Uncovering the Power of AI in the Built Community:
Cutting Through Hype to Reveal Potential for Structural Engineering and More
By Alfred T. Spada
News about artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere you turn – from the pages of the New York Times and professional trade magazines to local city halls. While professionals throughout design and construction might be tired of hearing about the wonders and promise of AI, one thing is clear: It’s not going away.
In fact, Harvard’s Karim Lakhani, said in an interview with that ran in HBR August 4, 2023: “AI is not going to replace humans, but humans with AI are going to replace humans without AI.” So, whether professionals go forward with fear and skepticism or excitement and exhilaration, they must move forward with AI.
If you and your consultants aren’t using AI in a meaningful way yet, don’t worry – there’s still time. A little bit, anyway. A. Christopher Cerino, PE, F.SEI, DBIA, is vice president and technical director of Structural Engineering, Urbanism and Planning for STV. He encourages structural engineers, who might be sick of hearing about AI, to overcome the media saturation and contemplate how they can start embracing the quickly evolving technology.
“Using AI, structural engineers are in a position to unify all of the building trades because the structure is always created first,” Cerino says. “Structural engineers can help lead a multidisciplinary team in what is possible, discovering where the true power of AI is going to be.”
Advancing Collaboration
For the built environment, the potential of AI is still developing, leaving structural engineers in a perfect position to help define this new future. Robert Otani, PE LEED AP, is the chief technology officer at Thornton Tomasetti. He describes how AI’s use can speed up day-to-day consultant work, such as cost estimating and sustainability assessments. Questions, which are often similar from engagement to engagement, could be answered in almost real time. Otani says this enables building design to run more smoothly and could empower structural engineers to spend their time on high-value work.
“If structural engineers [use AI efficiently], they can spend the majority of their time really homing in and fine-tuning design, schedules, and sustainability targets” Otani says. “Structural engineers will be able to present ideal solutions that provide benefit to our clients and the industry.”
Engineers sit on mountains of data and experience. They not only know how things are built today, but also how things were built across decades and centuries says John-Michael Wong, Ph.D., SE, an associate at kpff. AI enables structural engineers to quickly access valuable knowledge and data — across projects, far-flung office locations, and more.
With access to that data and deep experience, structural engineers are even more valuable collaborators to their partners in the built process. Zak Kostura is Americas East Digital Services Portfolio Leader at Arup. He describes how good engineers have always had the ability to answer many questions with just a marker, a piece of tracing paper, and experience or an educated guess.
“When the questions get more complicated and the projects more complex, AI extends [structural engineers’] ability to do that – and the person-to-person conversation continues,” Kostura says.
Put simply, experts concur that AI will enable structural engineers to focus on creativity, collaboration, and relationship building, while computers handle routine tasks. For example, consider how structural engineers could use AI for the following:
Design optimization. Structural engineers are exploring how AI can optimize designs to improve efficiency and cost. This includes using generative design and algorithms to explore more options. At a time when everyone feels pressure on schedules, AI can be a true benefit.
For example, Emily Guglielmo, a Principal at Martin / Martin, describes how building developers typically must choose their materials early to keep design and construction on schedule. With AI, she predicts structural engineers will be able to provide schematics for wood, concrete, and steel – fueling a more creative process. In fact, she stresses that structural engineers who use AI will support architect creativity, contractor time savings, and owner building maintenance.
Structural health monitoring and predictive maintenance. Structural engineers can use AI for structural health monitoring to predict damage and recommend predictive maintenance. This includes using sensor data and AI algorithms to monitor buildings and infrastructure.
For example, structural engineers can use AI, with input from drone images or sensors, to develop predictive models for structural performance and maintenance. These types of models will help building owners to detect damage and predict necessary repairs – identifying potential maintenance issues before they escalate.
