Architects and structural engineers belong to two distinct professions, and architecture and structural engineering are two distinct disciplines, each of which has developed along its own path since the beginning of the 19th century. Sometimes the two paths have failed even to intersect, but at other times they have merged, forming a symbiosis which has opened up new horizons, enriching architecture not just with new technical possibilities, but also with new ideas and means of expression. Today it is practically impossible to separate architecture from structural system: modern buildings are often highly complex organisms in which all the individual elements work to create a whole and the boundaries between the distinct disciplines break down.

This issue of SPEECH is devoted to structural systems – systems which mark technological and intellectual breakthroughs and at the same time determine buildings’ architectural appearance and aesthetic qualities. Essentially, this issue is about architecture which incorporates these achievements and which expresses itself through the language of engineering structure. In his book Space, Time and Architecture Sigfried Giedion called structural systems architecture’s ‘subconscious’. This is a role which structural engineering played for a long time, throughout almost the whole of the 19th century. Then in the 20th century the subconscious burst out onto the surface, and now in the 21st century it increasingly plays the leading role.

Architects and structural engineers belong to two distinct professions, and architecture and structural engineering are two distinct disciplines, each of which has developed along its own path since the beginning of the 19th century. Sometimes the two paths have failed even to intersect, but at other times they have merged, forming a symbiosis which has opened up new horizons, enriching architecture not just with new technical possibilities, but also with new ideas and means of expression. Today it is practically impossible to separate architecture from structural system: modern buildings are often highly complex organisms in which all the individual elements work to create a whole and the boundaries between the distinct disciplines break down. However, the continual development of engineering thought, which has set itself increasingly difficult and seemingly unattainable objectives and which is inextricably bound up with the development of computer, industrial, and construction technologies as well as the use of new materials, now has an enormous influence not just on how modern architecture is constructed but also on its appearance and meaning.

This issue of SPEECH is devoted to structural systems – systems which mark technological and intellectual breakthroughs and at the same time determine buildings’ architectural appearance and aesthetic qualities. Essentially, this issue is about architecture which incorporates these achievements and which expresses itself through the language of engineering structure. In his book Space, Time and Architecture Sigfried Giedion called structural systems architecture’s ‘subconscious’. This is a role which structural engineering played for a long time, throughout almost the whole of the 19th century. Then in the 20th century the subconscious burst out onto the surface, and now in the 21st century it increasingly plays the leading role.