Chapter 1: Introduction to Section 1

Figure 1.1  outlines the layout and contents of Section 1 Context.

The first three parts of the section address the development of soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering as a distinct discipline over the past 80 years or so. Chapter 2 Foundations and other geotechnical elements in context – their role explains the importance of foundations and structures built in or of the ground within civil engineering and construction, and the need for a formal and holistic geotechnical engineering design process. Chapter 3 A brief history of the development of geotechnical engineering gives a history of the development of geotechnical engineering at the borderline between science and art, with the latter defined by Terzaghi in 1957 as ‘mental processes leading to satisfactory results without the assistance of step-for-step logical reasoning’. This is reflected in the ‘geotechnical triangle’, described in Chapter 4 The geotechnical triangle, which emphasises the essential elements of successful geotechnical engineering as understanding the ground, material properties and relevant precedents (well-winnowed experience), connected by an appropriate model for analysis.