Consider systems such as seismic dampers, which are devices meant to absorb earthquake energy and reduce building damage. AI can monitor a structure using expected building performance data, such as damper stroke length and speed, and input the information into predictive analysis models. Then, the models would indicate whether the seismic dampers are working as intended or should be scheduled for maintenance.Enhancing sustainable design in the built environment. With AI, structural engineers can optimize designs, retrofits, and even be part of operational discussions – optimizing predictive material and energy usage across the building lifecycle.
For new buildings, consider that AI can rapidly analyze factors, such as embodied carbon, operational carbon, and material efficiency, providing important information to structural engineers that once took weeks of analysis.
Of course, building repurposing is a key sustainable design practice, and AI already helps structural engineers analyze complex existing structures and work with the other building teams to select energy efficiency improvements and materials.
Kostura describes how AI can be used to analyze studies and company data to provide quick answers for something such as materials and placement of the appropriate nesting boxes for native species, leading to enhanced biodiversity. Without AI, that kind of research is done manually, and architects or structural engineers can face serious time constraints.
Working Together Now To Maximize AI’s Potential
To discover what’s possible, architects, real estate developers, and structural engineers need to work together to consider the entire built process when organizing AI as well as ensuring quality control.
“The worst mistake we can make is building our own sophisticated silos and finding out that we didn't align ourselves,” Kostura warns. “Then, the benefits and the value [of AI] won’t flow across.”
With a few strategies in mind, the built community can maximize the benefits of AI:
Tell us what you want; what you really, really want: Structural engineers want to know what their partners want and need early in the process. “Structural engineers are problem solvers, and AI is a tool that will help us do that to everyone’s advantage,” Guglielmo says.
Clean data. AI only works when it has access to good information. Kostura advises professionals to use AI as the catalyst for organizing data and good data hygiene, which benefits organizations in many ways. For example, Wong suggests that AI be fed data only from final project designs that have gone through quality control. Do not include data from preliminary designs or incomplete projects.
Standardized list of design needs. Like clean data, Otani recommends coming up with a standardized list and language for everything that is needed during a design project. For example, standardize how design changes are managed and tracked.
Trust but verify. Like people, AI can produce flawed information if it uses the wrong inputs. Wong gives the example of a concrete parking garage, which would not have the same structural needs as a mid-rise residential building. It’s always a best practice to have good quality controls in place for when human or AI colleagues make a mistake.
Start now. While AI is still in the beginning phases, it is moving fast. The sooner professionals start using it, the more likely they will be able to integrate it into workflows effectively.
Whatever the future, AI is a tool that can help professionals deliver more value. Kostura advises: “Take this moment to not be afraid but be empowered.”
Preparing Structural Engineers for the Future
The National Council of Structural Engineers Associations Foundation is working, through both an AI Grant Team and an AI Advisory Board, to craft a vision and roadmap outlining the potential disruptions, impacts, and opportunities AI will have on the profession and the built community.
AI Grant Team
Project Manager: John-Michael Wong, KPFF, Structural Engineers Association of California
Aditya Kaushik, Walter P. Moore, Structural Engineers Association of Colorado
Dave Martin, Degenkolb, Structural Engineers Association of California
Ayush Singhania, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Structural Engineers Association of California
Andrew Sundal, HGA, Minnesota Structural Engineers Association
Emre Toprak, Arup, Structural Engineers Association of Metropolitan Washington
Sheng Zheng, Martin/Martin, Structural Engineers Association of Colorado
AI Advisory Board
KP Reddy, Founder & CEO, Shadow Ventures
Robert Otani, Senior Principal & Chief Technology Officer, Thornton Tomasetti
Zak Kostura, Associate Principal, Advanced Digital Engineering, Arup
Kimon Onuma, Founder & President, Onuma, Inc.
Roark Redwood, Sr. Vice President of Technical and Government Solutions, National Institute of Building Sciences
KiSeok Jeon, VP of Digital Advisory, STV
Farahnaz Soleimani, Assistant Professor, Oregon State University
About the Author:
Alfred T. Spada is the executive director of the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations.