Margaret Wildnauer

Margaret Wildnauer is the recipient of the SOM Foundation 2012 Structural Engineering Travel Fellowship, A May 2012 graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering, Margaret also holds a BS in Civil Engineering, received in May 2010 from Johns Hopkins University.

Margaret received the foundation’s $10,000 Prize for her award- winning Essay ,“ The Fourth E,” the origin of the title of her essay having been inspired by the frequently referenced defining characteristics of structural art as “Efficiency, Economy and Elegance,” (from “The Tower and the Bridge: the New Art of Structural Engineering,” 1983, by Dr. David Billington) Margaret posits that, “As environmental concerns become more prominent, a central priority in the mind of structural engineers and designers should be sustainability and therefore “environment” must be added as a fourth criterion for a successful structure.”

In researching examples of notable buildings and structures which “embody the potential of the structural engineer to create both aesthetically compelling and environmentally –friendly buildings,” Margaret will travel to locations on four continents to study different sustainability strategies, influenced by region and climate, and to explore the different approaches in addressing the relationship between aesthetics and sustainability within structural engineering. Having grown up in a small town in southern Maine, themes of art and the environment were prominent influences from an early age, and inform Margaret’s view of structural engineering as art.

View Ms. Wildnauer's Portfolio Submission.

Read more about the Structural Engineering Fellowship.