STRUCTURAL DESIGN FOR ARCHITECTURE

Steel structures

Fig. 3.21 Cast steel 'Gerberette', Centre Pompidou, Paris,

France, 1977. Piano and Rogers, architects; Ove Arup &

Partners, structural engineers. Casting was the only feas-

ible method by which these large steel components could

be manufactured, given their complex shapes in profile

and cross-section. Recent developments in casting

technique have resulted in an increase in the use of this

type of component. [Photo: A. Macdonald]

sufficient strength to be used effectively in
multi-storey structures where floor loads must
be carried.

3.4.4 Cast steel components
As with other metals, individual components
of complex geometry can be produced in steel
by casting. In structural engineering this
technique is normally confined to the produc-
tion of small components for joints in struc-
tures. Exceptionally, it is used to produce large

structural elements of complex geometry; an

example is shown in Fig. 3.21.

3.4.5 Bolts

Two types of bolt are used to make connec-

tions in structural steelwork, ordinary bolts

and friction-grip bolts. In the case of ordinary

bolts the load is transmitted between com-

ponents through the shanks of the bolts

themselves (Fig. 3.22), which are normally

loaded in shear but which can be made to 71