What is the role of the structural engineer in collaborations with architects and artists? Notable structural engineers from Ove Arup to Fazlur Khan and Peter Rice have acted sometime as brilliant technician and other times as creative partners. What critical concepts that can account for the creative contributions of the actors in key works of architecture? And what civic roles do engineers play in addressing the pressing needs of cities both in the climate crisis but also in the case of transformative events such as 9-11? This talk will review these questions from the perspective of the speaker’s participation in recent projects with architects and artists and design research to address the challenges of coastal resilience and adaptation.

Guy Nordenson is a structural engineer and professor of architecture at Princeton. He was the engineer for the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC, The Museum of Modern Art (2004), Linked Hybrid (Beijing), the Museum of Fine Arts and Menil Drawing Institute in Houston TX and 40 other museums. He oversaw the design and engineering of David Hammons’ Day’s End sculpture in the Hudson River. Nordenson is the author of books on climate adaptation and engineering design. He was a Commissioner of the NYC Public Design Commission (2006-2016) and a member of the NYC Panel on Climate Change. He was elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2009) and the National Academy of Engineering (2022) “for structural engineering and leadership in promoting structures as art and culture.”