An award-winning structural engineer with a decade of experience, Max Clayton has been involved in some of the most important and exciting projects at London based company Structure Workshop Ltd. Since graduating in Structural Engineering , he has contributed to numerous high-profile projects, but it's his recent work on a unique collaboration with the Natural History Museum, where he applied his skills to a prehistoric dinosaur called Fern, that captured our attention. Here is our Q&A with Max.
It's almost 10 years since you graduated, has the world of work lived up to your expectations post-University?
Leaving University, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do – I didn’t even know if engineering would be the right career for me. Yet I am still in the first job I got after leaving Sheffield, so in many ways the world of work has exceeded my expectations. If you seek out the kind of work you enjoy, you’ll find you’re more likely to be good at it and more likely to find a rewarding, fulfilling career.
Why did you choose to work for Structure Workshop Ltd?
My interests since childhood have been maths, art, and dinosaurs. Structure Workshop works with internationally recognised artists and architects, with a key specialism in the arts. The opportunity to work on high profile and large-scale public artwork was an opportunity to combine what I find most interesting. Not many engineering companies can offer that.
How did you become involved with the Natural History Museum?
The team behind Fern was assembled by Factum Arte, who produce works for contemporary artists using extremely innovative techniques. Factum invited Structure Workshop to join the team, and we won the competition to design Fern in 2020. Part of the competition was to demonstrate whether the diplodocus could be built without props under the long neck and tail cantilevers. We didn’t know if it was possible, but it was such an incredible project to be involved in so we poured all our efforts into the competition to demonstrate that we’d be capable of delivering something unprecedented.
Is Fern the most fun you've had at work so far?
Fern is the most exciting and interesting project I’ve ever worked on, and I don’t know how it can be topped.
Tell us about the 2024 Nethercot Prize and how it feels to have won.
The Nethercot Prize is awarded to early career engineers for a paper covering the process of designing a new structure or adapting an old one. Because Fern is such an interesting project, with such an unusual design, I knew that if I entered I had at least a decent chance of winning. It’s nice to have your work recognised when you put so much effort into it.
What's next for you?
I am open to designing more dinosaurs if the opportunity arises!
What's your favourite memory about your time at Sheffield?
My favourite memories are living with some of my closest friends in our first-year halls, we still see each other today. I also fondly remember Hope Works and Pop Tarts.
Learn more about Fern: Watch: Fern
