How did a circus act inspire a revolutionary new construction method for Scotland’s first glass fibre reinforced polymer, cable stayed footbridge? Why did triumph and heartache underpin construction of the world’s most difficult cable stayed bridge, the Kap Shui Mun Bridge in Hong Kong? What did tunnel engineering teach designers about construction that enabled them to extend the span of cable stayed bridges to over 1km? And what was it like to work on two world beating structures at the same time – the Sutong Bridge in China and the Stonecutters Bridge in Hong Kong?

Only one man has the answer to these questions. World leading bridge designer, Dr Robin Sham has transformed long span bridge construction with his innovative conceptual approach. Hailed as an engineering superhero in 2018 by the UK’s Institution of Civil Engineers, AECOM’s Global Long Span and Speciality Bridges Director Dr Sham has attempted – and succeeded – in designing bridges that had never been built before. And in this episode he tells Engineering Matters that he is not done yet. Despite designing and building the most incredible bridges of the past two decades he is determined to go further. He yearns to develop new types of bridges that span larger distances more efficiently than ever before, and bring third generation suspension bridges to reality.

GUESTS

Dr Robin Sham

SPECIAL THANKS TO

The Institution of Civil Engineers

AECOM

The post #14 The Bridge Man: Dr Robin Sham first appeared on Engineering Matters.