Exploring Facade Engineering with Politecnico di Milano Students

17 December 2024

Last month, Alessandro Baldini and Luca Consonni from our Milan team, were invited to Politecnico di Milano to give a lecture to fifth-year students of the Building Engineering-Architecture program. It was a special opportunity to share with the students a fundamental yet often under-explored aspect of the construction sector: the role of the facade engineer.

The lecture focused on the importance of this professional role, which serves as a true bridge between the work of architects and engineers. Alessandro explained how the facade engineer works to integrate the aesthetic and conceptual needs of the architect with the technical and structural requirements of the engineer, fostering a dialogue between two disciplines that may seem distant but are, in fact, deeply interconnected.

During his presentation, Alessandro highlighted the key topics that characterise facade engineering and that Eckersley O’Callaghan specialises in, such as the design of complex facades, energy optimisation, technological innovation, and sustainability. By showcasing some of our most iconic projects, he demonstrated to the students the process that takes an idea from conceptual development to concrete realisation, emphasising the skills and teamwork required to achieve excellence.

Luca shared his professional experience at EOC, offering a direct and personal perspective. He explained the day-to-day operations of a facade engineer behind the scenes of a project and showed how, even in the early years of his career, he actively contributed to various projects. This allowed the students to gain a better understanding not only of the skills needed in the field but also of the tangible opportunities that facade engineering can offer to those entering the job market.