September 2007  |  Volume 77, Number 9

Grand Inspiration

By Robert L. Reid

Once ranked among the most impressive transportation structures in Europe, the main railway station in Dresden, Germany, was heavily damaged during World War II bombing raids. In the postwar period, nearly 40 years of poorly implemented repairs and inadequate maintenance only worsened the structure’s problems. Now, a team of British and German architects and engineers has refurbished the station, capping the project with a 30,000 m² prestressed membrane roof that is significantly lighter than its predecessor. But the horizontal forces imposed by the new roof presented formidable design challenges.

Center Stage

By Blake Patsy, P.E., S.E., Bryan Starr, P.E., S.E., and Josh Lighthipe, P.E.

The First Regiment Armory Annex, in Portland, Oregon, has been transformed into a theatrical venue that preserves the structure’s medieval exterior and old-growth timber roof trusses while making room belowground for an additional stage. The project preserved a community icon that is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and won a first-of-its-kind certification for environmental stewardship.

Preparing the Civil Engineer of Tomorrow By 'Raising the Bar'

Since 1998, when ASCE’s Board of Direction adopted Policy 465, which “supports the attainment of a body of knowledge for entry into the practice of civil engineering at the professional level,” the Society has aggressively advocated elevating educational standards for engineers. Through the work of its Committee on the Academic Prerequisites for Professional Practice (CAP³), ASCE has sought to develop the body of knowledge required for entry into civil engineering practice at the professional level. In January 2004 the Body of Knowledge Committee, a group set up by CAP³, published the report Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century: Preparing the Civil Engineer for the Future. In response to the expanding use of this document by various stakeholders and to questions that have been raised and suggestions that have been offered, CAP³ formed a new committee in late 2005—known formally as the Second Edition of the Body of Knowledge Committee. This second committee has refined the body of knowledge and is now seeking comments on its draft. This article is a distillation of the draft of the revised body of knowledge and was prepared by the new committee.

When Less Is More

By Sandeep Sethi, Ph.D., P.E., Pei Xu, Ph.D., and Jörg Drewes, Ph.D.

If desalination of brackish water is to continue to help meet the growing demand for drinking water, new technologies will be needed that enhance the amount of water recovered during treatment and minimize the resulting concentrate. Fortunately, a number of emerging technologies show promise for doing just that.