Engineers Create

Candid Arts Trust, 3 Torrens Street, London, EC1V 1NQ

A New Home, A New Crowd, and Our Most Adventurous Year Yet

A short report, by Floss Willcocks

The Engineers Create Exhibition returned this year for its fourth edition—this time in an exciting new venue. After unexpected issues with our previous home, we found ourselves on a last-minute search for a suitable gallery. Fortunately, Candid Arts Trust in Islington came to the rescue. With its spacious ceilings, generous natural light, and adaptable open-plan space, the gallery proved to be the perfect setting, especially for some of our largest and most ambitious exhibits to date.

The move turned out to be a triumph. We welcomed well over 1,000 visitors—surpassing last year’s record—and enjoyed an incredible level of engagement from the engineering community and the wider public. This year also saw a marked increase in interest from student groups, with large cohorts visiting from UCL, the University of Westminster, Brunel University, and Imperial College London. Their enthusiasm and curiosity brought a wonderful energy to the exhibition, sparking conversations between students, engineers, designers, and exhibitors throughout the week.

A Moment We Won’t Forget

Every exhibition teaches us something new, but few teach quite so dramatically as this year’s Hempcrete Arch. During the opening party, the temptation to test its limits proved irresistible—and the exhibit finally revealed exactly how much force it could withstand. The resulting collapse was met not with disappointment but with laughter, applause, and immediate analysis. In true engineering spirit, the broken arch swiftly transformed into a powerful, hands-on learning moment. It became one of the most talked-about features of the week.

Collective Effort, Collective Success

As always, the success of the exhibition depended on the incredible generosity and dedication of our contributors, exhibitors, and volunteers. As well as giving up the time and energy to create their pieces, many exhibitors stepped in to help with supervision across the run, ensuring visitors always had someone on hand to answer questions or share insights.

We’d also like to give special thanks to Anastasia Sheveleva from Price & Myers for creating this year’s fabulous poster artwork, which became a defining visual for the exhibition, and to Becca Troy from Webb Yates, who not only captured all the brilliant photographs featured in this news piece but also was the mastermind behind our refreshed branding and new logo design.

The Engineering Club owes additional thanks to friend of the club Andrew de Cleyn, who played a vital role in both setting up the exhibition and staffing the gallery during weekday opening hours. And we extend our heartfelt gratitude to Duncan and the entire team at Candid Arts Trust—not only for making the space available to us at short notice, but also for keeping the bar well-stocked during our opening and closing events. Their support was instrumental in making this edition our smoothest and most enjoyable yet.

Recognising Excellence: 2026 Awards

This year’s fun prize categories celebrated ingenuity, resilience, craft, and public engagement in all their forms.

The winners were:

  • Best Exhibit Which Broke: Webb Yates – Hempcrete Arch

  • Best Exhibit Which Almost Broke: EngineersHRW – Fratton Park TV Gantry

  • Best New Exhibitor: Alan Baxter - National Spitfire Monument

  • Best Overall Visual Display: structured environment - Hemp House

  • Most Beautifully Crafted Model: MHA Structural Design– Olympic Handball Arena

  • Public Vote: Arup – Tensegrity Canopy

The Public Vote once again sparked lively debate among visitors, with passionate advocacy from students and professionals alike. With over 500 voting slips to count at the end of the week, it was amazing to see that the scores were very close! However, Francis Archer’s fabulous canopy managed to come out on top.

Looking Ahead

As we reflect on a remarkable year, we are also beginning to consider the future of the Engineers Create Exhibition. One question on everyone’s mind is timing. While November has served us well, we are exploring the possibility of shifting the exhibition to early summer. Longer daylight hours, the potential for outdoor installations, and alignment with other London events could open exciting new opportunities for creativity and engagement.

June 2026 may arrive too soon for such a significant transition, so an 18-month hiatus might be the most realistic and productive path. If so, rest assured—it will only give our exhibitors more time to dream bigger, experiment further, and craft even more ambitious contributions.

And don’t think for a second that 2026 will be quiet. We are already scheming big (new) ideas.

If you’re interested in taking part, offering feedback, or discussing ideas for future events, please feel free to get in touch. The strength of Engineering Club lies in its members and its wider community—I can’t wait to start the next chapter!

Full List of Exhibitors and Projects

 

Alan Baxter

  • National Spitfire Monument

 

Arup

  • Tensegrity Canopy

  • Smithfield Poultry Market Roof

  • Why Not?

  • “Cementless” Concrete

  • Calcined Clay

  • (W)rapper

  • Sagrada Familia

  • One Wall

Atelier One

  • Spaceframe

  • Grasp-it

Cake Industries + Knight Architects

  • Trevor Basin Footbridge

  • Parapet Post

  • Spine Beam Prototype

 

Cake Industries

  • Offshore Wind Turbine Monopile Monitoring

Civic

  • Shredded Wheat Silos

COWI

  • Suchdol Bridge

Engineers HRW

  • Fratton Park TV Gantry

 

Evolve

  • Wellcome Genome Campus Pedestrian Bridge

Expedition

  • The Hop

 

Foster Structures

  • A Greek Segal

McBains

  • Tensegrity Tower

 

MHA Structural Design

  • The Olympic Handball Arena

Momentum

  • Hemp House

Price and Myers

  • Central Hall - National Railway Museum, York

structured environment

  • Hemp House

Structure Workshop

  • BICAMERAL

  • Voûte Plate

 

Tonkin Liu

  • ACORN - Automated Concrete Research Project

  • Heritage Quad and Tech Hub - York Minster Centre of Excellence

Webb Yates

  • Hempcrete Arch

  • Stone Demonstrator

YIP Engineering - Manja van de Worp

  • The Rucksack Lintel

  • The Brick Necklace