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Ian Firth: How Do Engineers Balance Risk And Beauty In Design?

Part 4 of the TED Radio Hour episode Risk.

About Ian Firth's TED Talk

As a bridge designer, Ian Firth is responsible for building safe, reliable bridges. But he also manages the risk involved with designing bridges that are beautiful — not just functional.

About Ian Firth

Ian Firth is a structural engineer and bridge designer based in the UK.

His projects range from smaller structures, like the Bridge of Aspiration in London's Covent Garden to the large Messina Strait Bridge in Italy.

Firth is Chairman of the British Group of the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Firth holds a BSc in civil engineering from Bristol University, and an MSc in structural steel design from Imperial College London.

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NPR/TED Staff