Integrated Structural Design Education

In Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the environment is broadly defined and includes not only quantifiable aspects, but also social conditions, scenic beauty, traffic, cultural heritage, and commercial development. A successful bridge design must comply with all of these demands according to EU legislation. And a successful engineering student must be prepared to work in the open-ended, multidisciplinary environment necessary to produce structures which comply with EIA demands. This paper describes an innovative course developed at the Technical University of Denmark which integrates landscaping and structural design. The integrated courses create a setting for learning about the design of large-scale structures and involve geometry, statics, computer simulation, graphical design and landscape architecture. Together, they educate engineers who can take part in the early design phases of a project, function well in design teams, and comply with EU EIA demands.