Contact North Star Design & Build
Media coverage featuring Scott Chen, alongside his own writing on engineering, construction and the built environment.
Reporting & interviews
Reporting and interviews published by media organisations, featuring Scott Chen’s engineering expertise.
Media feature
The New York Times
432 Park Avenue · New York
Scott Chen was interviewed and quoted in The New York Times’ reporting on the structural issues at 432 Park Avenue.
Read in The New York TimesExpert commentary
ABC News
McCrae landslide · Victoria
ABC News quoted Scott Chen on landslide risk on the Mornington Peninsula, including drainage, slope stabilisation and monitoring.
“Mornington Peninsula has a well-documented history of landslides.”
Scott Chen · Civil Engineer
Radio interviews
Conversations with Scott Chen on building safety, structural failures and construction.English summaries · Original interviews in Mandarin
Scott discusses factors behind the rapid spread of the Hong Kong fire and the Australian approach to building safety.
An interview on potential causes of building collapse in the Türkiye earthquake and seismic provisions in Australian building standards.
Scott joins a talkback discussion on the skills and practical preparation needed to take on an owner-builder project.
Scott explains the preliminary engineering findings on cracking at Sydney’s Opal Tower and their implications for building quality.
A discussion of delays, extended waiting periods and the additional costs that can arise in house-and-land packages.
Scott outlines contract issues to consider before paying a deposit or committing to a house-and-land package.
Written by Scott Chen
Scott’s own analysis, professional commentary and observations from practice. Full text, figures and videos are available here.
What does an industry award actually verify? Scott draws on his forensic clients’ experience to ask for clearer disclosure and independent scrutiny.
Read post
Scott interprets Geoscience Australia’s event details and intensity map, distinguishing regional ground shaking from a building’s response.
Read post
Scott explains magnitude and intensity, qualifies his preliminary estimates, and discusses hazards from falling non-structural elements.
Read post
Drawing on ten years of Australian practice, Scott examines what a coordinated, affordable library of standard construction details could offer designers, builders and owners.
Read article
Commentary on a reported second scaffold collapse examines restraint, support removal and the need for an engineered demolition sequence.
Read post
Workshop footage prompts Scott’s discussion of geometry, fit-up, welding, inspection and the limits of a hand-fabricated connection detail.
Read post
A Story Bridge tender-planning experience introduces a comparison of building and bridge steelwork, fatigue, fabrication and project-specific acceptance.
Read post
North Star’s practical roadmap connects material verification, fabrication evidence and acceptance for a particular Australian project.
Read post
Commentary on a reported apprentice’s death considers engineering competence, registration and professional responsibility.
Read post
Scott examines the verification of concealed works in overseas-manufactured modules and the inspection evidence needed for scalable delivery.
Read post
Late last year, one of my clients invited me to act as their structural adviser while they tendered for the façade recladding package of an existing Sydney data centre upgrade and expansion project. We did not win the package.…
Read post
Scott revisits his ABC News comments and considers the subsequent planning response, with a focus on hazard mapping, geotechnical evidence and slope stabilisation.
Read article