6: Accept Imperfection

If there is not a perfect solution,  it follows that, all solutions are imperfect.   In other words, there is always a better solution than the one that you just submitted for construction.   Every design has many compromises such as code requirements, construction skill, material limitations, conservativeness on new construction techniques, possibly errors of design, bad decisions early, etc, etc.  Get accustomed to that, own it, it is a good thing.   All designs are fallible.  All designs can be improved. Guess what, your design you submitted last week has numerous problems or design compromises, that is okay.   Learn and do better next time.   Hopefully, you didn't just lose a client.   That will happen too.   Take your imperfect project to a lower state of imperfection on the next project.  That is the design process, taking something to a lower state of imperfection.

Above you can see a joint that affected the clear glass.   The joint was required when the bridge extended to the cantilevers and it compromised the aesthetics.  Compromises in design are the imperfections, but they are necessary.   The cantilever is fixed on the building, whereas the bridges floats freely on large friction pendulum isolators.  Isolating the bridges from the towers not only reduces the forces on the towers, but it also protects the light bridges from the movement of the towers.   Thus, we took our design to a lower state of imperfection, but still kept a healthy dose of imperfection.

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