The British Geotechnical Association (BGA) is the principal association for geotechnical engineers in the UK.
Past event: Please note this event information is displayed for informational purposes only.
This event is planned as an in-person event, and will also be webcast live.
This event is free to attend, but advance booking is required via the button below.
Photographs may be taken at the event and used for BGA promotional purposes; if you have any objections please contact the BGA via email.
The event will be followed by a drinks reception.
The John Mitchell Award is presented annually by the ICE, based on a nomination from the BGA, for significant contributions in the field of geotechnical engineering. The award was instituted in 2008 in memory of the prominent geotechnical engineer John Mitchell of Arup, who was killed while observing piling works at a central London site in 1990.
The award criteria considered by the BGA include the following:
The British Geotechnical Association
23.01.2024
18:30 - 19:45
Telford Lecture Theatre, Institution of Civil Engineers, One Great George Street, London SW1P 3AA
BGA Meetings
Tea and Coffee will be available from 18:00.
All attendees are invited to a drinks reception after the lecture.
Building and infrastructure collapses and failures triggered
by earthquakes kill, on average, about 20,000 people every year. Historically,
seismic building codes and design specifications have established minimum
requirements for life safety and prevention of collapse. In seismically active
regions, earthquakes can be considered reoccurring events, with severity states
between serviceability and ultimate levels.
If we compare a strong earthquake with other highly
destructive events arising from climate change, what can we learn from seismic
engineering approaches in the development of resilient and flexible designs as
will indeed be needed in response to future heavily impacting climatic events?
This lecture will introduce the concept of adaptive design
for geotechnics and explore situations where such an approach can be used based
on the best practice design aspects from seismic engineering. A new balance
must be found when designing for future extreme events – between conventional
efficient (non-conservative) singular design and added adaptive design elements
to accommodate future seismic/ climatic events.
There is new guidance from a few regulators highlighting the
need to identify adaptation solutions (where possible) that will perform well
in the current situation and in defined future scenarios. Project examples from
around the world will show that reducing seismic vulnerability with
understanding of the design drivers and performance-based matrix, can lead to
adopting adaptive solutions. A new framework will need to consider the future
conditions, functional life, balancing longevity, adaptability, and optimising
material use with the carbon counting tools for design scenarios in both
seismic and non-seismic situations.
This John Mitchell lecture looks at some aspects of the best
current seismic engineering practice and how these might inform the development
of Adaptive Design in the broader field of routine engineering. This can
trigger a long journey for an industry-led transition from singular prescribed
design to suitably adaptive design.
Mott MacDonald
The British Geotechnical Association is grateful for the support of Corporate Members, and the organisations that the BGA Executive Committee members belong to.
View our Corporate Members
2025 GE Awards: Submission deadline extended
The deadline for submissions to the 2025 Ground Engineering (GE) Awards has been extended to 31 January 2025 to ensure the industry is fully represented.
