The OpenLAB Project

   

 Access the plateform ·  Explore the project

 

 

OpenLAB is a platform created to facilitate the sharing of ideas, knowledge and experience among structural engineers, within an open, dynamic and stimulating environment.

It is intended for professionals facing the practical challenges of structural design, analysis and optimization.

Its content is rooted in building‑industry practice and extends to civil engineering structures whenever the issues and methods are shared.

 

The platform is both:

• a space for expression to share ideas, questions and feedback from practice;
• a technical resource center with dated, sourced, signed and evolving articles;
• a peer exchange space to provide practical support to one another.

 

As practices become more fragmented, as AI transforms the profession, and as technical benchmarks grow harder to interpret, OpenLAB seeks to bring people together. The platform restores the central role of human interaction, knowledge sharing, and collective experience, enabling us to progress together in a profession grounded in real‑world practice.

 

It is a space for writing and reflection grounded in practical experience, with no normative or representative ambition. Its value lies more in the clarity of its content than in the breadth of its dissemination.

 

  

A peer‑support platform

 

Are you a structural engineer or an educator-researcher who recognizes yourself in one of the situations below? If so, OpenLAB is for you!

 

 

 The OpenLAB community profiles

 

 

 

OpenLAB is freely accessible: without registering, you can already explore part of the content published in PUBLI mode by their authors.

As a visitor, you can:

• consult these publicly accessible articles;
• navigate by categories (articles, field feedback, calculation examples, tools & guides, news) and by themes (material, type of structure, design phase, type of analysis);
• use the search bar to quickly find available information.

This allows you to discover the platform, access a professional knowledge base and benefit from publicly shared content.

  

 

Why register?

 

Registering with OpenLAB allows you to go further: you join a community of engineers who share the same approach and gain full access to the platform, with many additional services.

 Access to all content

• public articles (PUBLI mode)
• community‑restricted articles (COMM mode)

• downloading article attachments

Participation in technical discussions

• the ability to react, comment and ask questions about articles
• direct exchanges with authors and other members
• access to discussion topics organized by specialty;

Personalized experience

• subscriptions to articles, topics, discussions or authors;
• favorites and follow‑up of the subjects that interest you.

Contribution and publication

• propose insights, field feedback, or practical issues;
• start a technical topic;
• publish an article in COMM mode (community) or PUBLI (public).

Support the project’s development

As a platform in its launch phase, OpenLAB relies on the engagement of structural engineers, educators and researchers committed to the OpenLab approach, to build a shared, dynamic body of knowledge. By joining the platform, you help shape a collective tool designed to strengthen professional practices and support the transmission of technical expertise within the field.

 

 Navigation interface : topic-based discussions and article comments.

  

 

A professional community that is free and non‑intrusive

  

• Registration is free and can be cancelled at any time.
• You may participate using your real identity or a simple guest profile.
• Discussions remain restricted to members.
• Your articles may be public or published exclusively for the community.
• No advertising, no unnecessary emails: you control your subscriptions (categories, discussions, authors).