The conception and design of most monumental structures involve a collaboration of architect and engineer. However, except in the case of bridges, which are often considered to be pure engineering, it is usually the architect who gets credit for the creative idea. According to the conventional wisdom, it is the architect who first sketches grand plans and facades, and the engineer who calculates what beams and columns are needed to make the artistic concept work. Even for plans never realized, architectural drawing can take on a life of their own and be the subject of art shows, but the blueprints of engineers are seldom seen outside the design office or construction site. Engineers curse architects who conceive buildings that require extraordinary contortions of heavy concrete and steelwork to execute; architects look down on engineers whom they accuse of lacking the structural creativity to solve unusual problems or the willingness to let their imaginations soar.
