The structural basis of architecture / Bjrn N. Sandaker, Arne P. Eggen,and Mark R. Cruvellier.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preface -- 1.Structuring space -- 1.1. Structure as spatial generator and mechanical object -- 1.2. Spatial aspects -- 1.3. Mechanical aspects -- 2. Statics -- 2.1. Polonceau : past and present -- 2.2. Basic structural actions -- 2.3. Isaac Newton and the mechanical basis of structures -- 2.4. Weight vs. lightness -- 2.5. Forces and moments : concepts to explain movement and deformation -- 2.6. Equilibrium : a fundamental structural requisite -- 2.7. Intermezzo Italiano -- 2.8. Support reactions : connecting elements -- 2.9. Nordic expression of forces -- 3. Loads -- 3.1. CaixaForum -- 3.2. Loads on buildings -- Dead or (a)live? -- 3.3. Lessons from history and nature -- 3.4. Dead loads : the weights of immovable things -- 3.5. Occupancy live loads : animate objects, but inanimate too -- 3.6. Loading diagrams : abstractions of reality -- 3.7. The natural elements : earth, wind, and more -- 4. Materials -- 4.1. Casa da Musica -- 4.2. The mechanical and physical properties of materials -- 4.3. Concrete, earth, and bricks -- 4.4. Steel, iron, and aluminum -- 4.5. Wood and cardboard -- 4.6. Glass -- 4.7. Fibers and fabrics -- 4.8. Plastics and composites -- 4.9. Exploring material properties : The case of chairs -- 5. The hanger and the tie -- 5.1. Jazz on Central Park -- 5.2. Floating space -- 5.3. The vertical hanger -- 5.4. Inclining the hanger : the stayed system -- 5.5. Ties and guys -- 5.6. Tension connections -- 6. The beam and the slab -- 6.1. Straight versus skewed geometry -- 6.2. Beam origins -- 6.3. Equilibrium from internal actions -- 6.4. Visualizing actions : shear and moment diagrams -- 6.5. Form follows diagram : or not... -- 6.6. Deformations and internal stresses -- 6.7. The trouble with beams, and shape or material responses -- 6.8. The virtues of continuity -- 6.9. Two-way action and beam grids -- 6.10. The slab : beams stretched thin -- 7. The column and the wall -- 7.1. Maison Carrée and Carré d'Art -- 7.2. On the threshold of the Acropolis -- 7.3. Compression elements : how they work -- 7.4. The capital -- 7.5. Leonard Euler and the slender column -- 7.6. Mikado : a multitude of columns -- 7.7. The shape of compressive elements -- 7.8. The wall -- 8. The truss and the space frame -- 8.1. Wachsmann and Himmelb(l)au -- 8.2. Spanning trusses' history -- 8.3. Triangulation and internal stability -- 8.4. Roof systems from east and west -- 8.5. Truss forces, or how it works -- 8.6. Truss forms, or how it looks -- 8.7. Joint adventure -- 8.8. 3-D action : space frames -- 8.9. Tensegrity : when a column flies -- 9. The frame and lateral stability -- 9.1. Framing light and space -- 9.2. French frames -- 9.3. Stabilizing subsystems -- 9.4. Overall stability : taking a bird's eye view -- 9.5. Frame form and behavior -- 9.6. Finnish form -- 9.7. Degrees of attachment : fixed and hinged connections -- 9.8. Framing Vierendeel -- 10. The cable and the membrane -- 10.1. Wood in suspension -- 10.2. Hanging by a rope -- 10.3. Portuguese tension -- 10.4. Cable shapes and cable forces -- 10.5. Stabilizing and supporting suspension cables -- 10.6. Cable nets and fabric membranes -- 10.7. Frei Otto -- 10.8. Pneumatic membranes -- 11. The arch and the vault -- 11.1. The stone arch revisited -- 11.2. Arch form as historical indicator -- 11.3. Understanding arch behavior -- 11.4. To hinge or not to hinge? -- 11.5. Compression forces and bending moments in arches -- 11.6. The foundations of the arch -- 11.7. The vault and light -- 12. The dome and the shell -- 12.1. Domes in the landscape -- 12.2. Traditional dome : arch action revisited -- 12.3. shell dome : revolution in structural behavior -- 12.4. Due duomi a Roma -- 12.5. Folded plates and cylindrical shells : beam action revisited -- 12.6. The hypar shell -- 12.7. Beyond surface and geometric purity -- Appendix -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index (by project name) -- Index (by subject).

This is a book about structures; it is about beams and columns, arches and cables, frames and trusses, and much more besides. Beyond this, though, it is a book concerned with how to "see" structural forms as an integral part of architecture, and with exploring the link between mechanical forms and conceptual ideas inherent to the art of building. Analyzing the structural principles behind many of the best known works of architecture from past and present, this book nonetheless firmly situates the subject within a contemporary context. Projects by Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Charles and Ray Eames, and Frank Lloyd Wright are discussed right alongside those by Rem Koolhaas/OMA, Sir Norman Foster, SANAA, Zaha Hadid, Snohetta, and Santiago Calatrava, to name but a few. The subject matter is primarily approached in a qualitative and discursive manner, illustrated by many photographs of architectural projects and structural behaviour diagrams, but it does not shy away from the relatively accessible mathematical equations and calculations that can be used to reinforce and extend an emerging understanding of the topic. This new edition is completely updated and rewritten, covers an expanded range of topics, and includes many worked-out examples inspired by built projects. The approach throughout is to present structures as a fundamental basis for architecture.