Structural Design for Architecture
Fig. 5.7 Notre-Dame Cathedral, Chartres, France, 12th
and 13th centuries. The main structural elements here are
the quadripartite vaulting of the roof and the supporting
piers which act in conjunction with external flying
buttresses. The sections of wall between the piers can be
regarded as non-structural cladding. The structural
arrangement is therefore that of a skeleton framework - a
remarkable achievement in a material such as masonry.
[Photo: Courtauld Institute]Fig. 5.8 Church at Atlantida, Uruguay, 1958. Eladio
Dieste, architect. The plan-form of the walls of this build-
ing is that of a sinusoidal curve whose amplitude is great-
est at the level where the bending moment is highest. The
arrangement allows a large overall thickness of wall to be
achieved with a minimal volume of masonry. This is a
modern equivalent of the flying buttress. |Photo: Vicente
del Amo|152