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Door of Wisdom, locally nicknamed "The Gull", a sculptural tribute to Dieste at Salto, Uruguay, using his techniques.

The Gaussian vault is a reinforced masonry construction technique invented by Uruguayan engineer Eladio Dieste to efficiently and economically build thin-shell barrel vaults and wide curved roof spans that are resistant to buckling.[1][2][3]

Gaussian vaults consist of a series of interlocking, curved, single-layer brick arches that can span long distances without the need for supporting columns. This allows the construction of lightweight, efficient and visually striking structures. These arches are characterized by the use of a double curvature form, along an inverted catenary, which allows for greater structural efficiency and a reduction in the amount of materials required for building wide-span roof structures.

The term "Gaussian", coined by Dieste himself, typically refers to the bell-shaped curve often used in statistics and probability theory. Dieste's new combination of bricks, steel reinforcement and mortar makes its one of the innovative construction system using reinforced ceramics, also called "cerámica armada" or structural ceramics.

History

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David P. Billington coined the term "structural art" for works of structural engineering that achieve excellence in the three areas of efficiency, economy, and elegance.[4][5] Engineers Gustav Eiffel and Robert Maillart worked with new materials and techniques to design elegant, economic and structurally efficient. Many of them concentrated their designs on one building material like for example wrought-iron and prestressed concrete. Eugene Freyssinet, Felix Candela, Eduardo Torroja pionneered the construction of large thin-shell structures made out of reinforced concrete.

The concept of metal reinforced masonry was not invented by Dieste. in 1889 French engineer Paul Cottancin patented a system of reinforced concrete, which he called "ciment armé".[6] The Cottancin system used wire-reinforced hollow bricks acting as a permanent formwork for a cement armature and thin cement shells, as shown in the 1904 Church of Saint-Jean de Montmartre.[7] Vertical wires ran through the brick voids, while horizontal reinforcement is placed in the joints. The brick voids and joints were filled with cement mortar to prevent metal coming into contact with air.[8] Cottancin's labor-intensive system was quickly replaced by Hennebique's reinforced concrete, which requires the erection of wooden formwork but less skilled operators. In 1910, Rafael Guastavino was granted a patent for reinforced brick shells[9][10] and Spanish engineer Torroja also developed in the 1920s their own system of reinforced ceramics. By the 1950's, the construction of thin concrete shells became more and more expensive due to the increased costs of formwork and labor and was progressively replaced steel construction for long spans vaults.[11]

Example of reinforced ceramics in Dieste's Church of Saint Peter in Durazno, Uruguay.

Unaware of the developments in the rest of the world, Dieste developed its own system of reinforced masonry, which was little known and used in his day in South America, into a prime example of structural art.[11][12] He innovated in the use of bricks which was affordable and widely available in South America.[13] He developed many new cost-efficient techniques and elegant forms for the design of thin brick vaults. His construction techniques were derived from structural principles associated with the geometry of the inverted catenary. He gave to the cross-section of his masonry vaults a double curvature to generate stiffness and strength to resist buckling failure. He designed characteristic undulating roofs with a typical span to rise ratio of 10.[14][15]

In 1946, Dieste realized his first reinforced brick vault, working with architect Antoní Bonet i Castellana on the Berlingieri house in Punta Ballena, Uruguay.[16][17] After his invention, Dieste did not use his new construction technique again until 1955.[18]

In 1956, Dieste founded with Eugenio Montañez (1916–2001) the construction and design firm Dieste y Montañez S.A., which is still in operation today.[19] With his company, he constructed more than 1.5 million square meters of buildings such as warehouses, factories, gymnasiums and workshops.[14]

The discovery of this construction system, as well as its development, introduction and implementation, earned the engineer Dieste worldwide recognition from the international community and eventually from UNESCO[20][21][22]

Sports hall located in Oviedo (Spain) designed by Sánchez de Río in 1966 built using reinforced ceramics.

Colombian engineer Guillermo González Zuleta and the Spanish engineer Ildefonso Sánchez del Río Pisón also developed different approaches to structural architecture to build large span buildings using ondulating reinforced ceramics.[18]

Description

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The construction technique of this type of reinforced masonry consists of placing steel reinforced bars at the junction of the brick courses.[23] The behavior of the reinforced brick layer similar to that of a reinforced concrete beam.[24][25][26] The thin-shell, single-thickness brick structure derives its rigidity and strength from a double-curved catenary arch form that resists buckling failure.[27][28][29][30] The structural masonry fulfills a structural function by supporting itself and the roof without beams or columns.[31][32]

The brickwork of the wall of the fulfills a structural function by supporting itself and the roof without beams or columns Church of Christ the Worker and Our Lady of Lourdes.

