ENAE603-25X (C) General non-calendar-based 2025

Structural Design Practice

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 4 August 2025
End Date: Sunday, 9 November 2025
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 17 August 2025
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 12 October 2025

Description

Application of structural engineering principles and methods to the professional practice of structural design. Initiating and managing structural design projects. Concept, preliminary and developed structural design. Detailing and design for construction. Design for safety and sustainability.

This course applies structural engineering principles and design methods to the professional practice of structural design. The course covers process and technical aspects of structural design at the various phases of a building project; project initiation, concept and preliminary design, developed and detailed design, and construction of structural works. Learning includes design projects.

Course Content

The course covers the following topics:
• Management of different stages of structural design.
• Concept design strategies.
• Risk management, information management and records.
• Loading conditions and design actions using AS/NZS 1170 and B1/VM1 of the Building Code.
• Identification, evaluation and selection of potential structural systems and materials.
• Communicating and documenting design development.
• Ductility, deformation, deflection and vibration of elements.
• Design and detailing of connections, penetrations and changes in element cross-section.
• Design for safety and constructability.

Learning Outcomes

  • A student who successfully completes this course should be able to apply advanced structural engineering principles and design methods to the professional practice of:

  • Independently gathering, analysing and synthesising information required to develop structural solutions to complex design challenges, including identifying physical conditions.
  • Identifying, developing and evaluating potential structural solutions to complex design problems, including identifying load paths and considering relative feasibility, benefits, limitations and environmental impacts of different solutions.
  • Developing and communicating concept and preliminary structural designs for complex structures using steel, concrete or timber structural elements, including writing design features reports to document design development.
  • Selecting components or building element dimensions required to resist design actions.
  • Designing elements to avoid undesirable deformation, deflection or vibration.
  • Designing and detailing connections, penetrations and changes to element cross-section.
  • Designing for safety and constructability.

Prerequisites

Subject to approval of the Head of Department

Timetable 2025

Students must attend one activity from each section.

Lecture A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Wednesday 15:00 - 17:00 Civil 216 Richard Fenwick Seminar Room
4 Aug - 10 Aug
18 Aug - 7 Sep
15 Sep - 21 Sep
Workshop A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Wednesday 09:00 - 17:00 Civil 216 Richard Fenwick Seminar Room
11 Aug - 17 Aug
8 Sep - 14 Sep

Timetable Note

The course runs over a period of seven weeks, with learning delivered through lectures, tutorials, 2 one-day workshops and independent learning. There are approximately 150 learning hours in total, comprising:

Lectures 10 hours
Workshops 16 hours
Independent learning 124 hours (project work and reading)

Students may attend lectures by video link or in-person, but must attend the 2 one-day workshops in-person at the University campus.

Course Coordinator

Larry Bellamy

Lecturer

Didier Pettinga

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,268.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Civil and Natural Resources Engineering .

All ENAE603 Occurrences

  • ENAE603-25X (C) General non-calendar-based 2025