Alistair Lenczner FIStructE
Date published

19 December 2019

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Alistair Lenczner FIStructE

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Career Profiles
Date published

19 December 2019

Alistair Lenczner, Fellow of the Institution, is a Director at Expedition Engineering, an independent engineering consultancy. He spends his time designing structures, finding solutions, and developing ideas for how the built environment can better serve society.

"As a Fellow I see my role partly to be an ambassador to the profession "
Alistair Lenczner FIStructE

What inspired you to become a structural engineer? 

As a child I was fascinated by famous structures such as the Forth Rail Bridge, Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower. These were probably a catalyst for me becoming interested in structural engineering.

What are the greatest achievements of your career?

I have been lucky to work on the design of several notable projects, including new glass roofs for the Louvre Museum in Paris, The Padre Pio Church in Foggia, Italy (which featured natural stone arches to support the roof), the Millau Viaduct in France (the world’s tallest bridge structure) and the new Wembley Stadium (I was responsible for design of the arch structure that supports the roof).    
 

How would you define structural engineering?

Structural engineering is the art of designing and constructing structures to make buildings and infrastructure stand up and withstand the tests of time.

Without structural engineers we might still be living in mud huts…although even mud huts might need a bit of structural engineering!

Who should become a structural engineer? 

It’s a career well suited to people who are interested in learning how things work, creating big things that will last a long time, and working as part of a team.

What does Fellowship of the Institution mean to you? 

I think that Fellowship of IStructE shows that the institution recognises that I have made a significant contribution to the world of structural engineering. 

As a Fellow I see my role partly to be an ambassador to the profession of structural engineering and help spread the message about how structural engineers could do more to shape the world we live in. 

How do you interact with the Institution? 

I have written and presented papers for The Structural Engineer. I have been on jury panels for IStructE awards and I visit the Institution quite regularly to attend talks - it’s good to hear what others have to say about their work and get involved in debates about how we can do things better. 

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