About Me
I have been lucky enough to work on a wide variety of projects in my 25 year career as a Structural Engineer. I learned my craft over the first 16 years in various locations with Arup, one of the largest and most prestigious engineering companies in the UK.
I was the guardian of the superstructure of Terminal 5 at Heathrow during the final year of the project as it was fitted out, including retail queries, alterations, load assessments and numerous other fixes. After that I worked on site at the new Kings Cross station concourse as it was constructed over the underground station and included renovation of the historical structures of the station. Subsequent to that I was coordinating the design of the upper retail elements of Canary Wharf Crossrail Station. Most recently I was the lead structural designer for a large residential block reaching 20 storeys.
In the last six or seven years I have gained some vital experience in more down to earth projects including assessments of existing structures, steel frame school buildings and housing design.
Collaborating with clients and design partners to realise a vision has always been the most rewarding part of the job. I am very excited to be operating now as Realise Engineering and I look forward to providing new designs and resolving your structural issues.
Nicholas Bailes – ACGI MEng CEng MICE
What is a Structural Engineer?
We are all constantly interacting with our build environment but most people are not familiar with the process of realising new buildings and spaces. It is common to be asked how Structural Engineers fit into the picture.
Structural Engineers provide the physics knowledge for building designs to make sure there is enough structure for the forces applied by gravity and other influences to safely reach the ground support. This is done by calculation and must meet the Eurocodes and other standards.
An Architect will design a building aesthetically and functionally to meet client requirements and numerous other standards for considerations such as performance in fire, security, sufficient light, waterproofing, access and so on. A Structural Engineer will design the structure of a building to best fit the Architect’s vision. Other engineering disciplines will also be required in larger buildings such as Mechanical, Electrical, Public Health (drainage), Acoustic and Geotechnical engineers. Product suppliers will also provide design responsibility for their items which might include wall and roof cladding, waterproofing systems or bespoke partition or metal decking systems. The Contractor (builder) also has a design responsibility to ensure that the building is safe while it is being built, which may require some temporary structures.
Structural Engineers work with existing buildings as well as new designs. A discipline we often overlap with for existing buildings is Building Surveyors who provide an overall survey of the condition of a building. This will include cladding and other coverings, not just the structure. For issues with the structure that need a repair design or further specialist input, a Structural Engineer is often called upon. Other specialist surveys for existing structures are sometimes required such as geometric surveys or material analysis.
