ABSTRACT
Architecture and engineering succeeded in dividing themselves into distinct professions towards the early part of the 19th century. In the time between the Renaissance, where humanism placed the architect at the center of the design project, and the 19th century, many material and physics related discoveries took place. The “mathematical” aspects of design expanded to the point where specialization seemed necessary. The discipline of civil engineering emerged. Over the last 200 years it has become standard practice to assign the detailed design of the structure of the building to the consulting engineer. This is due in part to the inability of the architect to do this work, complemented by the need to assign the legal liability for this work to the engineer, who has the appropriate education and expertise.
