By Paul Alexander Fast  (2023)
Review Tim Ibell
Fast + Epp was selected by Cannon Design as the engineer for the Richmond Skating Oval?s long-spanning wood roof. Photo by Stephanie Tracey
Most books devoted to structural engineering focus on the techniques and processes which underpin great structural engineering. But this book is different. Design Trails: Adventures of a Structural Engineer by Paul Fast focuses on the human stories behind great structural engineering. The reader is offered the privilege to enter Paul?s life, and to experience the delightful and intimate sets of adventures which have cumulatively led to Paul?s extraordinary success in our profession.
I have stated before that the dividing line between the Gold Medallists of our Institution and the rest of us is astonishing creativity in all they do. As one of our Gold Medallists, Paul oozes creativity, and his book reveals the stories behind this wonderful talent. The reader quickly picks up that Paul?s adoration for life?s simplest but most precious attributes?such as nature, family, friends, and having ideas ?completely underpins his approach to, and success in, structural engineering. From Gulpy the Whale (don?t ask, just read it) to the restoration of Mannheim, the book provides an insight into the mind of an extraordinary designer and inventor?a great engineer, in other words.
Fast + Epp is currently restoring Frei Otto?s Mannheim Gridshell in Germany. Photo by Hubert Berberich via Wikimedia
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