Overview

Jonathan T. Ricketts

Consulting Engineer
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Sociological changes, new technology in industry and commerce, new building codes, other new laws and regulations, inflationary economies of nations, and advances in building technology place an ever-increasing burden on building designers and constructors. They need more and more knowledge and skill to cope with the demands placed on them.

The public continually demands more complex buildings than in the past. They must serve more purposes, last longer, and require less maintenance and repair. As in the past, they must look attractive. Yet, both building construction and operating costs must be kept within acceptable limits or new construction will cease.

To meet this challenge successfully, continual improvements in building design and construction must be made. Building designers and constructors should be alert to these advances and learn how to apply them skillfully.

One advance of note to building design is the adaptation of operations research, or systems design, developed around the middle of the twentieth century and originally applied with noteworthy results to design of machines and electronic equipment. In the past, design of a new building was mainly an imitation of the design of an existing building. Innovations were often developed fortuitously and by intuition and were rare occurrences. In contrast, systems design encourages innovation. It is a precise procedure that guides creativity toward the best decisions. As a result, it can play a significant role in meeting the challenges posed by increasing building complexity and costs. The basic...