Career
He was influential in the development of the use of reinforced concrete in the United Kingdom. Because many engineers were not certain of the material, Faber pioneered simple deflection tests, which enabled him to develop his theory of ‘Plastic yield in concrete’, and to calculate shear in reinforced concrete beams. Faber was born in London, the son of the Danish Commissioner of Agriculture in London.
His work for Trollope & Colls on non-magnetic mine casings during the First World War earned him the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the 1918 Birthday Honours.
Notable projects include the Bank of England, the House of Commons, Africa House and India House in London. He co-authored the book, Reinforced Concrete Design, with Postgraduate Bowie, which became a standard work.
He also worked on the Snow Hill, Bath, re-development scheme - 11-storey block of 56 maisonettes opened by Alderman Sam Day in March 1958 - in association with architects Snailum, Huggins and Lefevre. Faber was president of the Institution of Structural Engineers between 1935 and 1936.
The Institution named an award after him, the Oscar Faber Medal, one of which was presented to Fazlur Khan in 1973.
In 2009, Faber Maunsell was rebranded Architecture, Engineering, Consultancy, Operations & Maintenance.
