Buro Happold wins four awards at IStructE 2021 Structural Awards

Buro Happold has won four awards at the prestigious IStructE 2021 Structural Awards, including Lille Langebro being recognised as the winner of the coveted ‘Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence’.

After a year’s hiatus caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, The Institution of Structural Engineers’ (IStructE) Structural Awards returned on Friday 5 November 2021. Buro Happold once again performed strongly, showcasing our structural engineering excellence and expertise. Three of our projects were triumphant in four awards categories, which were selected by fellow industry professionals.

Established in 1968, the awards celebrate the best work across the global structural engineering community. Due to the pandemic, this year’s awards included nominations from the last two years, meaning projects faced even more competition than usual.

Structural Awards 2021

Three of our projects were honoured with structural awards, with Lille Langebro cycle and pedestrian bridge winning in two categories. We are so proud that we have been recognised for our commitment to delivering innovative engineering solutions for the built environment.

Following on from our success at the 2019 Structural Awards, Buro Happold won the coveted ‘Supreme Award for Structural Engineers Excellence’ for a second time. Buro Happold previously won this category for our work on the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Stadium.

From aviation projects and transport route upgrades to cycle and pedestrian bridges, the awards featured a wide range of international project winners.

Buro Happold was triumphant in the following categories:

• Lille Langebro – The Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence
• Lille Langebro – The Award for Pedestrian Bridges
• Jewel Changi Airport – The Award for Long Span Structures
• Elizabeth Line OLE Gantry Rigorous Assessments – The Award for Minimal Structural Intervention.

Winning so many awards at this year’s IStructE’s Structural Awards is an amazing achievement and a testament to the talent of our people at Buro Happold. As a practice of world leading engineers we are proud that these incredible projects, and our people who helped deliver them, have been recognised with this clutch of prestigious awards. Having been at the forefront of structural and bridge engineering for over 40 years, we are known for our innovation and design excellence and in 2021 it is no different.

Hayden Nuttall, Global Discipline Director, Buro Happold

Lille Langebro

The Lille Langebro cycle and pedestrian bridge was our big winner of the evening, scooping up two awards for ‘Supreme Structural Engineering Excellence and ‘Pedestrian Bridges’.

Built across the Copenhagen harbour, this movable swing bridge is a complex structure that consists of four bridge sections. It was prefabricated entirely off-site and then delivered in a completed state by waterfront. Working with Wilkinson Eyre Architects and Eadon Consulting, our team designed a striking and beautifully engineered swing bridge that clears 35 metres to allow ships to pass underneath.

The judges praised the bridge’s elegant design and complex geometry that helped to deliver an innovative structure that’s become a local landmark and helped to strengthen cycling culture in the city. The design enhances urban life on the waterfront, creating connections and ensuring a safe and accessible crossing for the use of pedestrians and cyclists.

The very beautifully detailed swing bridge required close cooperation between all parties to deliver a complex structure to a high standard. It has already become a high profile and important artery for pedestrians and cyclists.  

IStructE judge’s comment

Jewel Changi Airport

A landmark aviation project in Singapore, Jewel Changi Airport won ‘The Award for Long Span Structure’ at this year’s event. The 200m diameter gridshell is the largest in the world and features a 40m indoor waterfall as its centrepiece as well as an interior rainforest. Our engineers had to adapt their designs to respond to the geometrical constraints of the architecture as well as overcoming several fabrication and procurement related challenges.

The judges celebrated the project’s intricate design, which overcame the complex geometrical issue of the waterfall not being centrally located within the roof’s structure. Working with Safdie Architects, our facade and structural teams engineered the world’s largest gridshell to enclose a building.

To offset the off-centre placement (and the resulting ellipsoidal waterfall) 9,000+ triangular glass panels, all unique and dimensionally different, were used. Our team engineered the world’s largest gridshell to enclose a building.

As a result, Jewel Changi Airport’s has positioned itself as one of the world’s best airports, providing an exceptional experience for travellers as well as stunning architectural design. The project has gained such global acclaim that it has even been commemorated as a postage stamp in its native Singapore.

In order to design intelligently and to create value, the engineers went to great efforts to carry out engineering studies and explore fabrication processes.

IStructE judge’s comment

Elizabeth Line OLE Gantry Rigorous Assessments

Our structural engineers were also recognised for their work on Network Rail’s Elizabeth Line, which won ‘The Award for Minimal Structural Intervention’.

The judges were impressed by the rigorous assessment procedure and the structural analysis methods utilised by our engineers. Through the use of detailed non-linear structural analysis, a significant amount of the existing infrastructure was incorporated into the new railway line with minimal or no intervention.

Originally, the conventional analysis had stated that the majority of the existing structures would need to be removed. As a result, our engineering work delivered considerable cost, programme and environmental savings. What’s significant about this project is that it gives renewed purpose to historic infrastructure. It increases the resilience of rail transportation whilst also preserving part of the UK’s engineering heritage. 

The judges were impressed by the rigorous assessment procedure developed and how sophisticated structural analysis methods were utilised to justify many of the existing structures and to design simple strengthening measures on others. 

IStructE judge’s comment

For more information about Buro Happold’s award-winning structural engineering services, visit our specialism page.