Shive-Hattery SWENext Tour

Earlier this month, my SWENext group had the opportunity to visit Shive-Hattery Architecture Engineering Consulting Firm.  During our visit, we got to hear from a few of the civil engineers who work there describe what a civil engineer does, the types of work Shive-Hattery has done, the graphics and 3D modeling technology they use, some of the projects these women had personally helped with, and what some of the factors are that go into consideration when working on a project.  We also had the opportunity to participate in an activity where we were given a plot of land, what the client would like done with the land, and some of the factors that would influence where the buildings could go on the land, such as city codes of how close the buildings can be to the land plot lines. After the activity was complete, as a group, we discussed different options of how the building configurations could be placed depending on the client’s wishes.  This gave those of us on the tour the opportunity to see first hand what type of work a civil engineer does, and the challenges that can arise when working on a project. When we were finished with the activity, we went on a tour of Shive-Hattery’s new facilities in Cedar Rapids. Our tour was led by one of the women who had personally designed the spaces. Overall, the tour was very informative and gave all of us a new perspective and insight into the field of civil engineering.  We are very grateful and appreciative that Shive-Hattery allowed our group to come tour and get insight into the work of a civil engineer.