Why Buildings Stand Up: The Strength of Architecture

by Mario Salvadori

Overview

"Readers will rejoice... in the physical discoveries, ancient and modern, that create and govern the artifacts inside of which readers spend most of their natural lives."—New York Times

Between a nomad's tent and the Sears Tower lies a revolution in technology, materials, and structures. Here is a clear and enthusiastic introduction to buildings methods from ancient times to the present day, including recent advances in science and technology that have had important effects on the planning and construction of buildings: improved materials (steel, concrete, plastics), progress in antiseismic designs, and the revolutionary changes in both architectural and structural design made possible by the computer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393306767
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	02/17/2002
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	450,973
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.90(d)

Table of Contents

1	Structures	17
	The Beginning of Architecture	17
	Function and Structure	18
	Architects and Engineers	23
	Structure and the Layman	24
2	The Pyramids	27
	What Are They?	27
	The Building of the Pyramids	29
	The Social Purpose of the Pyramids	38
	The Death of the Pyramids	40
3	Loads	43
	Dead Loads	43
	Live Loads	44
	Dynamic Loads	45
	Wind Loads	49
	Earthquake Loads	53
	Thermal and Settlement Loads	54
4	Materials	59
	Tension and Compression	59
	Elasticity and Plasticity	60
	Safety Factors	63
	Steel	64
	Reinforced Concrete	66
	Plastics	70
5	Beams and Columns	72
	Newton's Laws	72
	Translational Equilibrium	73
	Rotational Equilibrium	75
	Beam Action	76
	Shear	83
	Buckling	85
6	Houses	90
	Prehistoric and Historic Houses	90
	The American House	94
	Concrete-Frame Housing	96
	Prefabricated Concrete Buildings	101
7	Skyscrapers	107
	The High-Rise Building	107
	The Birth of a Skyscraper	109
	The Skyscraper Structure	116
8	The Eiffel Tower	126
	The Symbol	126
	The Builder of the Tower	129
	The Building of the Tower	133
	Cranes and Elevators	136
	The Life of the Tower	140
	The Taller Towers	141
9	Bridges	144
	Arches	144
	Railroad Bridges	150
	Concrete Bridges	157
	Space Frames	160
10	The Brooklyn Bridge	165
	The Creator of the Bridge	165
	The Construction of the Bridge	169
	Modern Suspension Bridges	176
11	Form-Resistant Structures	179
	Grids and Flat Slabs	179
	Strength through Form	186
	Curved Surfaces	188
	Barrel Roofs and Folded Plates	191
	Saddle Roofs	195
	Complex Roofs	198
	Thin Shell Dams	201
12	The Unfinished Cathedral	206
	The Origin of the Gothic Cathedrals	206
	Gothic Spaces and Structures	209
	Saint Pierre at Beauvais	217
13	Domes	225
	The Largest Roofs in the World	225
	The Dome as Structure	226
	The Pantheon	230
	Santa Maria del Fiore	233
	Modern Domes	242
14	Hagia Sophia	246
	The Construction of the Church	246
	The Interior of the Church	248
	The Structure of the Church	252
	The Fate of Hagia Sophia	255
15	Tents and Balloons	259
	Tents	259
	Pneumatic Structures	268
16	The Hanging Sky	278
	Domes and Dishes	278
	The Hanging Dish	280
17	The Message of Structure	288
	Semiotic Messages	288
	Semiotic Message and Scale	297
	The Varying Semiotic Message	300
	Afterword	303
	Index	315