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The Structural Engineer

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The flagship publication of the Institution of Structural Engineers. Available to Institution members, and on subscription.

Industry CPD

The Structural Engineer
Screengrab of computational output for pinned and sprung bases

Industry CPD: Good FEA modelling for static linear analysis

This CPD module, sponsored by Oasys, examines the use of static linear analysis for modelling building and bridge structures and how to generate realistic, accurate results.

Date – 1 August 2025
Author – Oasys
Price – £0
The Structural Engineer
View of roof of Hurlingham Club, London

Industry CPD: Designing LVL beams with connections

This CPD module, sponsored by Metsa, introduces readers to laminated veneer lumber (LVL), before summarising the design of an LVL beam with connections.

Date – 3 February 2025
Author – Metsa
Price – £0
The Structural Engineer
Parametric model of structure of Kings Cross R8 project in London

Industry CPD: Incorporating carbon assessments into your modelling workflow

This CPD module, sponsored by Trimble, explores the benefits of integrating ongoing carbon assessments into the modelling workflow for a structure.

Date – 2 September 2024
Author – Trimble
Price – £0

Technical

The Structural Engineer
Three graphics showing grain or lamination discontinuities in timber

Technical Guidance Note (Level 2, No. 27): Analysis modelling for mass timber structures (part 2)

This note discusses analysis modelling considerations specific to mass timber structures. Part 2 looks at element properties and types, hybrid/composite structures and connections, as well as presenting a short example.

Date – 1 May 2026
Author – The Institution of Structural Engineers
Price – £9.95
The Structural Engineer
Three timber connection graphics side-by-side showing the assessment of rotational stiffness of timber connections

Technical Guidance Note (Level 2, No. 26): Analysis modelling for mass timber structures (part 1)

This note introduces analysis modelling considerations specific to mass timber structures, highlighting unique material properties that must be considered.

Date – 1 April 2026
Author – Matt Caldwell
Price – £9.95
The Structural Engineer
Exposed timber piles on site showing single row of piles below masonry walls

Conservation compendium. Part 23: Preservation of timber foundation piles

This article aims to outline the historic use of timber pile foundations, their key characteristics, and how to preserve them for the future.

Date – 1 April 2026
Author – Rick Roelofs
Price – £9.95

Professional guidance

The Structural Engineer
Image of the Cross logo: Collaborative Reporting for safer structures

CROSS Safety Report: Incomplete assessment of highway bridge raises questions

This month's report concerns an unresolved highway bridge inspection assessment with the CROSS Expert Panel urging dialogue with Network Rail's asset manager.

Date – 1 June 2026
Author – Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures
Price – £0
The Structural Engineer
Workers in high vis and hard hats moving a steel beam

Eurocodes evolution: assessment of existing structures

Mungo Stacy and Jon Shave explain the background and content of the new Eurocode for assessment of existing structures, examining aspects such as scope, principles and interventions.

Date – 1 June 2026
Author – Mungo Stacy and Jon Shave
Price – £0
The Structural Engineer
Soil pipe passing through notched and unreinforced floor joist showing wires and pipework

CROSS Safety Report: Alterations to spine wall and joists result in structural issues

This month's report details the structural damage in a listed building after alterations that involved moving a spine wall and notching timber joists.

Date – 1 May 2026
Author – Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures
Price – £0

Features

The Structural Engineer
Picture of a mainframe computer showing instrument with a number of knobs and switches

Modern methods of design: categorising computational design methods

This article by Malcolm Turpin considers the key categories of computers and software in structural engineering and their implications for the structural engineer.

Date – 1 April 2026
Author – Malcolm Turpin
Price – £9.95
The Structural Engineer
Architectural render of Sagrada Familia's Glory facade, Barcelona

Advancing thrust-line masonry design using finite-element methods on Sagrada Familia

This article – the winning entry to the IStructE Research into Practice case study competition in 2025 – describes research and development undertaken for design of the four facade towers for the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona.

