Jonathan Ochshorn - ARCH 366/666 Fall 2004 Questions for week 4

ARCH 366/666 The Tectonic Articulation of Structure
Reading: Fall 2004

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Questions for Week 4
Briefly answer each question (1-3 sentences should do in most cases). Please type (or print neatly) and submit at the end of class on the date due.

To find readings online:

1. Go to Cornell Library Catalog.

2. Click "Course Reserve."

3. Click on the drop-down menu at "course" to find ARCH 366 (students registered for ARCH 666 should use ARCH 366 to obtain readings). Then click "Search" to display available course readings.

Note: check course reading list or assignment handout to confirm which readings are required.

Due: September 20, 2004

Roland Mainstone, "Beams and Slabs," Developments in Structural Form

1. What two factors led to the substitution of iron for timber beams at the end of the 18th century?

2. What is the structural rationale for section (d) shown in figure 8.5?

Pier Luigi Nervi, Buildings, Projects, Structures: 1953-1963

1. According to Nervi, what 3 factors have led to the "structural architecture" of the last 100 years (now more like 140 years)?

2. Nervi complains in 1963 that architectural education is "dominated by a formalism which is... void of technical preoccupations, but concerned only with fanciful superficial decoration." In your experience as a student and observer of contemporary architecture, have attitudes changed since his remarks?

Charles H. Thornton et. al., Exposed Structure in Building Design

1. Rice says: "Never do in one joint what you can in two." Why?

2. Robertson says, referring to the U.S. Steel Building: "...while you see the actual structure and while you may know it's exposed steel, I don't think you understand how the structure works." Can such a structure be expressive of structure even if the actual structural behavior is beyond the comprehension of typical observers?