Alma · Bridge life 01 — Design
Demo phase
The new bridge Eurocodes, answered.
Alma transforms EN 1991-2 and EN 1990 Annex A.2 into an engineering knowledge system you can ask. Every answer is linked to its source, reviewed through a structured verification process, and curated by an engineer with two decades of experience in Eurocode standards, National Annexes, and their practical application. Ask a question, get an answer, and help Alma grow.
Alma — why now
01 / 04- Immediate0–1 year
- Short termfrom 1 year
- Long term3+ years
- Longer termbeyond
Immediate: Training & gap-finding
Engineers use Alma now and ask real questions. Every question surfaces a place where the current standard is unclear or hard to interpret — feeding straight back into the knowledge base before the new Eurocodes take effect.
Short term: Alignment & fewer errors
Common language
Designers, checkers, and authorities interpret loads and combinations the same way. Coordination gets simpler because fewer things need re-explaining.
Fewer repeated errors
Local specialties and National Annex interpretations get encoded as they're found, so the same costly misunderstanding doesn't happen twice across projects.
Long term: Institutional memory
Expert judgment built over decades normally leaves with the engineer who retires. Kept current, Alma holds that interpretation in place — for the organization, not just the individual.
Not yet solved
Longer term: Basis for design automation
Whether the industry wants it or not, some degree of automated structural design is coming. The knowledge base built today is the loading-side foundation for that. Alma is the traffic-load and design-basis layer for bridges specifically.
Ask Alma
Preview of Alma responses
Why Alma
What makes Alma different?
- Sources cited
- Engineering reasoning
- National Annex aware
- Committee background
- Verified answers
- Human-reviewed knowledge
Why now
The 2028 transition starts today.
The second-generation Eurocodes will gradually replace today's standards around the 2028 transition. Every bridge engineer will need to learn new rules, new terminology, and new ways of working.
1
The standards evolve
The second-generation Eurocodes reorganise familiar requirements, introduce new concepts, and redefine how engineers navigate the standards.
2
The knowledge is fragmented
The engineering reasoning behind many provisions is spread across technical reports, National Annex work and in best practices of a region — not just the published clauses.
3
Engineers need confidence
Finding the right clause is only the beginning. Engineers need answers they can verify, understand, and apply consistently.
4
Institutional memory
Store interpretations in a consistent format so that regional best practices can be reached by everyone.
Alma was created to bring standards, engineering reasoning, and practical experience together in one place.
Built in the open
Alma is at the start of its journey.
What exists today is Alma's first iteration: the standards gone through once — and so far only a few questions from practising engineers in the knowledge base. A second iteration is next, where every paragraph, equation and table gets a second pass. What Alma needs now are real questions from real bridge work — consider this an open invitation. Every question eligible for Alma's training will be answered personally, by email.
You ask
A real question from your work on EN 1991-2 or EN 1990 Annex A.2 — asked the way you'd ask a colleague.
You get an answer
If your question is used in Alma's training, a personally written, source-cited answer comes back to you — at no cost. The one constraint is time: fast answers are not promised. Not every question is used — but every one is read.
Alma grows
Every question used joins the training material and shows where the next verified answer is needed — so Alma grows where engineers actually work.
This is a first trial. What Alma becomes — an open resource, a subscription, an app, or nothing at all — is decided later. Right now, we are training Alma.
Get involved
Built for bridge engineers. Refined with bridge engineers.
Whether you're learning the second-generation Eurocodes, reviewing projects, preparing National Annexes, or teaching the next generation of engineers, Alma is designed to make the transition faster, more consistent, and easier to understand.
Collaborate on Alma
We're also seeking partners to help build National Annex knowledge and local engineering practice into Alma — working with universities, bridge owners, authorities and engineering consultancies.
Discuss a collaboration