January Sole Soaking!

In this era and at the beginning of 2014 most city people will look out of their windows and only see man made objects, generally these are designed by Structural Engineers, Civil Engineers and Designers with only a few traces of the natural world present; an odd tree, a few blades of grass or a few patio pots are the only items which link them back to their roots. The day-to-day existence of most city dwellers is totally dependant on the performance of utilities infrastructure companies.

The extreme wet and windy weather patterns over the Christmas period within the British Isles has clearly demonstrated this point. The weather and environment factor is not an isolated phenomena but a global problem which Governments need to correctly understand and stop merely trying to pay voting lip service to and thereafter allow the financial institutions to carry on in a myopic manner.

In the modern world unless social/environment models significantly change it will become more difficult and much more costly to live on Planet Earth. Where will the prosperity come from to support this? The developed world's economic model based on continual growth cannot work in the longer term and the sooner that the G20 countries recognise this, the better the quality of life for the general public.

Societies must become more aware of holistic ways of life and must become more self governing and respectful of the piece of Planet Earth which they are inhabiting but benefit from knowledge sharing and accessible good global database stores. Humans must also learn, as the population density grows even further, to design places of habitation which provide homes for other forms of nature. Bees, birds insects alike need to be recognised as important species with which mankind cannot in the long term survive without, or do we evolve into machines and become extinct?

The time has come to be truly respectful of Planet Earth and all that dwell within its sphere. We need to learn to harmonise the needs of all and try to understand the Grand Design and from this learn to design respectively and sustainably. Resources are finite and we need to use them carefully and wisely.

Aardman Animations HQ, Bristol - Feature Staircases

Aardman Animations new HQ, based in Bristol, has a feature article within Hot Dip Galvanizing Magazine.

MLDE designed and engineered a pair of new bowstring double flight feature staircases to provide a central focus to the atrium space. The building was designed by Alec French Architects for Aardman Animations.

Please refer to our website for more details of these elegant staircases.

Engineering – Autumn Statement

The global market runs world businesses, governed by global economics. The scant world resources, commodities and products naturally determine their own value and market size. The global market with subtle shifts in trends, skews the market allowing opportunities for different economies or new products to take a firmer hold of the sector. The current world economic model based on continual growth cannot function into the future, it is simply not sustainable. The current Western economies are faltering due to excessive debt caused by trying to create growth.

In the past few decades most global scale products were made in the lowest cost centres in the world, irrespective of the remoteness of the manufacturing plant. The actual transportation cost of the materials and consumables to and from the works and onwards to their markets has had little impact or influence on where they are actually made. This trend will become outdated as energy and resources become more expensive and difficult to find. More efficient local recycling of goods will also be needed in order to limit the unnecessary use of fuel and energy.

New highly sophisticated fabrication facilities will make a huge range of different mass produced products for different global brands from downloaded secure Cloud based information sources.

The design specification will be the critical intellectual property which Cloud technology will protect via safe direct non externally downloadable CadCam interfaces within the new generation of sophisticated Fabrication facilities. These facilities will be more evenly dispersed over the globe than the current production centres. Their density will increase as energy prices increase. The relentless world demand for internet and computers almost ensures that the predicted Cloud production will happen quite soon.

It is believed that about 9% of all the world energy is currently consumed by computers and the internet, albeit inclusive of the embodied energy of the systems and the power needed to run them! Regional economies will need to be re-established. The world needs joined up thinking by engaged joined up thinkers to create an holistic solution which actually works for mankind. A celestial alternative to spaceship earth is not an option for the majority of this planet.

Mark Lovell

Anglepoise Giant Chandelier - MLDE Providing Design Engineering Assistance

MLDE have been providing Anglepoise with Structural Engineering assistance in the realisation of their 4.5m diameter Giant Chandelier consisting of eight Giant 1227 lamps.

This visually impressive piece will be shown for the first time at Qubique, a new designer show in Berlin, Germany, showcasing an inspiring selection of high-quality and unique products.

Qubique will run from October 26 to 29 2011 at Berlin’s decommissioned Tempelhof Airport.

Trade Days: Wednesday, October 26 and Thursday, October 27, 2011

Public Days: Friday, October 28 and Saturday, October 29, 2011

Opening Hours: 10:00 AM – 19:00 PM

'Tree' – Oak Table displayed at Design Junction

Benchmark Furniture and MLDE have collaborated in the unveiling of ‘Tree’ at designjunction as part of the London Design Festival last evening. This stunning 11.4m oak table is a unique piece of furniture. The picture below shows the elegant, light and concise design of the finished table in position at the exhibition.

The structural philosophy for this table being that it functions as a tree with a central base “trunk and roots” which supports the main table top “canopy”, with “branches” supporting the spreading canopy.

Visitors can see this in person at the event which is open from Thursday 22 September - Sunday 26 September from 11am to 6pm

designjunction

Victoria House Basement, 37-63 Southampton Row, London, WC1B 4DA

MLDE working with Benchmark Furniture for DesignJunction

MLDE have recently been working in collaboration with Benchmark Furniture to create an exciting new table for designjunction, an event to be held as part of London Design Festival and intended to showcase the very best in global design.

Bringing together a stellar line-up of leading UK and international lighting and furniture brands, the event is set to excite, inspire and challenge anyone with a passion for design.

designjunction will be open from Thursday 22 September - Sunday 26 September from 11am to 6pm.

Designjunction
Victoria House Basement
37-63 Southampton Row
LONDON
WC1B 4DA


“ The table will be made from a log that took 6 months to locate. It is the longest planked oak log that any of Benchmark’s sources in the timber trade has ever known. To machine the log, Benchmark has had to cut holes through the walls on either side of the workshop. It might be expected that a table of these proportions would need a substantial under frame but this table will deliver long, clean lines with minimal interference from the under structure as a result of an inventive design and intelligent use of materials.”

The relationship between the two parties goes back several years with MLDE acting as Structural Engineer for Benchmarks Offices in Kintbury in 2003. The project involved utilising the exiting roof space and Structure and inserting a very lightweight structure to allow the conversion of the loft space with minimal disruption.

White Elephants and Dinosaurs

In the modern era Engineers have mostly kept a low profile and have not generally become involved in politics; only reacting to the demands of others. Their design skills used to solve problems created by non holistic policies. This is a strange situation when one considers that virtually all items in the world are Designed and Engineered. Most people will look out of their windows and see only man-made objects being totally dependant on the utilities infrastructure for example.

Society must become more aware that a holistic approach to sustainable design must be put into place, and Engineers should take a much more active role in helping to guide the process. Not simply accepting the way things are. Taking “ownership” of their future. It is strongly felt that the current reactive design processes must be changed to proactive ones, and governments need to learn this too.

The time has come to truly respect that Planet Earth's resources are finite and to use them carefully and wisely. It is important for all clients, whether private or corporate, whom are awarding commissions to take sustainability and energy use seriously, with consideration from the outset. Clients need to be much more careful about the manner in which they appoint their consultants. Many, many White Elephants are currently being created in the world and never has the saying: “measure twice cut once” had more weight. Are you making an informed decision or a pre-programmed one, which might be commissioning a Dinosaur?

Mark Lovell