How Engineering Changed the Way I See Buildings
-Eileen Altieri | Electrical Engineer
I never thought this would happen to me. I always believed in a clear separation between work and life: get your work done, stay focused during office hours, and don’t bring it home with you. Use that time to recharge and think about everything else besides work. Leave the stress at the door and enjoy your leisure time outside the office.
But as of late, I’ve been struggling. I find aspects of work seeping into my thoughts during my free time. It’s not necessarily the projects or deadlines I need to meet, but rather the MEP design of the buildings I’m in. Whether I want to or not, I can’t help it. Am I enjoying work so much that I’m bringing it home with me?
I recently had the amazing opportunity to travel to Croatia for vacation, fully expecting a change of scenery to shift my mind away from work. Yet as I sat in the airport waiting to take off, I noticed a large section of the ceiling had been removed, exposing ductwork, cabling, and piping. Before I could stop myself, I said out loud, “This would be a dream to survey.” Did I really just use the words dream and survey in the same sentence while waiting to go on a once in a lifetime vacation? I must be stopped!
But I couldn’t stop. Walking along the city walls of Dubrovnik, more than 20 meters high on rocky cliffs overlooking the ocean, I came upon a small café. My first thought was, “How did they get the plumbing up here?” There I go again! Later, I noticed piping paths zigzagging along the original cobblestone walkways, and before I could think, I blurted out, “The plumbing up here must have been fun to design.” Fun. I couldn’t believe it. Am I subconsciously interested in my work? Am I realizing that it could actually be…fun?
While my eyes now often dart around a room admiring the hidden details, this newfound obsession also brings the flaws to light. Walking through an office building and having the lights turn on after I’ve already passed them. Staying on an upper floor of a hotel and the water pressure is very soft and it takes forever to heat up. Visiting my friend’s apartment and she often has to flip her breaker when the air kicks on. That can’t be good. These issues are more than mere inconveniences, at least that’s how most people see them and how I used to as well. Now, small annoyances haunt me as I ponder how they could have been designed better. I find myself thinking back to the early stages of the design process, to the collaboration among disciplines that ensures plans come to life seamlessly. I can’t help it.
Despite my best efforts, it seems my work never stays only at the office, and I’m okay with that. The more I look at structures through an engineering-colored lens, the more I embrace it. Dare I say, the more I enjoy it. There’s something special about walking into a building, looking up, and seeing what most people can’t. Working in this field, I see firsthand how important our work is it’s the backbone of the buildings we use every day. Often, if people notice nothing beyond comfort and convenience, it means we’ve done our job right.
MEP engineering has officially changed the way I see buildings. I’ll forever be removing walls and ceilings in my mind, exposing the hidden artwork of systems that sustain us — systems most overlook, but I now deeply admire.