This construction system allows the design of thin-shell, single-layer brick structures by combining bricks, iron and mortar, built on a movable "encofrados" used as scaffolding for people and formwork for materials.[33] These gaussian vaults are structures that are able to withstand the loads placed on them thanks to their shape rather than their mass, resulting in a lower material requirement and in reduced construction times.[34] The number of layers of bricks in which the reinforcing bar is placed depends on the span to be overcome. The reinforcement must be made of a corrosion-resistant alloy. Dieste used traditional locally-sourced hollow bricks, which are typically 25x25x10 cm. The total thickness of Gaussian vaults are usually between 18 and 25 cm and spanning up to 45 meters.[35]

Usage

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Gaussian vault of the Church of Christ the Worker and Our Lady of Lourdes

Reinforced ceramics have been widely adopted because it allows for greater lightness, prefabrication and systematization in the repetition of its components, with competitive costs.[36][37][38] They are particularly suited to the construction of churches, community centers and industrial buildings, as well as other structures that require large open spaces.[39]

Dieste applied this construction technique to his first architectural work: the church of Christ the Worker and Our Lady of Lourdes (1958–1960), in the small village of Atlántida.[40][41] It became an renowned architectural landmark, described as "a simple rectangle, with side walls rising up in undulating curves to the maximum amplitude of their arcs, these walls supporting a similarly undulating roof, composed of a sequence of reinforced brick Gaussian vaults".[42] In 2021 the Church was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name "The work of engineer Eladio Dieste: Church of Atlántida".[43]

