It is difficult to work out who gets the credit for a building - so many people are involved, from owners, contractors and governments to bricklayers and roofers - but it is particularly hard to decide what is due to the architect and what to the engineer. Andrew Saint, in his new book, sees them as sibling rivals, and in tracing how their relations have changed over time, looks for answers to three questions. Was there a time when the roles of architect and engineer were indistinguishable? If so, how and why did they separate? And, finally, have they now been reconciled?

LRB 10 April 2008 | PDF Download