Construction is a field that constantly evolves on a foundation of solid principles, and one of the biggest tools for creating magnificent buildings and structures is the computer.
Not only are they used to buy building materials online, but they also are used for simulations, modelling, accounting and many other design and construction elements that can transform and revolutionise construction.
One of the biggest examples of this in the UK is 30 St Mary Axe, better known as the Gherkin because of its unique wind-shaping design.
However, the very first building to have computer assistance in its design was started in the 1950s and has gone on to be one of the most famous buildings in the world.
The Sydney Opera House is almost universally beloved, but what a lot of people outside of Australia may not recall is that the legendary and iconic building was very nearly cancelled multiple times and was the subject of several acrimonious disputes regarding its design, some believing it to be impossible.
Initially, a lot of the wind tunnel testing and results were done manually with Arup’s mathematicians taking charge, but as the building become more complex, the engineers started to use the Ferranti Pegasus Mark 1, one of the earliest computers money could buy, although only 26 were.
The complex calculations took the computer up to 14 hours each run, compared to the seconds it would take today, but it saved the engineers approximately a decade of calculating alone and emphasised that without computer power the Opera House was simply impossible.
Given that the building was already ten years late and over 13 times over its initial budget, a delay such as this would have immediately killed the project.
Instead, despite everything, it has endured and become one of the most beautiful and striking buildings ever made.