Format Engineers

What do you do?
We’re primarily structural engineers, but we also have a skill in 3D modelling and geometry modelling in particular. For example, we may model the outside of an extremely complex building or a work of art and use mathematics to break down that intricate shape into simple elements. We do some conventional buildings, but our speciality is large, complex works of art. We’re working with a well-known artist called Olafur Eliasson, who did the ‘hovering sun’ installation at the Tate. And we worked with an artist called Arthur Mamou-Mani – we designed the central temple this year at Burning Man in Nevada with him. 

Why do you do it?
It’s fun and it’s intellectually challenging. You find yourself thinking about solving problems all the time. It’s also rewarding to see the problems you’ve solved come to fruition – for example, the 50-metre long sculpture in the desert for the Burning Man project. There’s a tangible sense of having helped create something and it being delivered. 

Inspiration?
We work with some architects who inspire us as they are very good at paring down problems into what seem the obvious solutions. We like the idea of a rigorous design process that ends up at something which is right; it looks right and feels right, uses minimal materials and works really well. We aspire to the same principles – reducing a problem to the point where you can’t reduce it any more and you arrive at the essence of it. That’s what most inspires us.

Challenges?
There are obvious technical challenges in that we’re working on projects which are extremely complex both in the sense of the engineering but also in terms of their forms and their shapes. So, for us, the challenge is about taking those unusual shapes and unusual forms and making them simple to build and simple to engineer and simple to understand. As we work collaboratively with artists and architects, we’re also working in fast-moving teams on quite complex projects with people who have a very specific vision. There’s always a compromise and it’s about finding the best balance between the engineering, the artistry and the architecture. And then there’s the challenge of being a relatively small business and one that needs lots of investment in software and computers.  

Pleasure or pain projects?
In terms of pleasure, one is a building for Austrian company Neuschnee which houses an experimental and environmentally friendly snow-making machine. It’s designed using very thin pieces of timber. That project was immensely satisfying as technically it was extremely difficult – we had to write our own software to mimic the structural behaviour of the bent timber – but it came together extremely well. 

A frustrating project, in some ways, was the Burning Man project because – although project teams can work really well – we had a team of hundreds of people all communicating online at the same time, all of whom had quite firm views. So, on the one hand we had this really hard technical challenge making this timber structure span 50 metres in the middle of 100 miles an hour wind in Nevada, and on the other hand, a whole bunch of people in America arguing about screws and things. That was quite tough. “

Reducing a problem to the point where you can’t reduce it any more and you arrive at the essence of it. That’s what most inspires us.

What does quality look like?
There’s a famous phrase ‘if it looks right, it is right.’ I do adhere to that. Quality for us also means designing something at the least cost with the least impediment to building it. There’s also pushing back the boundaries of science and engineering, and designing something which is cutting edge. Ultimately, it’s about designing that is utterly fit for purpose, looks beautiful and the client gets a good deal from it. 

Do you ever break the rules?
In the world of engineering, the rules are pretty strict. We have codes of practice, design guides, laws and they’re all there for a good reason. We do push them really hard and there’ll be occasions where we don’t agree, and we’ll consult with academics, for example. We also think there’s a sort of perception of engineering as being very rule-based, very rigid and that engineers do buildings. We try to go beyond what the norm of what an engineer is. 

What makes you different?
I think it’s embodying cutting-edge digital technology and mathematical science and engineering, but coupled with a firm belief that engineers can be designers. 

How do you keep it fresh?
We’ve got some very good young employees who get given a lot of responsibility. They have lots of ideas and they are steeped in digital technology and 3D modelling. Also, we’ve got good links to academia and also the world of software. It’s having these tentacles outside the narrow world of engineering to all these other fields that helps keeps us fresh.

How does Bath influence your work?
It’s a great place to live. I’m from London and we moved for the work-life balance many years ago. I think of Bath as being this lovely city in a lovely environment. It has this hidden culture of design, which we feel part of. And there’s a great university that does exceptional engineering and architecture. 

Dreams for the future? 
We’d like to grow a bit but not too much – controlled expansion. I think that having a small office in Bath and one in London makes the most sense. We want to concentrate on the jobs that we like doing, and the jobs where we can really help and bring a lot of benefits. We don’t want to have to take on projects, just to feed the size of the business. In terms of Bath, I think we need to hook up more with the other design-led businesses. It’s nice to be part of the culture but establishing more of a mutually supportive scene would be good. 

formatengineers.com

Interview taken from the Made in Bath book.
To discover more makers and read their stories, get a free download of the book here.