A unique hexagon shape design solution has won three students from the University of East London an award in a prestigious engineering national competition.

%image(14938166, type="article-full", alt="Delia Marocico... "The sustainable approach is one of the future engineering problems we face today." Picture: UEL")

The students, Delia Marocico, 24, Joseph Fahy, 27, and Ashish Mamde, 22, beat rivals from universities all over the country in the Structural Concrete student competition's sustainability award.

They receive the award today, September 12, at the Royal College of Pathologists.

"I found it a real challenge," Delia admitted. "But the prize is really important as the sustainable approach is one of the future engineering problems we face today."

They had to design a large floor in a building with columns, following its dimensions, and came up with an unusual hexagon design taking inspiration from Yale University's art gallery.

%image(14938167, type="article-full", alt="Design team-mates Ashish Mamde (left) and Joseph Fahy. Picture: UEL")

The project required "sustainability ideas", so the three who are all studying at UEL to be civil or structural engineers, came up with a 'triangular waffle slab solution' that would actually work better than square 'waffles', as the building was hexagon shape.

It was the third time UEL had won an award in the Structural Concrete annual contest, having come top in certain categories in 2016 and 2018.