Structure in Architecture: History, Design and Innovation / Edition 1

by Rowland J. Mainstone

Overview

All buildings must stand. An adequate structure was as necessary for the simplest primitive hut as it is for the tallest or widest-spanning modern building. However, this requirement became more difficult to satisfy as designers became more adventurous and the experience already gained became less directly applicable. The present papers look at the consequent evolution of design methods and the types of understanding that have been essential guides. A particular focus is the question of how earlier innovations, made without the benefits of modern theory, were possible. Other papers look in detail at the most outstanding of these achievements, such as the church of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and the dome of Florence Cathedral.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780860787631
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/24/1999
Series:	Variorum Collected Studies , #659
Pages:	436
Product dimensions:	6.62(w) x 9.62(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Contents: Intuition and the springs of structural invention; The springs of invention revisited; The role of tradition in the development of form in domes, shells, and space structures; Structural theory and design before 1742; Developments in structural design since the seventeenth century especially in Britain; Structural analysis, structural insights, and historical interpretation; On the structure of the Roman Pantheon; The structure of the church of St Sophia, Istanbul; The reconstruction of the tympana of St Sophia at Istanbul; Hagia Sophia: Justinian’s Church of Divine Wisdom, later the Mosque of Ayasofya, in Istanbul; Hagia Sophia’s first dome; The structural conservation of Hagia Sophia: past history and present needs; The first and second churches of San Marco reconsidered; Squinches and pedentives: comments on problems of definition; Westminster Hall roof; Brunelleschi’s dome of S. Maria del Fiore and some related structures; Brunelleschi’s dome; The dome of St Peter’s: structural aspects of its design and construction and inquiries into its stability; Sinan’s Suleymaniye Mosque and Justinian’s Hagia Sophia; Designs for ribbed vaults by Guarini and Leonardo; The reinforced flat arches of the east colonnade of the Louvre; The Eddystone Lighthouse; Additional notes and comments; Index of subjects; Index of buildings; Index of persons.

Editorial Reviews

'During 40 years Rowland Mainstone has been a prolific and original writer on developments in the history of architectural structures. This collection of 22 of his papers demonstrates their quality and authority...These papers should help destroy the popular myth that we do not know how cathedrals and great works of antiquity were designed or built...They should be essential reading for everyone engaged in restoring and conserving buildings, and will be equally rewarding for the sheer pleasure of better understanding the enormity of our debt to the technical achievements of past centuries.' Architectural Review '...very readable and has much to interest the practising engineer or anyone with a visual sense and an enquiring mind.' Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings News 'With the depth of research reported, the great wealth of its references, and its illumination of such diverse themes and topics, the book must easily claim space in architectural libraries and provide stimuli for further studies. Significant assistance to the wide variety of studies which can be envisaged is given by the inclusion of three separate indexes, for 'subjects', 'bridges, buildings and places', and 'persons'.' Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain Newsletter

From the Publisher

Twenty-two articles from 1965-96<-->two published here for the first time<-->by the aptly named Mainstone (the preface's St. Albans sign-off being the only clue to the author's affiliation) include five general studies of the genesis of innovation in structural theory and design in the pre-scientific and more recent past, and detailed studies of particular buildings and structures. Replete with b&w photos, diagrams, and drawings of such architectural glories as Istanbul's Great Church of Hagia Sophia, the dome of St. Peter's, and Smeaton's Eddystone Lighthouse in England. Chapters devoted to a particular achievement are arranged in chronological order; introductory remarks accompany papers originally written in response to others. Sources of articles include the , , and . Indexed by subject; bridges, buildings, and places; and persons. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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