Matthew Cornell is a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ 06598) and Director of Cornell Engineers, a structural engineering consultancy specialising in difficult building problems, structural investigations and independent engineering advice.
Matt graduated with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from James Cook University in 1992 and has more than 30 years of engineering experience across Queensland.
His work increasingly involves projects where the answer is not immediately obvious: structural movement and cracking, building damage, water entry and drainage problems, construction defects, failed repairs, insurance matters, disputes and unusual problems affecting existing buildings.
Solving Difficult Building Problems
Much of Matt’s work begins with a building that is not behaving as expected.
There may be cracking or movement. Water may be entering a building and the source is uncertain. A roof or structural element may have failed. Construction may differ from the drawings. Previous repairs may not have worked. An insurer, property owner, builder or solicitor may need an independent opinion about what has occurred and what should happen next.
In these situations, identifying the visible damage is only the beginning.
Matt’s approach is to understand how the building works, examine the available evidence, consider the possible causes and develop an engineering explanation that fits the evidence.
The important questions are usually straightforward:
- What has happened?
- Why has it happened?
- Does it matter?
- What should be done about it?
Answering those questions reliably can require considerably more engineering judgement than simply identifying a defect.
Structural Investigations and Forensic Engineering
Matt undertakes structural and building investigations involving matters such as:
- structural cracking and building movement;
- foundation and footing performance;
- storm, fire, impact and water damage;
- roof and structural failures;
- water entry and drainage-related building problems;
- retaining wall distress;
- construction and structural defects;
- failed or inappropriate previous repairs;
- insurance claims and damage assessments;
- disputes involving structural or building issues; and
- unusual existing-building problems where several possible causes need to be investigated.
These investigations often involve more than one aspect of a building. Structure, ground conditions, drainage, water, construction detailing and previous alterations can interact, and the most obvious explanation is not always the correct one.
Independent Engineering Opinions
Matt provides independent engineering opinions for homeowners, builders, insurers, loss adjusters, solicitors and other professionals who need to understand the technical issues affecting a building.
For insurance and dispute matters, the quality of the reasoning behind an opinion can be as important as the conclusion itself.
Cornell Engineers’ reports therefore aim to clearly distinguish observations from conclusions, explain the engineering reasoning and provide practical recommendations where rectification is required.
A good engineering report should leave the reader with a much clearer understanding of the problem and what needs to happen next.
Practical Engineering
Matt’s engineering background includes more than three decades of working with buildings and structures throughout Queensland, including experience in Mackay, Townsville, Emerald, Gladstone and Brisbane.
That experience has reinforced the importance of solutions that work not only in calculations or drawings, but also on site.
Where repairs are required, the objective is to develop a solution that addresses the underlying problem and can be understood, priced and practically constructed.
Clear Conclusions
Engineering can become complicated. Engineering advice should not be unnecessarily complicated.
Matt places particular emphasis on explaining technical issues clearly — in discussions on site, in correspondence and in formal engineering reports.
Where the evidence supports a conclusion, the report should say so clearly. Where there is genuine uncertainty or further investigation is required, that should be made equally clear.
Experience Beyond Engineering
Alongside his engineering career, Matt served for 14 years as an auxiliary firefighter with the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service, serving in Emerald, Gladstone and Walkerston and retiring in 2013 at the rank of Lieutenant.
His operational experience included structural fires, grass fires, road accidents and chemical incidents.
That experience is particularly relevant to the way Matt approaches engineering investigations: assess the situation carefully, work from the available evidence, identify what matters and communicate clearly with the people who need to make decisions.
Cornell Engineers
Matt established Cornell Engineers in 2003.
Today, the practice is deliberately selective about the projects it undertakes. Routine residential structural design is no longer its primary focus.
Cornell Engineers is at its best when a project requires investigation, experience, careful thought and a practical engineering solution that the people involved can rely upon.
The practice is based in Brisbane and undertakes work throughout Queensland. For sufficiently complex or consequential matters where Cornell Engineers’ experience can make a worthwhile difference, Matt also undertakes investigations elsewhere in Australia.
Talk to Cornell Engineers
If you have a difficult building problem and need to understand what is happening, why it is happening and what should be done about it, tell us about the problem.
Photographs, drawings, previous reports and a short history of the issue are useful for an initial review and help us determine whether Cornell Engineers is the right consultancy for the matter.