Pushing the limits

How do you design the world's tallest building so it can resist a typhoon? Where did the design inspiration for Beijing’s Olympics aquatics centre – perhaps one of the world's most unusual looking buildings – come from? What will the homes of the future look like?

Answers to these and some of the biggest challenges facing engineers and architects around the world are being explored at London Science Museum’s latest exhibition. 'Building to the Limits' tackles the five big issues of building design: safety, energy efficiency, extreme environments, mass housing for a rapidly growing population and how to translate an architect’s vision into an iconic landmark.

Visitors get a behind-the-scenes look at new techniques which enable architects and engineers to create structures that were previously thought impossible to build. These range from the Taipei 101 tower (which at 509 m tall must survive winds of up to 240 kph) and the Sage Gateshead’s acoustic design, to the School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies, which uses a low-energy alternative to traditional air conditioning and the ‘Speedy Shelter’ designed to provide emergency housing in disasters.

To promote design and innovation to the next generation of potential architects and engineers, Siemens – the exhibition’s sponsor – has launched a tie-in competition. Open to under-18s, the the challenge is to design a home for 2020 and describe and draw the day-to-day objects and gadgets that might be found inside.