In this issue’s Architecture & Engineering special section, “Top Shelf” is an excellent
example of engineering and architecture in action. Anchorage eatery Whisky & Ramen
renovated a historic building with a high-end, comfortable restaurant in mind. Guests in the
restaurant can observe and appreciate many of the design choices; they will be completely
unaware of thousands of other decisions made that transformed the old building into one
of Anchorage’s dining hotspots.
Some of the best engineering we ever experience is the engineering we don’t notice at all.
Interior design or lighting choices that we don’t consciously notice that put us at ease or build
up our energy, or user interfaces executed so well it doesn’t occur to us to question them.
Modern life is an engineered life. We live surrounded by infrastructure, equipment, and
other items engineered to solve our problems and suit our needs. And they do such a good
job that we notice them most they don’t work as
expected.
