Construct ion,
bui lding and
structural
tubes
Photograph: BSS Industrial (see page 63)
bridges, roads, canals, dams, convention centres,
underground cities, skyway systems all have this
in common: they are big projects with long life
cycles, many intended to endure into the
indefinite future.
With more users per unit over the life of the
construct than in any other building discipline,
civil engineering is answerable to that many
more monitors. From the drawing board stage
to the ribbon-cutting ceremony and beyond,
local, municipal, even national governments may
insist on having their say in matters of design,
construction and maintenance.
This is as it should be, since outsize projects
involve proportionately greater commitments of
money, property and time, and typically involve
risk to life and limb beyond the average. What
keeps these undertakings coming is the conviction
in every new generation that they are worth
doing. and what ensures their completion is the
availability of products – such as tubing and pipe
for the all-important flow paths in virtually every
major system – from consummate professionals
who understand the challenges faced by those
who would do great works.
