Saturday 20 October, 1.29pm until 2.59pm, Garden Room
Engineering is sexy again – not old-fashioned and dirty, but novel and creative. On 22 May 2012 private company SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasted off with a Dragon capsule headed for the International Space Station. SpaceX is the child of PayPal entrepreneur Elon Musk, and aimed at creating a human presence on Mars as well as other commercial ventures in space. Richard Branson is working on SpaceShipTwo, offering flights 60 miles up. Scramjet technology in planes offers the possibility of any destination on Earth being just 90 minutes away. The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport can travel at 267 miles per hour. Mulder Design’s ‘World is Not Enough’ Millenium 140 superyacht skims the seas at 70 knots. All miracles of engineering design that transform the barriers of space and time. But are these just the playthings of the rich and powerful? Boyhood doodles turned into reality (for the very, very few) by adult riches? Designer wet dreams or the shape of things to come for us all?
After all, back on planet earth, we can’t fly by Concorde anymore and our cars are nothing that Henry Ford couldn’t have imagined. Haven’t the fundamentals of planes, trains and automobiles remained much the same? Or is this to miss important changes? Modern design techniques have certainly altered the way we experience these forms of travel. It is not only billionaires who can afford travel at levels of comfort that bear no resemblance to driving in a Model T, which came in any colour you wanted so long as it was black. It’s not just a question of aesthetics. The design of modern factories and production processes allow rapid repurposing of machinery to such a degree that we don’t have to take a one-size-fits-all product. The level of customisation offered, not just in cars, but in many consumer products, may represent a real improvement on what went before. Or is this just tarting up the same old timber? Are we seeing engineering push the boundaries of possibility for humanity or just sketching castles in the air? Are we all going to go faster or is modern design a bit like putting a mirror in an elevator, a distraction to help pass the time?
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 | Kerry Kirwan deputy head of materials and manufacturing and strategic director of the International Doctorate Centre at WMG, University of Warwick |
 | Dr Natasha McCarthy head of policy, British Academy; member, steering committee, Forum for Philosophy, Engineering and Technology |
 | Kevin McCullagh founder, Plan |
 | Dr Paul Reeves engineering software designer, SolidWorks R&D (part of Dassault Systèmes); convener, manufacturing work group for Big Potatoes: the London manifesto for innovation |
 | Andy Richardson Head of Simulation, Jaguar Land Rover Product Engineering |
| Chair: | |
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Martyn Perks
digital business consultant and writer; co-author, Big Potatoes: the London manifesto for innovation |
A dearth of real engineering ambition is holding back the sector. Big, ambitious projects are needed to put us back on track.
Paul Reeves and Martyn Perks, Independent Voices, 8 October 2012
The potential of innovation to transform lives is as great as ever. Politicians should see that economic recovery depends on it
Stian Westlake, Guardian, 7 October 2012
The team building a car designed to drive faster than 1,000mph has tested the vehicle's rocket engine. The motor for the Bloodhound Supersonic car burned for 10 seconds on a static rig inside a hardened shelter at Newquay airport, Cornwall.
BBC News, 4 October 2012
Where are we going to find new jobs and growth in the British economy? Software, social media and mobile phone app development? Not according to Sir James Dyson - he says the government is ignoring the importance of hardware and engineering, which provide far more jobs.
Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC News, 26 September 2012
Lighter than aluminum, harder than high-carbon steel, and many times stronger than regular soda-lime glass, Pyroceram eventually found its way into everything from missile nose cones to chemistry labs. It could also be used in microwave ovens, and in 1959 Pyroceram debuted as a line of space-age serving dishes: Corningware
Bryan Gardiner, Wired, 25 September 2012
An object is no longer something you merely consume. It’s something you create. Famed industrial designer Yves Behar explains why this shift is a revolution in the making.
Yves Behar, Wired, 25 September 2012
Architectural firm Gensler is proposing the construction of a floating airport on the surface of London's River Thames Estuary. Dubbed the London Britannia Airport, its concourse would sit in the center of the Thames Estuary, surrounded by runways that float, and tethered to the seabed.
Aaron Souppouris, Verge, 10 September 2012
Lancaster House is this week playing host to the British Business Embassy, a series of events highlighting UK business to a world audience captivated by London 2012.
Damian Reece, Daily Telegraph, 2 August 2012
It’s about time British manufacturing got the recognition it deserved. The government’s Make it in Great Britain campaign shows politicians have finally woken up; not just to the need to grow our manufacturing sector, but also to the fact that we already have a world-class industry.
Stephen Harris, Engineer, 28 July 2012
The UK government says it is working to put in place the regulations that would license the operation of spaceplanes.
Jonathan Amos, BBC News, 12 July 2012
