Abstract
The history of engineering could be traced back to the origin of mankind. Primitive craftsmen, builders, and sculptures were the forerunners of today’s engineers. Engineering as a discipline was not developed overnight. It evolved over centuries as man began to approach his day-to-day problems in a more and more scientific way. The development of modern engineering is attributed to the growth of science and technology. Engineering became a significant area of research and education once structural analysis and mathematical representation became the essential characteristics of engineering. And, the work became more professional in its nature once engineers began to give higher emphasis to their design’s aesthetic appeal and environmentally acceptable styles and functionality.
Introduction
Factors like designing, creating, and processing constitute the basics of engineering. Engineers and architects are co-professionals, and their responsibilities often overlap. Both deal with the design and construction of structures. Architect designs the structure according to the client’s requirements. He also emphasizes the aesthetic appeal of the building whereas engineers' ensure the safety of the design on the grounds of construction standards. To define, “engineering is the application of mathematical and physical science (physics, chemistry, and biology) to the design and manufacture of items that benefit humanity.” (Pytel & Kiusalaas, 2001, p.1). It was since the industrial revolution of the 18th century, engineering emerged as an important concept and career. The advent of machinery of various forms opened up new employment opportunities across the industrial nations. As Ritz (2006) states, the creation of industrial workforce became essential in the developed countries, and the entrepreneurs thought that the public schools should take such an initiative. Obviously, this was how engineering became a branch of academic discipline in the western world. Admittedly, engineering as a concept underwent tremendous experiments and developments with regard to the application of science, technique, and craftsmanship. This paper tends to support the view that engineers have the responsibility to ensure that designs are aesthetically pleasing and environmentally acceptable as well as functional.
Engineering as an Art
Engineers require special skills to design sophisticated machinery, highly useful equipments, and building structures. This is possible only if engineers know how to blend aesthetic sense with science, technique, and craftsmanship. Great works result in high level of production and profit along with sustainability. If a design is not aesthetically appealing, it is only an image and does not involve engineering. A good design will always be unique with regard to aesthetics aspects. If one’s design is identical to any other prevailing design, the world will not accept the new one. This situation clearly shows that a new design should always be aesthetically pleasing. This trend is the result of growing competition in engineering career. People today have easy and often free access to plenty of designs. Hence, only a skilled engineer who comes up with remarkable models can sustain in the industry. The design should be appealing enough because beauty is the primary aspect that impresses a customer.
Environmental Concerns
Environmental sustainability is a bone of contention today in every field. In the context of growing global warming and climate change, construction field is widely criticized. There has been a remarkable shift in the way businesses perceived the environment and resources for the past few decades. Environmental sustainability is one of the important aspects of modern organizations’ corporate social responsibility (CSR). This policy covers all functions of a business ranging from building design to service delivery throughout its supply chain management. Hence, the world has passed this responsibility on to today’s engineers.
Obviously, an engineer should consider the features of the environment when planning a new project. A good engineer will make a plan that will cope with the environment. He will ensure every possible way to reduce the level of pollution or other threats. In order to meet this requirement, a person has to make a detailed study on the particular area concerned. In order to ensure the environmental sustainability, sometimes engineers have to use the local building materials for construction. Evidences suggest that through the use of local materials in building design, we can ensure the low cost of transportation and minimal environmental impact. Among such materials, wood is the most important one. According to Khalili Nadar, an expert in ceramic house construction, local materials are timelessly available, universally available, and cannot be exhausted. However, even while materials may be readily available, an intelligent engineer will find sufficient explanation about the economic and environmental potential of building with local materials. Also, he will verify the result of using local materials like wood, earth, bamboo, and crushed bricks for construction. All these facts substantiate the argument; engineers have the responsibility to ensure that a design should be environmentally acceptable.
Functionality
Functionality is another important feature of engineering designs. Without this, aesthetic appeal and environmental aspects of a design are invalid. If a design is functional enough, application of technology will reduce labor cost as well as human effort. On the flip side, the effective application of technology is possible only through skilled engineering. The growth of information technology was the most remarkable development in the engineering world. This technology is closely associated with other area like electrical, civil, structural, and broadcast engineering. Functionally competent information technology and communication has been the outcome of modern engineering branches. Since the growth of computer and information technology, various other engineering subjects also have been rising as latest developments. Anyhow, functionality is the key element that determines the potential of a design regardless of the branch of engineering. Some of such areas where functionality is an essential perquisite involve biological engineering, environmental engineering, nuclear engineering, aeronautical engineering, genetic engineering, system engineering, and microelectronic engineering.
As mentioned already, engineers and architects as professionals work jointly, and their responsibilities often overlap. Architect designs the structure giving emphasis to the aesthetic appeal of the building whereas engineers' ensure the safety of the design. Engineers also make sure that the building/project is functional. In order to meet this responsibility, they select appropriate structural materials, and specify the systems required.
Conclusion
Designing, creating, and processing are the three basic elements of engineering. The emergence of machinery triggered by the industrial revolution of the 18th century gave way to the development of engineering as a career. Undoubtedly, engineering is the artistic blend of three things; science, technique, and craftsmanship. Since environmental sustainability is a growing global concern, engineers have to meet this requirement also when it comes to structural designs. In the same way, with regard to functional aspects of a design, engineers have the responsibility to ensure that a plan has the potential to meet the expected functional standards. In short, engineers have the responsibility to ensure that designs are aesthetically pleasing and environmentally acceptable as well as functional.
Bibliography
Khalili, Nadar. About Nader Khalili. [online] available at: https://calearth.org/about/about-nader-khalili.html [accessed 4 March 2016].
Pytel, A & Kiusalaas J. (2001) Engineering Mechanics: Statics, Engineering Mechanics Series. US: Cengage Learning.
Ritz, J. (2006) Technology and engineering are both addressed through technology education: A critical factor that will influence what we will teach is the field and profession of engineering. The Technology Teacher, 66 (3).
