Happy Tuesday, everyone! We had a great session with John Moore, the structural engineer, and David’s good friend, Cole, today. (Pictured above is Mohamed working on some images of the bridge to share during the meeting.) While the meeting took up a majority of class time, it was very much needed and definitely helpful in understanding how the bridge will be built. I know I speak for everyone in the class when I say that we are all so appreciative of John and Cole for taking time out of their schedules to work with us, as it helped me, at least, understand a lot more about structure and the components that go into designing something, especially like a bridge. The design is using a majority of steel (hence the name of the blog post) – so it is important that we understand the way steel works in order to implement it the best way possible in our design. For example, what is the exact size of steel tube we need to carry a load on the bridge? While we may want it to be minimal, there are important factors and requirements that have to be met so that the bridge will be safe and successful. John and Cole both brought excellent ideas and thoughts to the table, and really helped us see how we can make this bridge successful in both its visual appeal and physical structure. It’s very exciting that we finally have the (majority) of the design complete, and just need to “iron out some detailing” so that we can begin mock-ups, fabrication, and assembly when ready.
Following the meeting, the groups immediately gathered respectively again, to discuss the drawings and tasks that need to be completed from this point to next class.
We have a lot of work to get done over the next couple of days so that we can finalize some detail drawings and materials out so that we can begin placing orders and getting to the fun stuff! So, until next time…
Claire