The potential for commonality in architectural and engineering design

Architecture and engineering are two professions whose concerns are often contradictory and in conflict. This situation has sometimes impaired the professions in responding to the client's needs. The encouragement of a commonality of concerns could act to enrich the quality of each profession's work.

The origins of the problem lie in the past attitudes, social roles, and training of designers. These aspects were a response to past social stimuli and have continued to today. While an alteration of social roles would be problemmatic, the training process and attitudes of the professions are possible grounds for change. Educational institutions could play a major role in this redirection of concerns.

A need for encouraging commonality of concerns lies in the designer's potential role in addressing environmental issues. The relationship between the built enviornment and life-style could be utilized in encouraging a more environmentally conscious society. This goal could be reaiized if architects and engineers understood the strength of design protentialities afforded by a commonality of concerns.