Editing Structural engineering (section)

===Building structures===
{{See also|Building engineering}}
[[File:Sydney Opera House Sails edit02.jpg|thumb|[[Sydney Opera House]], designed by Architect [[Jørn Utzon]] and structural design by [[Arup Group Limited|Ove Arup & Partners]]]]

[[File:Millennium Dome (zakgollop) version.jpg|thumb|[[Millennium Dome]] in London, UK, by [[Richard Rogers]] and [[Buro Happold]]]]

[[File:Burjdubaiaug92007.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Burj Khalifa]], in [[Dubai]], the [[world's tallest building]], shown under construction in 2007 (since completed)]]

Structural building engineering is primarily driven by the creative manipulation of materials and forms and the underlying mathematical and scientific ideas to achieve an end that fulfills its functional requirements and is structurally safe when subjected to all the loads it could reasonably be expected to experience. This is subtly different from architectural design, which is driven by the creative manipulation of materials and forms, mass, space, volume, texture, and light to achieve an end which is aesthetic, functional, and often artistic.

The structural design for a building must ensure that the building can stand up safely, able to function without excessive deflections or movements which may cause fatigue of structural elements, cracking or failure of fixtures, fittings or partitions, or discomfort for occupants. It must account for movements and forces due to temperature, [[Creep (deformation)|creep]], cracking, and imposed loads. It must also ensure that the design is practically buildable within acceptable manufacturing tolerances of the materials. It must allow the architecture to work, and the building services to fit within the building and function (air conditioning, ventilation, smoke extract, electrics, lighting, etc.). The structural design of a modern building can be extremely complex and often requires a large team to complete.

Structural engineering specialties for buildings include:
* [[Earthquake engineering]]
* [[Facade engineering|Façade engineering]]
* [[Fire engineering]]
* [[Roof|Roof engineering]]
* [[Tower|Tower engineering]]
* [[Wind engineering]]