Engineering vision.

For anyone with the slightest interest in engineering, architecture or design, this exhibition on the art of the engineer at the Centre Pompidou is a must. I have seen it twice and need to go again. It aims to give a comprehensive review of the world history of engineering from its early beginnings to the present day. The purpose of the exhibition is to impart the wonders of engineering to the general public of all ages as well as the specialist. It is a mixture of wonderful illustrations, models and full-size artefacts all with clear explanations. A combination of education and inspiration.

The exhibition is divided into four sections: early iron structures, reinforced concrete, lightweight structures, and contemporary engineering and computing. As you enter the 'Forum' you through a Bucky Fuller dome in white GRP and this leads you into the lightweight structures section. Here you see a giant elliptical floating ETFE foil 'balloon', helium inflated and gently rocking via a motorised disc operating one of its tethers.

There is a full-size set of aluminium portal frame structures by Jean Prouve, cable net structure by Frei Otto, space frames, tensegrity towers and models of the compression/tension structures by Le Ricolais together with inflatable structures. All the recent advances in lightweight structures are here.

After this feast you can choose your route since each of the four sections is totally separate. I chose the reinforced-concrete section and was met at the entrance by Lambot's concrete boat (a dinghy) made 1855! There are illustrations and models of work by all the masters Torroja, Candela, Nervi, Morandi and Maillart. There are also examples of early testing machines and pre-stressing systems. But perhaps the best of all is a film discovered recently of the construction of the Freyssinet airship hangars at Orly which shows a combination of basic construction methods and sophisticated techniques for building a very large concrete structure. The wooden models of shells and hypars in this section are quite beautiful.

The gallery covering the early days of iron construction includes some world famous early structures: Coalbrookdale bridge, the Brooklyn and Firth of Forth bridges and significant buildings including the Crystal Palace, the Galerie des Machines, St Pancras Station and the Eiffel Tower. Much else of course, including some large projected images.

The fourth section is based around current and proposed structures, advances in glass technology and up to date computing and CAD. Here the exhibits seem a little crowded. There is a film of the Channel Tunnel construction, models of built telecommunication towers including Ostankino in Moscow and the Colserolla in Barcelona. There is a mixture of other structures - the Manheim grid shell, Kansai Airport, the IBM travelling pavilion, the Eden project and recent bridges including the Severn, Alamillo and Pont de Normandie. There are also models of proposed tall towers as basic proposals and some for wind analysis. The CAD images are spectacular and the advances in glass technology are set to bring in a new era of facade technology. Everything in the field of engineering appears to have already been done by someone - what can be next?