In 1998, Dieste used the same construction techniques in the Church of Saint John of Ávila in a modern neighbourhood of Alcalá de Henares, Spain.[44][45]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Moonen, Marcel. "Eladio Dieste, and the curvature of a brick". marcelmoonen.com. Archived from the original on 2022-10-23. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
  2. ^ "How to build a gaussian vault that spans 100's of feet with Eladio Dieste". Tumblr. Archived from the original on 2022-10-23. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
  3. ^ Pedreschi, R. (2006). "The Structural Behaviour and Design of Free-Standing Barrel Vaults of Eladio Dieste". 2nd International Congress on Construction History: 2451–2468. doi:10.13140/2.1.2422.6083. S2CID 115605521.
  4. ^ Billington, David (1983). The Tower and the Bridge. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-08677-1.
  5. ^ Billington, David (1984). "Bridges and the new art of structural engineering". American Scientist. 72 (1): 22–31. Bibcode:1984AmSci..72...22B. JSTOR 27852435.
  6. ^ US 459944A, Cottancin, Paul, "Work of re-enforced plastic material", published 22 Septembre 1891  Patented in France on 18 May 1889, No. 196,773.
  7. ^ Frampton, Kenneth (2001). Studies in Tectonic Culture: the poetics of constriction in nineteenth and twentienth century architecture (3 ed.). Cambridge, Mass: M.I.T. Press. pp. 55–56. ISBN 978-0-262-56149-5.
  8. ^ Wells, Matthew (2010-03-04). Engineers: A History of Engineering and Structural Design. Taylor & Francis. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-203-35818-4. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  9. ^ US947177A, Guastavino, Rafael, "Masonry structure", issued 1910-01-18 
  10. ^ Collins, George R. (1968). "The Transfer of Thin Masonry Vaulting from Spain to America". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 27 (3): 176–201. doi:10.2307/988501. ISSN 0037-9808. JSTOR 988501.
  11. ^ a b Ochsendorf, John; Antuña Bernardo, Joaquín (2003), "Eduardo Torroja and «Cerámica Armada»" (PDF), Proceedings of the First International Congress on Construction History, p. 1, retrieved 2024-08-15
  12. ^ Anderson, Stanford; Dieste, Eladio, eds. (2004). Eladio Dieste: innovation in structural art (1st ed.). New York: Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 978-1-56898-371-4.
  13. ^ Dieste, Eladio (October 1982). "La cerámica armada". Formas para la construcción (in Spanish). 5. Córdoba. Italian translation by Fausto Giovannardi of this rare journal is available.
  14. ^ a b Pedreschi, R.; Theodossopoulos, D. (February 2007). "The double-curvature masonry vaults of Eladio Dieste" (PDF). Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Structures and Buildings. 160 (1): 3–11. doi:10.1680/stbu.2007.160.1.3. ISSN 0965-0911.
  15. ^ Pedreschi, Remo (March 2008). "Form, Force and Structure: A Brief History". Architectural Design. 78 (2): 12–19. doi:10.1002/ad.636. ISSN 0003-8504.
  16. ^ Sanz, Antonio Miguel Trallero; Palma, Ana María Marín (2005). "El nacimiento de la cerámica armada" (PDF). Actas del Cuarto Congreso Nacional de Historia de la Construcción: Cádiz. 27-29 de enero de 2005, Vol. 2, 2005, ISBN 84-9728-146-2, págs. 707-715. Instituto Juan de Herrera: 707–715. ISBN 978-84-9728-149-2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-07-07. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  17. ^ Sarrablo Moreno, Vicente; Roviras, Jordi (2019). "Bóvedas cerámicas. Un viaje transatlántico de ida y vuelta" (PDF). Palimpsesto (19): 17–19. doi:10.5821/palimpsesto.19.8216. hdl:2117/134642. ISSN 2014-9751. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-01-29. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  18. ^ a b López López, Daniel; Van Mele, Tom; Block, Philippe (2016). "Dieste, González Zuleta and Sánchez Del Río: Three Approaches to Reinforced-Brick Shell Structures". In Van Balen, Koen; Verstrynge, Els (eds.). Structural analysis of historical constructions: anamnesis, diagnosis, therapy, controls: proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions (SAHC, Leuven, Belgium, 13-15 September 2016). CRC Press. pp. 571–578. ISBN 978-1-138-02951-4.
  19. ^ "Dieste y Montañez S.A." www.dieste.com.uy. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  20. ^ "Patrimonio Mundial | Comisión UNESCO Uruguay" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2021-07-27. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  21. ^ Ministerio de Educación y Cultura, Comisión del Patrimonio Cultural de la Naciónes (2017). Iglesia de la Parroquia de Cristo Obrero y Nuestra Señora de Lourdes – Plan de Conservación y Manejo (PDF) (in Spanish). Canelones. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-12-24. Retrieved 2023-01-28.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  22. ^ Anderson, Stanford (2004). Eladio Dieste : innovation in structural art (1st ed.). New York: Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 1-56898-371-9. OCLC 53331653.
  23. ^ Brufau, Robert (1999). "Las bóvedas gausas" (PDF). DPA: Documents de Projectes d'Arquitectura (in Spanish). ISSN 2339-6237.
