Our Construction assignment was split into two parts, one part experiment and one part essay. First, we had to construct a piece of paper to hold a filled two-liter bottle of water. My group started by folding the paper and punching holes to fit through wooden dowels on the side of the table, hanging the bottle off the edge. The next two trials were focused on cutting away the paper, seeing how much material we could get away with removing before failure. This represented how, in construction, the goal is to use as little material as possible to successfully create a product.
The second half of the assignment was an essay. Sadly I was unable to complete the essay fully, only getting about two of the four topics completed, but I made sure that half was filled with content. First I talked about construction techniques like tubing, a method invented by Bangladeshi American architect Fazlur Rahman Khan that involves making the structure of a building a completely hollow tube. This puts all of the weight of the building onto the strong outer shell, as seen in the John Hancock Center. I also discussed various disasters such as the Kansas City Hyatt Regency walkway collapse and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge incident. These disasters were caused by cutting corners on materials and inspection, and would never have happened if proper engineering technique was used.
All in all, this lesson is incredibly useful for all aspiring AENG majors and, despite being incredibly difficult to complete, is worth your time.
Ethan Machado, December 10th, 2025