CREJ

20 / BUILDING DIALOGUE / March 2018 Creating Structures for Today – and to Endure Beyond W hat makes a building sustain its structure, purpose and integrity over the course of hundreds of years? This is a question that even the earliest architects and engineers have pondered and puzzled about. Recently, I came across a story about a top-tier global engineering firm that was given a brief to design a building to last 500 years. In or- der to understand qualities of centuries-long, sus- tainable construction, they studied the “comps,” structures standing today, built 500 or more years ago. It compared those that survived to those that, through historical data, we know existed but no longer stand. The intriguing conclusion, from an engineering perspective, was to embrace simplicity; a good foundation, smart site selection and plan- ning, and a homogeneous material pallet were all commonalities among long-standing structures. For example, the pyramids of Egypt we can explore today outlive the other pyramids built in the same era, because they chose and carefully prepared the best locations, used solid stone everywhere, and used careful observation of the desert sand around them to design the right shape. The ancient Egyp- tian engineers observed the shape sand makes as it is poured onto the desert and utilized this nat- ural structure as a model for their human-made one. Ancient Roman cement structures, too, stand the test of time, showing resiliency after 2,000 years. Many ancient structures, great and small, have fad- ed into the past because their designs were not made to last; only their plans or references to their existence are available to consider. As I contemplate the conclusions from this report, I cannot help but think that it may have missed one Andre LH Baros, AIA Architect, Shears Adkins Rockmore A close-up of the “skyscrapers.” Courtesy Aiman Titi/Wikimedia Commons In the Details StoutStrategies is now BRANDiac Strategies. We made a smart move to improve our brand. We’re brand maniacs who use both sides of our brains to balance strategy with creativity. And we can help you capitalize on your brand and maximize your marketing e orts, too. READY TO BE YOUR BEST BRAND? LET’S PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER AND COME UP WITH SOME BRAINY IDEAS. WE CAN HELP ANY BRAND WORK SMARTER. EVEN OUR OWN. www.brandiacstrategies.com CONTACT US: 303.800.1391 Stacy Stout: stacy@brandiacstrategies.com Jo Fukaye: jo@brandiacstrategies.com