Two of our Graduate Engineers, Tungsten and Ribal, sat down with one of our founding directors, Des Mairs, to hear more about his career and any insights he would like to share with young engineer.

If you take the time to do your analysis properly and you have confidence in what you’re doing, then a utilisation of 0.99 is entirely satisfactory.

What inspired you to become an engineer?

I first learned about shear force and bending moment diagrams during my A-levels, and I thought they were the greatest thing imaginable. The answers just seemed to leap off the page; it seemed so intuitive. I thought to myself, this would be an interesting career. That’s why I wanted to be a structural engineer.

I thought shear force and bending moment diagrams were the greatest thing imaginable. The answers just seemed to leap off the page; it seemed so intuitive.

I did my degree in aeronautical engineering, because the course then was about half and half between structures and aerodynamics. Then I started work a stress engineer in the aircraft industry, and after about two years I moved to a job as a structural engineer. Because aircraft need to be as light as possible, you have to really work on the figures and get very close to a utilisation factor of 1 – that kind of thinking has carried through into my structural design. If you take the time to do your analysis properly and you have confidence in what you’re doing, then a utilisation of 0.99 is entirely satisfactory.

Has there been anyone you have worked with who was particularly inspirational through your career?

One who stands out was Robert Benaim [former Sir Frank Whittle Medal winner from the Royal Academy of Engineering], whom I worked with in a small practice when I was newly chartered. His firm used to work closely with contractors, which was very unusual in the 1980s, though it’s common now. The contractors wanted to use less material, which drove Robert to come up with some really exciting schemes for post-tensioned concrete box girder bridges, as an alternative to the standard precast beams.

He always had us do the analysis very thoroughly. You need to make sure the thing is correct and not cut any corners, particularly if you’re trying to cut down the amount of steel and concrete

What has stuck with me from that time is that he always had us do the analysis very thoroughly. You need to make sure the thing is correct and not cut any corners, particularly if you’re trying to cut down the amount of steel and concrete. In those days there was no finite element software. There were programmes that analysed complicated statically indeterminate structures, but we only had eleven basic computers in the office, and we had to take it in turns to put the programmes into the computer. That meant anything that was mostly statically determinate was just done by hand.

What are the most memorable projects you have worked on?

The most memorable project I have delivered at Davies Maguire was The Rising Factory, which we worked with MACE on. It was a giant, five-storey tent which was erected around the perimeter of a new building and allowed the tower to be constructed floor by floor within it. When each one was completed, the factory jumped itself up to the floor above to repeat the process. It stands out for being a pure engineering design, and a new construction method which was unprecedented in the UK.

The projects that meant something to me and felt most satisfying were the ones where we as engineers really contributed to the success of a project, beyond just satisfying the architectural requirements.

From earlier in my career, the 3 Millennium Bridges – York, Lancaster and Peterborough. There were also the British Embassy in Yemen, and BBC Broadcasting House, both of which Gareth [Davies, another founding director of Davies Maguire] and I worked on together. Looking back, the projects that meant something to me and felt most satisfying were the ones where we as engineers really contributed to the success of a project, beyond just meeting the architectural requirements.

People have asked me over the years, what is a structural engineer? I just point to any building and say, we’re the ones that make it stand up and build it in an economical and sustainable way. That’s something all engineers should be proud of.

I can point to any building and say structural engineers are the ones that make it stand up and build it in an economical and sustainable way. That’s something all engineers should be proud of.

What would you say to young engineers at the start of their career?

I have always enjoyed what I do, and my hope for young engineers is that they can get as much enjoyment and satisfaction out of it as I still do. If you’re not excited by how to deal with a difficult brief, or by looking for the answers to a problem, then you’re in the wrong job.

My hope for young engineers is that they can get as much enjoyment and satisfaction out of it as I still do.