Sigurd Flora, B.S. in Engineering
Responsibilities and duties:
- Management
- Structural Engineering
- Areas of expertise: Reinforced concrete construction, steel, glass, and facade construction
- Member of the Austrian Standards Institute FN071
- Glass in Construction - Structural Glass Construction
- Member of the Board of the Chamber of Architects and Consulting Engineers of Tyrol and Vorarlberg
- Generally sworn and court-certified expert in structural engineering, metal structures, reinforced concrete construction, and glass and facade construction
- Member of the Bavarian Chamber of Civil Engineers
- Vienna University of Technology
- With us since 2001
My daughters have often asked me, “Daddy, what do you actually do all day at the office as a ‘civil engineer’ and structural engineer?” In fact, it’s not that easy to explain the answer to this question in simple terms. I tell them that I’m responsible for making sure a building doesn’t collapse—in other words, that it’s stable. Essentially, our main responsibility is to ensure that the forces acting on a building are in balance. The structural engineer, so to speak, has the ability to make architecture structurally sound. The most exciting part of this is undoubtedly the structural design process—a process that requires an engagement with architecture, presupposes spatial thinking, and demands a sense of beauty and a measure of empathy. Through interdisciplinary expertise, creativity, passion, assertiveness, and effective communication and coordination that extend beyond one’s own immediate scope, the structural engineer provides clients with the best possible support in realizing their construction projects. The collaboration of all parties involved and the fact that, in the end, the plan is transformed into a real building—one that can be admired but also criticized—make the profession equally exciting, challenging, and fulfilling for me.
