following the roof profile like those at the Stazione Termini, Rome
(Fig. 3.45), or like those at the better known Kansai Airport Terminal,
by Renzo Piano? What is actually encountered is a series of paired
steel arches that do not even follow the cross-sectional profile closely
(Fig. 3.46). Disparities between the arch profiles and the roof wave are
accounted for by vertical props that support secondary trusses directly
under the roof. Because the prop diameters are similar to those of the
primary arches, no clear structural hierarchy is established. Consequently
an opportunity for the interior space to be characterized by a visual
flow of arches is lost. Nevertheless, the combination of slender com-
pression members and a filigree of stabilizing cables represents the
designers’ attempt to realize a vision of a roof structure with as fewRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ARCHITECTURAL AND STRUCTURAL FORM 43
▲ 3.44 TGV Station, Lille, France, SNCF/Jean-Marie Duthilleul,
- Side elevation.
▲ 3.45 Stazione Termini, Rome, Italy, Montuori, Vitellozzi, Calini,
Castellazzi, Fatigati & Pintonello, 1950. Curved roof beams over the
main concourse.▲ 3.46 Unexpected interior arches in the TGV Station.