions of real projects, foundations and all, development to benefit their work and 7. effective communication and needing what Renzo Piano calls “the turbo- given a site hut, food, drawings, materials, concocted by the consultant partners. These engineering generally interpersonal skills charged application of experience”. But clothing and plant and the simple task to have included: the Torre de Collserola, a 3. the ability to solve complex engineering 8. knowledge of the statutory and other students do not have the experience price, plan and finish their projects by Friday. 288 m guyed tower in Barcelona; Canary problems and produce viable engineering regulations affecting current practice in needed to turbo-charge and so can’t even In five eventful days they built a cable-stayed Wharf Underground Station, in water- solutions using appropriate methods engineering begin to engineer things that can actually bridge over water; a precast segmental bearing sandy sludge; Expedition’s double of analysis 9. a significant base of Information be built! Out of this vacuum came the concrete bridge over a gorge; and an arch bow footbridge at Stockton-on-Tees, built 4. the ability to exercise independent Technology skills Constructionarium. dam and its spillway. They learned the from a boat; the 25 tonne concrete gravity judgement in the application of 10. commitment to the profession of At the first feedback session from benefits of military organisation; they found oil platform; a 40 m long cable net stadium engineering science and knowledge engineering Imperial College’s Civil Engineering Design pitfalls in democracy; and they discovered which nearly blew away; a 4 m high dam 5. technical, management and leadership Course, Stef Stefanou of John Doyle holism, and the need for a concrete batching which held but the gorge leaked; and Ove skills to plan, manage and direct human, Construction agreed to help fund some plant. As one said, “if you don’t understand Arup’s Kingsgate Footbridge in Durham, material and financial resources construction teaching to sit alongside the basics then you can’t possibly master which worked perfectly. design. No longer would students be anything more complicated”. Teams cost and programme their Most of these are not properly addressed in the current curriculum. allowed to sit in blissful innocence away The pilot was so satisfying that it projects using specially intensified plant and from of the charms of construction! They graduated to a new permanent 10 acre site labour rates to suit the telescoped scales. would get real experience on a real site, as at the National Construction College in After a safety induction, they become big, dirty, heavy and challenging as possible. Norfolk, now open to every university in the labourers, foremen, schedulers, managers Into the mix was added Alison Ahearn’s country. With a man-made river which flows and estimators. Some are trained in power

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“Engineering is the art of directing the great sources of power in Nature for the use and convenience of man”

With the courage of their convictions, students load test the Durham Bridge © Expedition Engineering tools; others work with formwork, concrete Arup. In 2006 they will be joined by and steel, steel-fixing, puddle clay, bentonite, students from universities in Scotland and cables, theodolites and plant. The the West of England, with more following in professional site staff checks method 2007. Our aim is for every university course statements and risk assessments. in the country to participate, encouraged by Many students admit they have never their institutions. even put up a shelf, so their learning curve is The feedback from the students has very steep when faced with a foreman with been overwhelmingly positive as they have 30 years site experience. When teams been introduced to the mysterious world of struggle they can ‘buy in’ expert help. One building things. Construction and design team had a £25,000 per hour excavator on professionals feel it is a great opportunity to standby for 36 hours “just in case”– a painful participate in the future of the industry. In lesson – and their claim for “unforeseen addition it provides an opportunity for Students floating a 25 tonne concrete rig float ground conditions”was rejected by the telling, down-to-earth job interviews by out of dry dock and onto the Constructionarium lake ‘client’,Doyle’s Peter Goring. Teams have to giving broad-based undergraduates a © Expedition Engineering finish on time, on budget, safely, to an chance to shine. acceptable quality, and are continuously For some students, it is a life-changing assessed by contractor and consultants. experience. A few realise they never ever Now an integral part of Imperial’s MEng want to go near a construction site again! course, the Constructionarium is worth 20% Others muse “some might find it strange of the project marks in the third year. that a student would want to dig holes”but then happily build cofferdams and forget about hyperbolic cosines. For many, it just FUNDING makes them want to get designing and So far, the construction and design industry building for real. has invested about £150,000 in the initiative, and core funding is in place for the future. Students typically pay for travel and accommodation (about £250 to £300 each, BIOGRAPHIES – Chris Wise FREng reduced further by industrial donations and and Ed McCann The scaled down version of the Stockton bridge grants). The week’s event costs the sits on its river caisson © Expedition Engineering Chris Wise and Ed McCann are both contractor about £250 per student for directors of Expedition Engineering. labour, materials and plant, drawn from Ed McCann is a civil engineer with across the supply chain (or from petty cash). an interest in sustainable infrastructure The many industrial contributors acting who ran the award-winning water through the Constructionarium’s board carry engineering team for Terminal 5 at the other costs. These include CITB, the Arup . Chris Wise is a Foundation, the Concrete Centre, John Doyle structural engineer who sits on Group, and Shepherd Construction. the Design Council and is Davenport Professor at Yale University School EXPANSION OF THE INITIATIVE of Architecture for 2006. Both have now In the past three years, 225 Imperial resigned from Imperial College over undergraduates have built under Doyle’s the need for curriculum change, but expert guidance. This summer, 50 students maintain their interest in education and The learning curve can be very steep for some students from Leeds also ran projects in Norfolk, steering roles on the Constructionarium. © Expedition Engineering working with Shepherd Construction and Students find out that they have built a dam with a spillway that really works © Expedition Engineering

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