The talk, "Design, Disasters and Development" discusses how buildings and bridges define our physical environment, and play a critical role in meeting our most basic needs for safety, services and connectivity.
As such, they provide the foundations for human well-being and economic activity; more so now than ever before with the majority of the world’s population living in urban areas.
Jo also reflects that while technology has pushed the frontiers of structural engineering, enabling the design of ever higher, longer or more spectacular structures, it’s often less celebrated buildings that contribute most to society.
Jo's address took place on 11 October 2017 at Institution headquarters.