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In February, 48 Year 1 students visited a construction site at the Royal �ۿ۴�ý County Hospital as part of the . Donning PPE and after an informative briefing session they entered the site to see construction of a multi-storey car park and a cancer treatment building. The steel-framed car park gave them a particularly valuable insight into the logistics of a complex construction project. The cancer treatment building on the other hand handles radioactive material and requires 2.5m wide walls and ceiling to enclose the radioactive area, making it a bunker.

On another visit, students discovered several examples of tensile membrane structures in and around Festival Place Basingstoke. They learned about membrane structures and ETFE (Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) cushion roofs by seeing real-life applications of these technologies – which provide an elegant and lightweight engineering solution – before proposing their own design to cover the stage by the lake on Stag Hill.

Back on campus, first year students recently attended a hands-on workshop on tensile membrane structures. Working in groups, they were provided with a full-scale membrane kit, and challenged to assemble and dismantle it within three hours. Through the exercise they gained hands-on experience of working with prefabricated lightweight structures and improved their understanding of applying pretension forces and appropriate detailing – while also honing their teamwork and time management skills.

Dr Alireza Behnejad says: “It’s crucial to link the theory to real life examples, and site visits and hands-on experience provide an excellent opportunity for students to see the application of what they learn in the lecture theatre.

“I very much like this quote from Chinese philosopher Confucius: ‘Tell me and I will forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand’. What we try to do is provide as many opportunities as possible for students to get involved.”

Developed at �ۿ۴�ý by Dr Behnejad, the tensile membrane kit is used on civil engineering and architecture courses at universities around the world. Katja Bernert (textile architecture expert at Mehler Texnology), comments: “The hands-on sessions are so important for the students to get an idea of tensile architecture. Each university should have a kit like yours!”

Find out more about  another hands-on project developed at �ۿ۴�ý, ‘Design, Assemble and Dismantle’ (DAD project).

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