  24. ^ Marín Palma, Ana María; Barluenga Badiola, Gonzalo (2014). "Eladio Dieste y la cerámica armada: la forma de lo resistente" [Eladio Dieste and the reinforced ceramic: Shape and structure]. Arquitecturas del Sur (in Spanish). 32 (45 (Junio)): 90–103. ISSN 0716-2677.
  25. ^ Mas Guindal, Antonio J.; Adell, Josep Maria (2005-04-30). "Eladio Dieste y la cerámica estructural en Uruguay". Informes de la Construcción. 56 (496): 13–23. doi:10.3989/ic.2005.v57.i496.459. ISSN 1988-3234.
  26. ^ Pedreschi, Remo (2000). "Only the essential – Gaussian vaults". The Engineer's Contribution to Contemporary Architecture: Eladio Dieste. Thomas Telford. pp. 46–64. ISBN 978-0-7277-2772-5. Archived from the original on 2023-01-28. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  27. ^ Carbonell, Galaor (1987). Eladio Dieste – La estructura cerámica. Colección SomoSur. Bogotá, Colombia: Universidad de los Andes (Colombia). ISBN 9589082343.
  28. ^ Adell Argilés, Josep María (1992). "Las bóvedas de la Atlántida". Informes de la construcción (in Spanish). 44 (421): 113–123. ISSN 0020-0883. Archived from the original on 2022-07-11. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  29. ^ Dieste, Eladio (1985). Cáscaras autoportantes de directriz catenaria sin tímpanos [Self-supporting shells with catenary guideline without spandrels]. EDICIONES BANDA ORIENTAL.
  30. ^ Dieste, Eladio (1985). Pandeo de láminas de doble curvatura [Buckling of double curvature sheets]. EDICIONES BANDA ORIENTAL.
  31. ^ Pedreschi, Remo F (2006). "The structural behaviour and design of freestanding barrel vaults of Eladio Dieste". Proceedings of the 2nd International Congress on Construction History. 3. doi:10.13140/2.1.2422.6083.
  32. ^ Pedreschi, R.; Theodossopoulos, D. (2007). "The double-curvature masonry vaults of Eladio Dieste" (PDF). Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Structures and Buildings. 160 (1): 3–11. doi:10.1680/stbu.2007.160.1.3. ISSN 0965-0911. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
  33. ^ Dieste – Bóvedas de cerámica armada (1989) (Videotape) (in Spanish). Uruguay: Dirección del Cine y Audiovisual Nacional. 2019. Event occurs at 1989 – via YouTube. A summary of the construction process of large reinforced ceramic vaults that Eladio Dieste applied in all his works. Video made for the company Dieste & Montañez.
  34. ^ López, D. López; Mele, T. Van; Block, P. (2016-11-03), Van Balen, Koen; Verstrynge, Els (eds.), "Dieste, González Zuleta and Sánchez del Río: Three approaches to reinforced-brick shell structures" (PDF), Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions: Anamnesis, Diagnosis, Therapy, Controls, CRC Press, pp. 571–578, doi:10.1201/9781315616995-76, hdl:2117/120384, ISBN 978-1-315-61699-5, archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-04-26, retrieved 2023-01-28
  35. ^ García Lammers, Federico (2021). "A Church, a Silo, and a Warehouse: Eladio Dieste's Gaussian Vaults and the Workers of the Encofrados". 2021 RAIC-CCUSA Academic Summit on Architecture.
  36. ^ González Pozo, Alberto (1995). "The Reinforced brick shells of the Uruguayan Eladio Dieste". Deutsche Bauzeitung: 120–129.
  37. ^ Cabeza Lainez, Jose Maria; Jimenez Verdejo, Juan Ramon; Sanchez-Montanes Macias, Benito; Perez Calero, Jose Ignacio (2009). "The Key-role of Eladio Dieste, Spain and the Americas in the Evolution from Brickwork to Architectural Form". Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering. 8 (2): 355–362. doi:10.3130/jaabe.8.355. ISSN 1346-7581. S2CID 110534760.
  38. ^ Pedreschi, Remo F.; Theodossopoulos, Dimitiris (2010). "Eladio Dieste – resistance through form". In da Sousa Cruz, Paulo J. (ed.). Structures & Architecture. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4398-6297-1.
  39. ^ Dieste (PDF). Documents de Projectes d’Arquitectura. Barcelona: UPC. 1999. ISBN 84-8301-331-2. OCLC 928224195. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2009-03-06. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  40. ^ Anderson, Stanford. "The Hyperbolic Brick of Eladio Dieste". Architectureweek.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  41. ^ Dieste, Eladio (1947). "Bóveda nervada de ladrillos "de espejo"" [Ribbed vaulting of "mirror" bricks]. Revista de ingeniería. 473: 510–512.
  42. ^ UNESCO (27 July 2021). "Cultural sites in Africa, Arab Region, Asia, Europe, and Latin America inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  43. ^ UNESCO. "The work of engineer Eladio Dieste: Church of Atlántida".
  44. ^ de la Hoz Martínez, Juan de Dios; Clemente San Román, Carlos (1998-02-28). "La construcción con cerámica armada. Iglesia de San Juan de Ávila, en Alcalá de Henares/España" [Building with reinforced ceramics. San Juan de Avila church, in Alcalá de Henares/spain]. Informes de la Construcción (in Spanish). 49 (453): 41–53. doi:10.3989/ic.1998.v49.i453.919. ISSN 1988-3234. Archived from the original on 2012-06-27. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  45. ^ "Aproximaciones geométricas II – iglesia San Juan de Avila – conoides/bóvedas gausas" [Geometric Approximations II – St. John of Avila Church – conoids/Gaussian vaults] (PDF). InSitu. 22. 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-02-23. Retrieved 2023-01-28.

Further reading

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