"Why
Buildings Stand Up"
by Mario Salvadori
Review
by John Gabree
Most
of us cross bridges and visit or inhabit sometimes extraordinary buildings
without ever wondering what keeps the damn things up. In this fascinating
exploration of "the strength of architecture," Mario Salvadori
leads us to an understanding of how architecture works and of the
sometimes astonishing confluence of structural engineering and esthetics
that produces such masterpieces as the Brooklyn Bridge, Hagia Sophia
and the Eiffel Tower.
Employing
easily understood and often quite beautiful line drawings,
Salvadori traces architecture from prehistory through the Pyramids
and Gothic cathedrals to sports arenas and hanging- dish roofs. It
is a commonplace that every structure, from home to church to school
to jail, sends a message to the onlooker. Salvadori argues that "structure
too has a message of its own: it can be a message of strength or elegance,
of waste or economy, of ugliness or beauty." Luckily, these days
in architecture the consumer is being consulted in the design stage
of product development. By paying attention to the laws of structure,
the active citizen-consumer can affect the development of cities,
buildings, parks and monuments. (1982)
Buy
Why
Buildings Stand Up by Mario Salvadori