Date – 4 March 2026
Author – Sam Gardiner, Liam Duff, Steve McKechnie, Michal Kierat and Tristram Carfrae
Price – £9.95
The Structural Engineer
Front profile of Brian Uy, IStructE President 2026

President's Inaugural Address: Structural engineering: past, present and future

In his Inaugural Address, the 105th President of the Institution, Brian Uy, reflects on his past, present and future, focusing on people, places and projects, and highlights the IStructE's past, present and future in a similar light.

Date – 2 February 2026
Author – Brian Uy
Price – £9.95

Project focus

The Structural Engineer
Rotation into place of reused bridge deck for Lucie-Breard footbridge in Paris

The Lucie-Breard footbridge, Paris: realising circular economy principles

This article describes the design and construction for the Lucie-Breard footbridge in Paris, France, explaining how a reused bridge deck was incorporated into the project.

Date – 1 June 2026
Author – Apolline Couret and Dan Bergsagel
Price – £9.95
The Structural Engineer
Clifton Suspension Bridge with view towards the Leigh Woods Tower and abutments

Clifton Suspension Bridge: managing risk through combined structural and geotechnical assessment

This article briefly summarises the structural and geotechnical assessments undertaken on the Clifton Suspension Bridge and describes how an integrated approach has been used to manage maintenance of the bridge, foundations and slopes.

Date – 1 June 2026
Author – Mike Summers, Sam Wood, John Rees, Aogan Mulcahy and Robert MacKean
Price – £9.95
The Structural Engineer
View of Newnham College Boathouse in Cambridge in the sunshine and featuring badge on the front of the building

Local, sustainable, reusable – a new boathouse for Newnham College, Cambridge

This article describes the project for a new boathouse for Newnham College in Cambridge, which uses locally grown green timber and woven willow in its construction.

Date – 1 May 2026
Author – Mark Jacobs and Kate Shipley-Dyke
Price – £9.95

Opinion

The Structural Engineer
Cartoon image of a woman holding a baby while working on a laptop

Viewpoint: Rethinking the return to work in an industry where mothers are still underrepresented

Niamh McCloskey reflects on her personal experience of the challenging reality of returning to work after maternity leave, questioning whether workplaces truly support women in this transition and highlighting how, with the right support and recognition of the new perspectives and skills that motherhood can bring, we can retain mothers and allow them to thrive in underrepresented industries.

Date – 1 June 2026
Author – Niamh McCloskey
Price – £9.95
The Structural Engineer
View of a highway bridge over a two-lane road in the UK

Viewpoint: Can we have confidence in inherited highway bridge assessments?

Steven McKerlie is troubled by longstanding underinvestment in maintenance of UK bridge assets and the implications of this for safety if weaknesses in past assessments that are still relied on are not acknowledged.

Date – 1 June 2026
Author – Steven McKerlie
Price – £9.95
The Structural Engineer
A graph with probability of failure and time on the x and y axis and showing a bathtub curve of asset life cycles

Viewpoint: Ageing infrastructure's Eureka moment

A recent report on the UK's ageing infrastructure should be a wake-up call to both structural engineers and asset owners, argues Eva MacNamara, as it offers ways to change stewardship for the better and keep our infrastructure in service for longer.

Date – 1 June 2026
Author – Eva MacNamara
Price – £9.95

At the back

The Structural Engineer
Various annotated images of concrete filled double skin tube members with different failure modes noted

Spotlight on Structures (June 2026)

Associate Editor, Lin Hai-Han, has chosen a paper examining the post-ire behaviour following tests on concrete-Filled double-skin steel tubular members as the Featured Article for Volume 85 of Structures .

Date – 1 June 2026
Author – The Institution of Structural Engineers
Price – £0
The Structural Engineer
Pen and diary

Diary dates (June 2026)

A round-up of events at Institution HQ and around the regional groups.

Date – 1 June 2026
Author – The Institution of Structural Engineers
Price – £0
The Structural Engineer
Drawing Board sketch showing steel connections in 3D view

The Drawing Board (May 2026)

This month, judge Ron Slade has selected a sketch by Amrit Aluna as the winner of The Drawing Board. He will receive an e-book of his choice from the Institution's current catalogue.

Date – 1 May 2026
Author – Ron Slade
Price – £9.95