Civil Engineering Fundamentals

Module Lead

Prof David Richards

Tutors

Franziska Conrad
Katherine Theobald
Oliver John
Dr Benjamin Cerfontaine
Dr Jack Denny
Prof Ian Williams
Dr Luke Myers
Adrian Campbell
Dr Jamie Crispin
Abi Bateman

An 18-acre site at the Construction Industry Training Board National Construction College, Bircham Newton provides a unique week long learning experience – Constructionarium, for students to build scaled replicas of iconic structures from around the world using common construction methods, materials and plant.

This activity has formed a key part of all of Southampton’s Civil Engineering degrees since 2008, and where our 1st Year Civil Engineers, working in groups of ~18 combine the ap­ plication of practical construction skills and project management processes to construct their own version of the Millau Cable Bridge, Brewery Wharf Footbridge (Leeds), Kingsgate Footbridge (Durham University) and the Raven­ spurn floating platform.

In preparation for this residential field course, students must learn to understand and interpret engineering drawings, calculate the loads and forces and their safe pathway to ground, plan and develop a construction and resourcing programme, evaluate projects costs and the embodied carbon associated with their Constructionarium Projects, all within a construction management framework that ensures a safe method of working and risk mitigation through a permitting, inspection and compliance system.